Monday, March 14, 2011

A German Mill in Baden Baden

One of my first cards that I received from my Grandparents was a novelty card.  It was a beautiful card from Baden-Baden, Germany with an old mill and water wheel on the front of it.  The scene was so pretty and peaceful but the words where all in German.  My Grandfather was born and raised in Baden-Baden until he was 8 years old.  Both he and my grandmother were fluent in German and at one time I had knowledge of what was written on the card.  I have since used Google Translate but since it is an old version of the language something was literally lost in translation.  But alas it is about a mill and how much the author loved that mill.  

What made this card so special, aside from my Grandparents giving it to me, was that when you opened the little flap a row of pictures unfolded.  These tiny little pictures were real photographs taken in Baden-Baden.  I can remember them telling me the stories about Germany and pointing out different sites on the card.  I am not sure how many times I brought them that card so they could repeat those stories.  Still to this day I want to visit there and walk the same streets my grandfather did when he was a child.

The card is a very delicate and the pictures can easily tear but somehow it has survived all these years in near mint condition.  More than likely its condition can be contributed to my grandparents taking the time to teach me on how to care for it and my love for them.  Sadly my beautiful Grandmother has passed away years ago and my Grandfather doesn't remember things as well as he used to.  And so this card will remain in my private collection to be passed down to my grandchildren.  I will tell them those same stories that their Great Great Grandparents told me and how my Grandpa lived in Baden-Baden Germany as a boy.

1 comment:

Amanda said...

This card is lovely... and so are the stories that go along with it! Thanks for sharing :)