There are 14 MOST IMPORTANT PLACES in my seventy-odd years of life on this earth. Those MIPs are Barnstaple, Exeter, Salford, San Sebastian, Stuttgart, Sheffield, Warrington, Moscow, Ronda, Prague, Adelaide, Chalon-sur-Saône, Luxembourg and Maulbronn. They are my Baker’s-Plus Dozen.
In Part 1 I wrote about the first seven, taking me from birth, through childhood, adolescence, student years and careers to the end of my working life.
Part 2 picks up where I left off, as I emigrated to Spain, to fulfil a long-held dream. Interestingly, while the first seven were dominated by the UK, the next seven are all foreign, in Australia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the former Soviet Union, and Spain.
[World Map courtesy of Unsplash]
They represent significant places in my later life journey.
8 Moscow, Soviet Union (now Russia)
In 1989 my wife Jeryl got a call out of the blue from her Russian penfriend Rita. As a result of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost, ordinary Soviet citizens were being allowed to travel outside of the USSR for the first time.
Rita, Sascha and their young daughter would be arriving at London Euston station in a week. Could we pick them up? They were staying with us! First we'd heard of it!
Red Square in Moscow [Photo: CNN]
Well, we live in the northwest in Warrington, a long way from London. At that time the M5 and M6 motorways were in chaos owing to roadworks.
Another problem was that I was in a wheelchair, having ruptured an Achilles tendon playing squash a couple of months previously.
But, hey! It’s not every day - nor even every century! - that you get a visit from a Russian family, so we worked it out.
We enjoyed hosting them and we did lots of fun things. I spoke no Russian and they spoke no English. But with Jeryl as interpreter – she has a degree in Russian – we got on fine.
The thing they loved most was going shopping. They loved ASDA – they couldn’t believe that you could get fresh fruit all year round and meat was freely available!
Move forward a year and they invited us to the Sov U to stay with them. Jeryl wasn’t keen.
She could remember what the country was like when she spent several months there 20 years before as part of her degree.
The queues; the empty food shops; the alcoholism; drug use; brutal police. It didn’t sound promising, but we went anyway.
I was no longer in a wheelchair, the kids were older (6 and 3) - so we did it.
Krasnodar, USSR [Photo: Shutterstock]
We flew to Moscow and spent a few days doing the sights of the capital, before we travelled by train to Krasnodar, which was their hometown, some 24 hours away!
I enjoyed myself immensely. Our hosts were generous to a fault and showed us some lovely sights. The best bit was when the coup d’etat happened that summer while we were in a camp in the mountains, but that’s a story I have written about elsewhere …..
9 Ronda, Malaga, Spain
Our relationship with the City of Dreams (Ciudad Soñada) began in 2000 when Jeryl and I did a tour of Andalucia to celebrate our silver wedding. We stayed in paradores using a 5-night discount card.
Our first port of call was Ronda, and we were knocked out by the place. So much so that the following year we bought a modern apartment with a shared pool in the up-and-coming Barrio de San Francisco. This was to be a bolt-hole for us but also a holiday rental.
Ronda parador in the centre of the photo [Andalucia.org]
Two years later we bought a second property, a falling-down end-terrace bungalow as a DIY project for me. I was about to retire early (55), so would have the time.
Piso Blanco, Ronda [Photo: Paul Whitelock] Casa Blanca with us [Photo: Johnny White]
By 2005 I was divorced and retired.
In 2008 I met a German lady, also called Rita, my Meter Maid*, who was living in a village near Ronda called Montejaque. By the end of that year, I had emigrated to live with her. We married two years later in Maulbronn (qv).
10 Prague, Czech Republic
Back to 2005, Jeryl, son Tom (18) and I went to Prague. Jeryl, a university professor had academic “business” in the Czech capital, and Tom and I tagged along.
Coincidentally, at the very same time our daughter Amy (21) was on an orchestra tour to Prague from her Oxford College. She’s an oboeist.
Prague is a stunning city, straddling both sides of the River Danube.
Prague [Photo: Wikipedia]
With 100 churches and superb beers, Prague is an ideal place for Roman Catholic alcoholics!
11 Adelaide, South Australia
When the UK was still a member of the European Union, there were a number of great opportunities for British citizens, adults and children, to benefit from international educational activities through Socrates and Comenius programmes.
[Image courtesy of lpf.it]
It was part of my brief as an education adviser to promote these and sometimes to lead groups on study visits. I did a few while I worked for St Helens Council and later Sefton Council.
I took part in and led study visits to Asturias, Brussels, Chalon-sur-Saone, Stuttgart and Adelaide over a period of some 25 years.
They were all great experiences, but Adelaide was fascinating. We were there to look at how South Australia schools taught gifted children. We were there for two weeks and in our free time got to see Aborigine life in the Outback, the coast near Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Sydney harbour.
Adelaide, South Australia [Photo: Expedia]
They say, “While the cat’s away, the mice will play” and “What happens in Rome, stays in Rome”, but, whilst a handful of “things” went on within the group of teachers, I have nothing personal to report.
12 Chalon-sur-Saône, France
Whilst I was working for St Helens Council, one of my projects was to set up work experience programmes for sixth formers in our schools with our twin towns in France and Germany.
I wrote in Part 1 about St Helens, the so-called “glass town” (Pilkington’s had a huge safety glass manufacturing plant in the town) and its link with Stuttgart (qv).
Chalon-sur-Saone [Photo: Expedia]
In the case of Chalon-sur-Saone in Burgundy the work experience went from nowhere to somewhere in double-quick time, as a result of my efforts, together with Mme “Guite” Ligier, my counterpart in the French “glass town”.
I had the opportunity to visit Chalon a number of times and to host the French “delegation” when they visited St Helens. We all became great friends during that time.
As was the case in Adelaide (qv), the number of opportunities “to play away from home” were many, but I resisted the temptation.
13 Luxembourg
I’ve been to Luxembourg a lot over the years.
Jeryl and I used to visit our good friends from Salford Uni, Jac and Dan, fairly frequently.
They both got jobs as translators for the European Commission after graduation,
After our kids were born we continued to visit.
Luxembourg Ville [Photo: Outdoor Active]
Jac and Dan split up when their children were young and a few years later Dan sadly committed suicide, leaving Jac a widow with sole care of two young children.
Jac resigned from the EC and set up as a piano teacher, working from home, which gave her more flexibility vis-à-vis Miriam and Robbie.
I visited her on my own in 2004 while I was staying with my friend Alan’s parents-in-law in Metz (France), which is just down the road. My marriage was coming to an end, so I was almost available for a romance, BUT NOTHING HAPPENED.
Wind the clock forward a few years to 2008. Jac knew that I was divorced, retired and miserable.
She also knew that I was pretty good with my hands (DIY!). She made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
“Would you come out to Luxembourg and help my daughter and son-in-law do up a house I bought them? I’ll pay for your flights, accommodate and feed you and pay for “treats”.
I said: “Yes” without hesitation.
I spent the whole summer there helping with the house, doing jobs at Jac’s also, eg decorating, gardening and sorting out the chaos that was her garage and workshop.
[Image courtesy of Youtube]
We had a summer romance. I was smitten, Jac less so and our relationship came to an end before it really started.
I flew direct to Spain in order to drown my sorrows in Ronda, met Rita and the rest is history…..
14 Maulbronn, Germany
Maulbronn? Why?
The aforementioned Rita is German and had lived in the Baden-Württemberg town with her second husband Uli.
Maulbronn happens to be home to one of the most exquisite abbeys in the whole of Germany.
Famous pupils at the attached seminary include Hermann Hesse, author of “Steppenwolf”, who started there in 1827.
Maulbronn Abbey [YouTube]
When we decided to get married, it was logical to do so in Germany. We decided on Maulbronn because it’s stunningly beautiful; it was easily accessible to most of Rita’s family; and she was best friends with Eva, who was the administrator for the abbey.
Organising a wedding in Germany from Spain was a challenge to say the least, but we managed it.
I loved the whole occasion. The chapel was full. Rita was well-known in the area.
Our wedding in Maulbronn [Photo: HMR]
The reception - drinks and snacks - was outside in the forecourt, and many friends came along to say hello.
Then we were whisked away to the private reception at a fabulous restaurant, in the hills above Talheim, where we enjoyed a private meal with speeches and a dance.
Then, it was back to the hotel in Talheim village where most of us were staying. Some of the guests drank till dawn - and paid the price the next day!
Conclusion
So, that concludes my Baker's-Dozen-Plus MIPs. Whether there will be new places in the coming years, I doubt. Maybe Cuba, if I ever get there.
Check out Part 1 here: The Top Dozen MIPs in My Life – Part 1
© Pablo de Ronda
Links:
Beginning at the beginning
My Special Places in Spain
The houses that Jack built! Part 1
The houses that Jack built! Part 2
The houses that Jack built! - Secret Serrania de Ronda
The Story of El Rincón in Ronda 2005 - 2010
Photos:
Andalucia.org, Britannia, CNN, Expedia, Facebook, Fenix.info, HMR, lpf.it, Outdooractive, Shutterstock, Unsplash, Wikipedia, YouTube
Tags:
Adelaide, Andalucia.org, CNN, Chalon-sur-Saône, Cuba, Czech Republic, Expedia, Facebook, Fenix.info, France, Germany, HMR, lpf.it, Luxembourg, Malaga, Maulbronn, Moscow, Outdooractive, Pablo de Ronda, Prague, Ronda, Russia, Shutterstock, South Australia, Soviet Union, Spain, Unsplash, YouTube
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