Below: My brother, Immo, who lives in the UK spent a week with us in March 2023. We visited live jazz venue's, the Bishop Tutu and the Simon's Town Museums, the Rupert Museum in Stellenbosch and more. We also visited our parents Sunday afternoon haunt: Muratie wine farm. Immo had not been back since those days: 1956-1959. I told him what we did not know then, the history of a VOC Knecht and a slave women whose freedom the Knecht had bought. The owners over the centuries are recorded on the board in the picture below. When we visited in the 1950's Georg Paul von Canitz was the artist and owner of Muratie (below left). He was friends with scientist Perold who is credited with 'inventing' the cultivar Pinotage. Apparently Perold invention happened on Muratie and the adjoining farm. Bottom left is a Pierneef (at Rupert Museum) which intrigued us as it depicts Karibib where our fathergrew up as a child in the 1920s.
Below: During Dec 2022 and Jan 2023 grandson Gabs and Christine's daughter Leonie visited us. With Gabs I climbed Table Mountain via Skeleton Gorge, across the top to the cable car, where Christine collected us by car at the bottom (of the cable station). It took 5 hours, and despite enjoying the hike/climb immensely, I think it was the last climb up Table Mountain during this life!
Sunset from Berkley across the Bay area when visiting Frank Hirtz and Diane Wolf
Happy and beautiful days, autumn, halloween and (baking) apple pie, visiting Zindzi, Jeremy and grandchildren Jude and Aya, October 2019.
In July 2018, Alicja Beksinska graduated and is now a qualified doctor. Here she is seen with her brother Joe, her partner and her parents.
Eva Kleinschmidt (1916 - 2015) born Jatow. An inscription on the gravestone of her sister Ruth, inaugurated and celebrated with champagne in November 2017. The 3 adjacent gravestones are of Frieda Jatow (mother of Ruth and Eva) and Frieda's son Hermann (Männe) jr., and his wife Lukke.
Eazy and Breezy (Jude and Horst) in Noe Valley, SF, California, June 2016
With Ayala, 8 months old at Golden Gate Bridge, CA,, June 2016
|
|
| A photo essay on the life and times of Eva Kleinschmidt (1916-2015) |
| Essay in memory of my mother who died 29 November 2015.docx |
Heidi, my sister, passed away 17 May 2016. We said our farewell to her on 25 May, in Echo, Oregon, USA. See a picture exhibition about Heidi's life under 'Biographical on Horst' and go to 'Family events'.
| HK's words at Heidi's wake at Hat Rock, Columbia River, Oregon, USA |
| additional_pics_heidi_etc.pptx |
Ayala
On 22 September 2015, Ayala Belle Surgerman was born. She is our third grandchild, born to Zindzi and husband Jeremy who live in San Francisco. Ayala has an older brother Jude who is nearly three. Our other grandchild is Gabriel, the son of Leonie. He's 21 and at university.
As a new grandpa, I am proud and happy. And she is beautiful!
Horst.
As a new grandpa, I am proud and happy. And she is beautiful!
Horst.
Today, 29th November 2015, my mother, Eva Kleinschmidt, died, aged 99 and seven months. She died in Swakopmund, Namibia. I was fortunate to spend nearly 2 weeks with her a month ago. When I said good-bye we both knew we may not see each other again. We, the siblings, Immo, Heidi and are maybe more affected by sadness than others, but we equally we feel her life may be celebrated; she lived nearly to be 100.
I shall be going to Namibia tomorrow. I promised to put a picture book together of her life. I did this in great haste. It is full of gaps and probably mistakes in the titles to these old photographs. Your additions to the pictures, corrections or comments are most welcome.
I shall be going to Namibia tomorrow. I promised to put a picture book together of her life. I did this in great haste. It is full of gaps and probably mistakes in the titles to these old photographs. Your additions to the pictures, corrections or comments are most welcome.
On 14 April 2016, our mother turned 99. She lives in a frail-care home in Swakopmund, Namibia. The love and care she receives at the Lions Home is exemplary, as the photo's also demonstrate.
We call our mother Mutti. I was with her last week when she turned 99! She remains well in body and mind. The celebration she wanted was for the two of us to have lunch together, which happened at the Hansa Hotel. Two waitresses sang happy birthday to her and, after the meal, produced a desert on the plate of which 'happy birthday' was emblazoned in frozen chocolate.
In the morning we had the usual coffee at Woermann & Brock and the staff offered her a thick slice of cake - see photo below. W&B is her favourite haunt. She's gone there to have coffee for countless years.
In the early morning I joined the Lions Home staff who entered her room at 7am to sing 'happy birthday'. See photo's. She said she did not mind being woken like that. In case you have any doubt, what I am holding, to hand to her, is a bunch of flowers! On the photo's you can see how several nurses bent down to her after the 'formal' part was over, to recite a poem or prayer to her.
Besides the many messages and flowers people also stopped us wherever we went in town, to congratulate her. I had arranged for the German Radio service to congratulate her on behalf of her children, their spouses, her grand and great grand children - all mentioned by name. They broad-cast it twice on the day and she was very pleased to hear this.
That evening I sat at the jetty restaurant with a glass of wine and toasted the good day we had. Mutti was long asleep by then. She seeks to get under her covers by 5pm these days, but not without having had a glass of wine with lunch and another with early dinner.
The last photo is of Mutti and I in the yard behind the Schmerenbeck house, now the home of Peter and Auriol Müller, a very convivial space.
In the morning we had the usual coffee at Woermann & Brock and the staff offered her a thick slice of cake - see photo below. W&B is her favourite haunt. She's gone there to have coffee for countless years.
In the early morning I joined the Lions Home staff who entered her room at 7am to sing 'happy birthday'. See photo's. She said she did not mind being woken like that. In case you have any doubt, what I am holding, to hand to her, is a bunch of flowers! On the photo's you can see how several nurses bent down to her after the 'formal' part was over, to recite a poem or prayer to her.
Besides the many messages and flowers people also stopped us wherever we went in town, to congratulate her. I had arranged for the German Radio service to congratulate her on behalf of her children, their spouses, her grand and great grand children - all mentioned by name. They broad-cast it twice on the day and she was very pleased to hear this.
That evening I sat at the jetty restaurant with a glass of wine and toasted the good day we had. Mutti was long asleep by then. She seeks to get under her covers by 5pm these days, but not without having had a glass of wine with lunch and another with early dinner.
The last photo is of Mutti and I in the yard behind the Schmerenbeck house, now the home of Peter and Auriol Müller, a very convivial space.
