A strange start to a work trip
What luck, the BBC have let me go to CeBIT this year. I didn’t really know much about it before I got the opportunity; I knew it was a massive event with the worlds tech people showing their wears. I will tell you all how it was over the next couple of days. I’ll take plenty of photos too, and post them on flickr.
The main thing I wasn’t aware of was the fact it took place in Hannover, Germany. This was significant to me as I lived in Germany as a child with a father in the military. I was actually born in Rinteln, just outside Hannover. The main significance though, was that my father is buried just outside Hannover in place called ‘Harrenberg’. I have never seen his grave as he died 27th March 1978, when I was only 8 years old and deemed (rightly so) to young.
So as you can imagine an opportunity on a plate for me that I couldn’t turn down. I’ve thought on many occasions of visiting his grave but have either bottled out or just thought “one day” and let it slip from my mind. I’m surprisingly nervous about the whole thing; I didn’t think I would be as this all happened nearly 27 years ago and don’t really feel any acute emotion about the whole thing when it happens to crop up in conversation. Like I said I was very young and therefore wasn’t really sure what was going on at that time, and as time went on it has just been one of those things that happened. I guess the other reason for unrest is that I’m here on my own which means I have nothing else to distract my mind (apart from my trusty laptop and a couple of books).
[thoughts after the visit] The taxi journey there did it’s best to distract me from my thoughts. It was pouring with rain and the guy was touching 110mph, yes that’s MPH. He must have been used to driving at that speed too as he was smoking a fag with one hand on the steering wheel at the time. After a journey of about 10mins and a few detours we finally found the cemetery.
I searched the cemetery using the map and information my mother had given me. I couldn’t find the grave and after a while was beginning to get restless. I rang my mother whom told me where it was from where she remembers. Within 5 mins I’d found it. The map I had did not have the section I needed to find on it. I was feeling fine up until that point, but as soon as I saw the headstone with all our names on there, it was like a wall hit me. I don’t remember a time when I have ever felt like that. After about 5 mins I had composed myself and took some photos and told him that I thought he be proud of me and headed back to the taxi. I called my mum to let her know that I had found it ok, at least that’s what I was suppose to say, that wave hit me again .. blimey.
I went out that evening for a meal to relax, well I say a meal. The Chinese restaurant I went to could not speak any English so after must discussion I ended up with a giant spring roll *nice*. Onward to the rest of my visit.