Inspired by my daughter's post about our King, I want to tell you a
little episode from my mother's life, born 1915. It was such an
unforgettable experience for her, that she often told us this little
true story:
König Wilhelm II von Württemberg used to walk his two beloved
little dogs daily himself, around his domicil Marienwahl. They were
pretty white German Spitz dogs. He always wore a traditional hunter's suit with matching felt hat, and a walking stick belonged to him as
well.
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| Wilhelm II. with one of this Spitz dogs, Rubi or Ali. |
When my mum was a little girl, she often went (of course on foot)
to visit her grandmother, who lived in a suburb of Ludwigsburg, and she had to
pass the corner where the King lived. At this time nobody had heard
about bodyguards!
She often saw him, and once he noticed her, asked her name
and patted her hair. So she made a deep courtsey and little Else felt
very lucky about this great honour.
 |
| Little Else - my grandmother - with her mother, at about the age she met the king. |
Later in her life, she had a little white Spitz dog herself, called Lore. Maybe it was a hommage to this popular King!
- - - End of guest post - - -
When I was writing my review to "Der gelernte König", I thought about including my grandma's encounter with the king. But as I was not entirely sure of it and did not want to write anything that wasn't true, I left it out.
My Mum has a better memory than I, and the episode does deserve its own post, doesn't it?
This is a great story! It certainly does deserve it's own post. Too bad the world isn't so innocent today.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kathy! If I am not mistaken, this is your first visit (or at least your first comment) here - welcome :-)
DeleteYou're right, it would be unthinkable today of parents to let such a little girl walk the long way from home to grandma and back. But it was perfectly normal back then.
That is true, nobody would let his little child go for a walk about several kilometers, and no King would walk on his own!
DeleteWhat a fabulous story - wonderful. And Wilhelm does sound like a gutes Ei!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mike. Yes, he was; he felt personally responsible for the well-being of his country and his people.
DeleteThank you, Mike, for your kind comment.
DeleteWhat a lovely story! And what a different world it was.I thank your Mom for writing this for us. My mother was also born in 1915. My grandmother was born in 1897 in Milwaukee, a very German city at the time.Life is so interesting, at its best.
ReplyDeleteIt truly was a different world back then. No paparazzi who would have been lurking around the former king's house all the time! (Of course there were paparazzi then, too, but they did not set up watch 24/7 at the door of every celebrity.) I didn't know Milwaukee was a "very German city" once!
DeleteHello Kristi,
Deletethen your mother would have been also 100 years old, like mine. I am glad that you liked my little story of her life.
What a beautiful story and I am very sure that it is true. More importantly, how clearly that picture ties you to your past and the past of your country. Thank your mother for us, will you?
ReplyDeleteIt is true; my grandmother was not one to make up something like that ;-)
DeleteMy mother reads your comments, too, and maybe she will reply as well.
Thank you for your kind comment!
DeleteLittle stories like that are certainly worth passing on from generation to generation :)
ReplyDeleteThey are, Monica! But this one will end here - my sister and I are the last generation of this branch of the family, and I don't know whether my uncle's children and grandchildren know of the episode.
DeleteOh yes, I suppose, your cousins also know this episode, grandmother Else told them as well, but only, when they were children, maybe in the meantime they have forgotten. Next time we meet we will refresh their remembrance!! ;-)
DeleteI LOVED this. I'm so pleased that your mum wrote of her delightful childhood story. My mother was born in 1913.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lovely little story, isn't it! Actually, it was my grandmother's childhood - my Mum was born more than 20 years after the kind died ;-)
DeleteOf course I meant "after the king died".
DeleteNan, thank you for your kind comment! Then our mothers experienced both World Wars, that must have been hard. My mum's father was shot in France in WWI.
DeleteI left out the word mum's before delightful. Sorry.
DeleteHow wonderful, isn't it, that a kindly gesture can reverberate down the years like this! a lovely post (and photo)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenny! There must be many families in my area where similar little stories about encounters with the king are handed down the generations.
DeleteIt's little actions like that and the stories that live on after them that make reputations and mould our feelings, not just for the individual, but for that which they represent.
ReplyDeleteTrue, and such little episodes to make a person whom we never met (and never will meet) much more real to us, don't they.
DeleteYou must know how much I love this true story!! See, real life is better than fiction every time!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post, Meike's Mum!
It certainly is, Kay! Glad you liked this little episode from my grandmother's life.
Delete