Wednesday afternoon after Easter. Dusseldorf Airport: sitting in the airplane. Waiting, together with a pilot, a crew and the remaining 149 passengers for clearance to take off. Being sad. After one week of hotel mama, I go back home to Vienna. So I’m sitting here, being sad.
Because I’m sitting on the damn wrong side of the plane!
Wednesday afternoon before Easter. On my way from Vienna to Dusseldorf in an airplane. Row 10, seat F, that’s the right side of the aircraft, window seat. Never been in Duesseldorf I was already quite excited to admire the city from above. “The most beautiful Rhine river promenade in Germany” should be there, in Dusseldorf, so at least the Internet told me. I also expected to see the television tower. Like the promenade it is also located directly on the Rhine. The tenth-highest of Germany, should not to be overlooked?
Banned and tense, I sit on 10F staring through the little window
Humph. Except clouds nothing is to be seen. Highly concentrated, I continue to stare. And finally, traraaaaa: our Airbus A 319 squeezes through the clouds and gives me an unobstructed view – but not to the most beautiful Rhineufer promenade,no, but to the saddest forest of Germany … Artful, obviously hand-planted, still leafless trees rank themselves impeccably and bolt upright. In rank and file. If they had been illuminated they would have given me the impression that we were landing in an American city…
And then? Yep, then we land! Disappointed, I pop the airplane window blinds down. Anyway, do not understand why those blinds always have to stay open at take off and landing?
Have an idea: they could make an announcement in this airplane like:
“We begin our final descent. Please bring your seat in an upright postiton and put up all the tray tables in front of you. To our passengers in seating areas A: please enjoy the view of the most beautiful Rhine river promenade in Germany. To our passengers in seating areas F: we advise to close the apeture of your little window, since you would be in any case disappointed by watching the sad forest . “
That would be something…
Well, and today, Wednesday afternoon after Easter, back in the plane, I hope to see the city instead of the ripper-wood from above and, according to the internet, the most beautiful Rhine river promenade in Germany.
Incidentally: have different taste as Internet. Had a walk through Dusseldorf and saw the promenade. The Rhine flows 865 kilometers through Germany! And honestly? This promenade should be the most beautiful ??? Nope, Internet. I do not believe you.
Have not written so much about easter so far
Just notice the title of this story: An Easter Story. Haven’t written of Easter. Maybe it is because we didn’t really celebrate Easter.
But we thought of Jesus’ crucifixion! Mummy, daddy and me are having lunch when daddy yells: “Now! Jesus is crucified.”
“Eh? What do you mean with he is crucified right now?” I ask, pushing a piece of potato into my mouth.
“Well today. Good Friday. Jesus was nailed to the cross.”
Suddenly I remember memories and have tears in my eyes.
I have a great inclination to irony and black humor. But I also do have a strong empathy. I have not been baptized, have not enjoyed any religious education, and whether Jesus has existed or not is a question which is not essential to me.
BUT: there are enough mothers (and fathers) who lost their sons (and daughters) because of violence. And to all who do not believe in the existence of Jesus: consider him as a symbol for all those who (innocently) was taken their lives!
Can you feel the sadness of a mother (Mary) sitting at the grave of her son and crying?
Already at the age of six I could feel the sadness of Mother Mary, how she had to feel that her son was dead. And painted this sadness from my soul.
Mary cries for her crucified son and remembers how beautiful it was when he was in her arms as a baby, healthy and safe.
So we sit on Good Friday at lunch and remember Jesus and everyone else. We have a good Good Friday lunch: potatoes and vegetables.
Just for the record: we did so, so we can inhale the box of chocolates afterwards, that my trained candy-eye had discovered right after my arrival. And then we are very glad that Easter Sunday is coming soon, so Jesus can be resurrected soon!
Apostos Easter Sunday: Since we did not really celebrate Easter we hadn’t, of course, no real Easter decoration. But a huge Easter bunny, made of pure gold decorated our breakfast table. He is terrific! And so huge! About one foot high!
And our golden Easter Bunny has company: In January daddy found in the middle of the street a small Easter bunny which had an ear broken off. “Poor guy” he thought himself and so he lovingly washed the dirt of the bunnys gardener outfit. And today, together with his big brother, he is allowed to sit enthroned on our breakfast table. Please take a look at how proud he is, with his one ear.
“Huh, in the picture, I can see some sheep and Easter eggs!”, the attentive reader will snort. Jap, at the supermarket we were given a few eggs as a present. And when we had a ice cream cup we got a sheep, made of chocolate as a sidedish. But! A single sheep really feels lonely as it is a herd animal! At least four or five sheep must be in a herd to make them feel safe and happy!
So we sacrificed ourselves and ordered more ice cream cups. Fifteen balls of icecream later we looked at our satisfied herd, having an upset tummy but happily.
Whoomph! The week is over…
Daddy always says: “Whoop-whoop-whoop, the year is over!” He doesn’t say that in December, nope, he says it on the first of January. Because on this day he takes his new calendar and fills it out. Every birthday, vacations, conferences, meetings … and when he arrives in October he realises that he has hundreds of appointments… Mummy yells and he says relaxed: “That’s exactly what I’m saying. You just make whoop-whoop-whoop and the year is over!”
And like whoop-whoop-whoop this week was over and I am sitting, today, Wednesday afternoon after Easter, in an airplane in row 10.
Row 10, seat A! A!!! Damn! Verdammt, in that case I have to see the sad forest again!
The very clever among you will now say: “Why didn’t you just simply choose seat F?” I tell you why. It is not possible to choose your seat when flying with a cheap machine! Except you pay for it. But I don’t wanna pay. Then I prefer looking at the sad forest for free again.
After all I am not only sad because of the wrong side in the plane. I am sad too because the nice week with mummy and daddy is whoop-whoop-whoop over now…
Then we, the pilot, the crew and the other 149 passengers, get the clearance for take off to the sky. And what do I see below..?
Germany’s most beautiful Rhine river promenade, according to the Internet, as well as the television tower and the rest of the city …
Blissfully happy I bite off my chocolate-sheeps head…
