|
It was the last morning of our recent visit to Oberammergau for the Passion Play, and my cousins and I were lingering at the breakfast table. Michael, our hotel manager, said that in a few minutes there would be a surprise, but I thought little of it. Some sort of special cake, perhaps, or would he be bringing his 18-month-old son in to see us?
A few minutes later he came back, accompanied by two other men, one of whom came over to where I was sitting. He introduced himself as the Mayor of Oberammergau, and said that he understood that I had first been to the Play 50 years ago, and that I had returned several times since then. He said that they would like to thank me, and presented me with a book of pictures of the Play, on behalf of the people of Oberammergau. On the flyleaf he had written: ‘Dear Mrs. Stredwick, We thank you so much for your constant and cordial visits of the Oberammergau Passion Play 1960 so in the meantime 50 years. We wish you all the best and hope to see you again for the next Passion Plays.... Best regards. Arno Nunn, Mayor, Community of Oberammergau.’
The second man was a Press photographer/reporter. My cousins and I posed with the Mayor and Michael for a photograph, and this, along with a good write-up, has since appeared in one of their newspapers. My cousins had been 'in the know', as Michael had been liaising with them, and had made them responsible for getting me to breakfast on time!
So, that was the surprise, and I couldn't have asked for a nicer one.
| |
|
