Canada

Natural Splendour of the Arrow Lakes

/ Peter Klopp / 39 Comments

Wednesday’s Photos

Occasionally I will post a video highlighting the natural splendour of the Arrow Lake region in the West Kootenays, BC, Canada. Technically, a video consists of thousands of individual images, which when strung together create the illusion of motion. The original one hour long video recording was reduced to just over a minute. It creates an impressive video effect. In my video editing program I accelerated the slowly moving clouds by a factor of 50 and 75. Because no frames have been lost in the process, the video file still kept a size of over 40 MB. The Fauquier-Needles ferry takes  five minutes to cross the lake, while on this accelerated video it takes only a few seconds. Enjoy.

Chapter 35 of the Peter and Gertrud Klopp Story – Part II

/ Peter Klopp / 29 Comments
Biene at the Keglers April 65

From Left to Right: Helga Kegler, Aunt Mieze, Mother, Biene, Peter and my Sister Eka –

Waiting for a Sign of Life from Biene

A Unique Kind of Love – Part 2

In April of 1965, Biene’s parents gave her permission to see me one last time, before I emigrated to Canada. It surprised me at the time that they were so generous as to grant her several days to be with me. Later on it dawned on me that they were not counting on our relationship to last with such a long period of separation that lay ahead of us. So a little bit of generosity would help to sweeten for her the farewell, which they expected to be the beginning of the end of her relationship with me.

mill

Old Mill at Watzenborn-Steinberg (Pohlheim) – 1965

Our rendezvous gave us the last opportunity to be close together at my mother’s place, to feel each other’s presence on our walks over the greening fields, and to hold hands while contemplating our future in blissful anticipation in front of the historic mill in Watzenborn-Steinberg. Experiencing the pleasures of an occasional kiss, given shyly, yet so passionately generated a deeply felt longing, which was to colour and penetrate the sentiments in our correspondence  during our year-long separation. But for their ultimate fulfilment these tender feelings had to wait on the back burner of Father Time, while our fervently written letters brought us nearer to each other on a much higher plane than possible in any other way.

When problems suddenly and unexpectedly sprang up from parental opposition to our wedding plans, our love as if by divine order was tested to the very limits and almost to the point of despair. The crisis also brought to light the two different ways of handling a given problematic situation. Biene was always trying to see the other side, feeling empathy even for people who opposed her decisions, and showing flexibility and openness for alternate solutions and compromises. By contrast, guided by a mathematical mind set, I perceived in human relationships the need to connect two events in the shortest possible manner, deciding on a carefully planned course of action, and once perceived as the right path pursuing it tenaciously and yes, I admit, often stubbornly. While each way has its own peculiar strengths and weaknesses, containing a recipe for rocky and often turbulent times to come, the benefits far outweigh the negative aspects.  As it turned out in the end the two opposite characteristics merged in  a complementary fashion to pave the way to a successful marriage.

 

 

Natural Splendour of the Arrow Lakes

/ Peter Klopp / 34 Comments

Wednesday’s Photos

Photo Essay

After so much praise Winter should say good-bye and let Spring have her say.
Arriving at the Fauquier Boat Dock

Arriving at the Fauquier Boat Dock

Rose Hips Ready for Spring

Rose Hips Ready for Spring

Fungus Growth on a Birch Tree

Fungus Growth on a Birch Tree

There are three human figures hidden in the ice. Can you see them?

There are three human figures hidden in the ice. Can you see them?

Beautiful Ingorsol Mountain

Beautiful Ingersoll Mountain Viewed through a Frame of Driftwood

You can also view my photo stream at flickr.com. Photos are taken mostly from the Arrow Lakes area. Simply search for Peter Klopp under people.

Chapter 35 of the Peter and Gertrud Klopp Story – Part I

/ Peter Klopp / 31 Comments

Waiting for a Sign of Life from Biene

“The nature of the epistolary genre was revealed to me: a form of writing devoted to another person. Novels, poems, and so on, were texts into which others were free to enter, or not. Letters, on the other hand, did not exist without the other person, and their very mission, their significance, was the epiphany of the recipient.”
― Amélie Nothomb, Life Form

60

Peter and Biene – On their last Rendezvous in Germany April 1965

A Unique Kind of Love – Part 1

Looking back at our story of over fifty years ago, I do not hesitate one moment to assert that the kind of love between Biene and me, evolving at a snail’s pace over a period of four years has been rather unique among the more common ‘boy-meets-girl’ relationships. Before Biene broke lose from her parental ties and finally joined me in Canada to become my wife, we had met only six times. These were very short visits not longer than half a day for most of our encounters.

In the judgment of society’s accumulated wisdom on love relationships there was not enough time to really get to know each other. The verdict on our chances to succeed would have been abundantly clear. Considering that we did not have the time to test the turbulent waters of a future joint venture such as marriage, our plans to marry would have been declared as doomed to failure right from the very beginning. Being confronted with a seemingly insoluble mystery, one feels compelled to search for an explanation.

My dear readers of the Klopp family blog, who have been following me for quite some time, you already know at least in part the reason for the happy end to our story. Hundreds of letters have been travelling back and forth, first within Germany,  then between Canada and Biene’s hometown, then between Calgary and Didsbury, and last but by no means least again between Canada and Velbert. I published a few of these heart-felt letters to give my readers a sense of the nature of our most unusual epistolary relationship. On my next post I will attempt to throw some light on the manner in which Biene and I differ when confronted with complex issues in a time of crisis.

 

 

Natural Splendour of the Arrow Lakes

/ Peter Klopp / 39 Comments

Wednesday’s Photos

Incredible Accumulations of Snow

There seems to be no proper balance of climate on this planet of ours. Some regions, even though they are located on the same latitude, get very little or no snow at all. People from these snow poverty stricken areas complain when they look at my pictures. And I reply you can have half of this white stuff, and we would still have more than enough. Oh well, as President Carter so wisely once stated, nothing is fair in life. I hope when viewing my pictures, you get a sense how our winters have been in the last couple of years. Enjoy!

Backyard Accumulations

Masses of Snow in our Backyard

Casting Shadows

Casting Shadows

Golf Course

Ingersol Mountain on a Wintery Day

Snow Sculpture

Snow Sculpture at the Boat Dock

Snow Tunnel

Giant Snow Tunnel at Taite Creek

You can also view my photo stream at flickr.com. Photos are taken mostly from the Arrow Lakes area. Simply search for Peter Klopp under people.

Chapter 34 of the Peter and Gertrud Klopp Story – Part VIII

/ Peter Klopp / 26 Comments
Manchester-england - tourist-destination

Manchester, England – Photo Credit: tourist-destinations.com

Biene’s Last Letter from England

December 10th, 1965 Didsbury

My dear love Peter,

As usual I can just drop a few lines although I am dying to write you all I have on my mind. Your last letter contained quite a lot of exciting news concerning my coming to you in Canada. I feel so relieved that everything is set going for it. I think the conditions are quite sensible and I do agree with them. Peter, imagine we both will get married in less than half a year. On the one hand it seems quite natural to me to get married to you because I cannot imagine another husband for me than you. Yet on the other hand it seems like an unbelievable marvellous wonder, which only happens in dreams and fairy-tales. The thought of it is really overwhelming me with thousands of exciting feelings.

On the 23rd I am flying home. I booked my flight yesterday in town. I am afraid that I will have to face much trouble at home. Yet I feel strong enough to defend my cause. My brother has caused all my relatives to write to me in order to bring me to reason. Are we really that foolish, Peter? I admit that our plans are extraordinary, yet the more I think it over the more I feel that we are doing nothing wrong. I must convince my family! I have so many arguments. But perhaps on both sides the emotional sphere is more powerful than reason, and since strong feelings are involved it will be difficult to come to terms. Oh I really wish I could see clear. At home I will see.

Mrs. Lande often wonders where I get all my patience from and why nothing can shake me and then she says that she really wished to know you because judging from me you must be a really marvellous man to make me always so happy. Do you know Peter that it is about a year ago that I realized how much I am in love with you? It was after the ‘Don Giovanni’ opera, after I had given you the little good luck charm, the magic ‘Glücksbringer’ and after you had left me, and the train had disappeared. I suddenly felt for the first time that I could never live anymore without you loving me. This discovery shook me so very much and stirred up all my feelings and frightened me to such a degree that I was really ill at night and then I wrote to you and then … oh Peter, I sometimes cannot believe that all I had so desperately wished in that night has come true. I do not believe in magic at all, yet you must admit that it was a strange coincidence that I gave you the ‘Glücksbringer’ just on that particular night. 

Yours for ever Gertrud

After this passionately written letter more than two weeks passed until I received a card, which did not even arrive on time for Christmas, because it had been sent by surface mail. But her last letter from England was so heart-warming that its message of courage and love sustained me through the darkest days of the season. In quick succession I jotted down all my thoughts about the best possible strategy for Biene’s handling of parental opposition to our plans. I decided to keep writing in small instalments and wait, until I had received word from Biene before sending off the compiled letters. This method also served to bridge the time. However, as Christmas was drawing near, worries about how Biene was making out in her struggle with her parents occupied my heart and soul. Was it not exactly two years ago that I had worried about losing her forever during the gloomy days in the army? Should it be possible that her parents gain the upper hand? Would they be able to soften her resolve to come and marry me in the spring? With no Christmas greetings from Biene or from her parents the stage was set for the loneliest Christmas of my entire life.