DEL
A Fixture
Sometimes the most impact is from those simple memorials posted by Mike where the site and historical context of the landscape also forms part of the experience.
The success of a great statue as well as a simple memorial lies in the response it brings from the visitor.
I always find that my imagination goes into overdrive and I start to build a mental picture of the individuals and events being commemorated.
Everytime I go to Garmisch Partenkirchen I visit the beautiful Franciscan chapel of St Anton that sits on the mountainside above the town.
I visit specifically to see the local family memorials to those who lost their lives in both World Wars. Traditionally these feature photographs and it's chilling to see how young they are.
It's common to see that nearly the entire male line of a family has been lost. (this photo is a fraction of the memorials)
One particular story always gives me pause for thought it's a 21 year old local boy who was studying medicine at university in Munich and was lost in Russia.
I often wonder what this lad could have achieved and how many lives he could have saved had he had a future.
Death really is the great leveller and takes no account of age, colour, creed or nationality.
This is why memorials are and will continue to matter.
Five minutes further on you get to the Berggasthof Panorama. A lunch here is as much a commemoration, life is for living.
The success of a great statue as well as a simple memorial lies in the response it brings from the visitor.
I always find that my imagination goes into overdrive and I start to build a mental picture of the individuals and events being commemorated.
Everytime I go to Garmisch Partenkirchen I visit the beautiful Franciscan chapel of St Anton that sits on the mountainside above the town.
I visit specifically to see the local family memorials to those who lost their lives in both World Wars. Traditionally these feature photographs and it's chilling to see how young they are.
It's common to see that nearly the entire male line of a family has been lost. (this photo is a fraction of the memorials)
One particular story always gives me pause for thought it's a 21 year old local boy who was studying medicine at university in Munich and was lost in Russia.
I often wonder what this lad could have achieved and how many lives he could have saved had he had a future.
Death really is the great leveller and takes no account of age, colour, creed or nationality.
This is why memorials are and will continue to matter.
Five minutes further on you get to the Berggasthof Panorama. A lunch here is as much a commemoration, life is for living.
May your camels all break wind to the South.
