Part 4: illness in a foreign country

A brief interjection on the train – spotted on a building near the Helmstadt Hauptbahnhof, a sign advertising: “Tattoo Friseur Café” – “Tattoo Hairstylist Café”

How does that combination work?

Feeling more zen, less than an hour to Hanover, but still only 1/3 of the way there.

Do I have enough British comedies to get me there without losing my Gehirn?

I must not nap. I have to get off this train in 40 minutes and connect to another train from Hanover to Dortmund and then another from Dortmund to Luedenscheid, where my dear cousin will be there to pick me up. I’m spending the weekend with Uwe and his wife Dagmar, and my great Onkel Willi and his wife Tante Ingrid. I’ve only spent one visit with Willi and Ingrid, at New Year’s back in 2008. They are delightful people and it will be so nice to hang about in pyjamas and easy clothing and not worry about singing for two whole days. Then, things really go into high gear with auditions in Koeln, Duesseldorf, Basel and then Munich. If I didn’t see my own reflection in the train window, I wouldn’t believe this is my life.

A weekend in the country – so inactive, that one has to lie down

Got off the train in Luedenscheid and was promptly greeted by my dearest cousin Uwe. We sat up and drank hot tea and I slept the best night’s sleep in their 3^rd floor room, all tucked up under a duvet, read to relax. Which means, of course, that I promptly caught a cold. Woke up all stuffy and sneezing, almost completely unable to breathe, it was ridiculous. We were meant to spend the afternoon with Willi and Ingrid, so Uwe and I set off on foot to their house just before lunchtime. Being with family means you don’t have to dress up, you don’t have to look professional, and you can eat as much or as little as you like. Or as little as your Tante Ingrid will let you eat, which is much more than any human could ever consume. Being Hindrichs also means that they will rejoice in your love of Rotkohl (red cabbage) and all things carbohydrate, and then try to persuade you to take just another two (or five) pieces of marzipan, because they know you love marzipan. Family is wonderful in this way. Then we went into the city so Uwe and I could look for an Apotheke that would be able to sell me the appropriate drugs to get rid of this head cold. Many stressful stops later – because everything seems to close at mid-day on Saturday – I had a little bottle of nasal spray, a packet of EmserSalz tablets, and a promise from Uwe that Dagmar would be able to advise me on what to take to get better. We had a lovely visit with her at the hospital – it’s so wonderful that she’s feeling better and able to raise her arm over her head for the first time in nearly two years. And then, fending off many attempts from Tante Ingrid to come back for dinner, we settled in for a quiet evening of bread and liverwurst spread and cheeses and various concerts on DVD (including Sting with the Royal Philharmonic and Thomas Quasthoff with a jazz band in Berlin) with my cousin Jurgen and many mugs of tea. The added benefit of being with family is that they completely understand when you have to do laundry and are not in the least bit offended or inconvenienced. Of course they understand that you’re on the road for 2 weeks and would rather not carry around two weeks’ worth of ick on your jeans. Slept in wonderfully, had a lazy morning with Uwe of watching Simon Rattle conduct the Berlin Phil and slowly making our way to the Luedenscheid Bahnhof. A very easy train ride into Koeln, where I met up with Kristi.