Monday, January 20, 2025
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In Memory of Ida from Austria
Ida and her husband, my cousin Ernest, had left Austria in the early 1950ies. This was in my early childhood, and so my first real memories of Ida and Ernest date back to the late 1950ies or the beginning 1960ies when a first visit of Austria with their children took place. Ida and Ernest had become Canadians, but also had preserved an adequate space for Austria in their hearts. Repeatedly trips to their former home-country followed to see their numerous relatives. So we met several times and have thus maintained a relationship despite differences in age, also across oceans and over long distances. Unfortunately, Ernest passed away several years ago and the frequency of Ida´s stays in Austria got reduced. The image above from the year 2012 shows Ida and me with lake Traunsee and Mount Traunstein in the background, both typical features of the landscape were she and Ernest had been born and lived before they went to Canada. And there was no telephone call, no Skype-conversation that Ida - beyond family-related questions - did not ask how things were going in the „Salzkammergut“, a lake district with mountains and glaciers, which is one of the most beautiful areas of Austria and also well-known for salt mines that have been exploited over almost 3000 years. Because of her relatives in Austria and the great atmosphere of the region, she was still very much attached to her former home. However, as Canada and her family have become central in Ida`s life, she will be buried there, but may this memory from Austria serve as a virtual bit of native soil, which she also might have liked to be buried in.
May she now rest in peace in Canadian soil and thus remain close to her family,
Wolfgang
