Mom & Dad Often Talked About Siegerland in Germany so we Went Back!

Summer months were always peak season. But during my vacation time, when I still lived in The Netherlands, I helped them always out, by picking gherkins in the greenhouse.
Only in the summer of 1971 and in 1979, I did go with my late first husband to Germany and the South of France...
ALL other vacations, we helped Mom and Dad for several weeks managing their peak season.

By picking the gherkins a bit tighter we could skip a day and manage to make a one-day-trip to Germany with Mom &  Dad and my Dachshund Mauzie. This was on July 14, 1977 at the Biggesee (lake) in Germany.

Smoking a sigar on his special day off, together with Mom.
They always worked so hard!

Mom is here picking gherkins inside the greenhouse.
We always did start very early, at 5:00 AM because around noon it would get very hot, around 120ºF or 49ºC and that was no FUN! 
Even when Dad placed a big running fan in the isle...

Here you see Mom picking gherkins. 
Two wooden boxes on the special built cart by my Dad, on wheels for easy pushing it forward. 
Each box would contain 25 kg (55 lb) of gherkins.
We had to dump those boxes later on inside one giant wooden box for bulk delivery to the auction.
Yes, I could lift such a full box and lift it over the edge of said giant box to dump its contents.

From a distance, two rows under each pointed section of the greenhouse.
The leaves of the gherkins were very prickly!
I used to wear one of Dad's old long sleeve shirts to protect me from it.
Okay but now back to the subject!
Mom & Dad had been to Siegen/Weidenau in Germany by bus, with Dad's choir, to perform in the Bismarckhalle, also called Siegerlandhalle.

Here in October of 1965, Mom admiring the hills around Hilchenbach, Germany of beautiful Siegerland.

Mom standing in front of Hotel Deutscher Hof in Hilchenbach, Germany.
A beautiful centuries old building it was in traditional German Fachwerk.
Yes, it literally was as it burned down in December of 2016...
Photo quality is poor, this is what I received as scanned material from my youngest sister...
As for myself, I love to scan in higher DPI - takes longer but with far better results.
Nevertheless, they are very meaningful to me!

Here it was, photo from Tripmondo, as it did burn down in December of 2016...

Mom standing in front of the sign 'Zum Süssen Konrad' pointing to a German Konditorei, Bakery!
They always talked about how beautiful that region was and thus, my late husband and I said, let's take them back one more time!

So we went to pick Mom & Dad up in Horst aan de Maas, we lived in Panningen, a municipality of Helden, in the Province of Limburg/The Netherlands.

At that time we still had to cross the border of Germany, now it is open within the European Union.
To the right you see Hilchenbach, where Mom's photos got taken.

We passed through Helden in Germany - from Helden to Helden but not close to home!

You also see Biggesee.
The photo at the very top got taken there!
A big lake with beautiful surroundings, belonging to Attendorn.

My late first husband standing here at the Biggesee, Attendorn with the bridge behind him.

We also did visit Burg Schnellenberg in Attendorn, a 13th-century castle that now has become a hotel, just click link as it is in English.

Thursday July 14, 1977 was a rather cloudy day!
Taking a break on this medieval stone bench...
Yes, that was a lot of driving in one day; some 9 hours and we'd risen at 4:00 AM and will have to do the very same for next day, picking gherkins again...

Here Dad, Frans with dachshund Mauzie on the leash standing in front of Mom's feet...
So happy to know now that this 13th-century castle has been converted into a hotel!

All of us enjoyed Siegerland and Mom & Dad especially for being able to go back one day in their own footsteps...

Dad always loved singing in the choir and such trips were so special.

Now the journey home and early rising next morning!
We had an Opel Kadett Special at the time...

Hope you enjoyed this little journey back in time with me.
Meaningful to me, fond memories of Mom's happy days!
Thanks for your visit and comment.

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