Our meeting 2011
took place 23-26 June

in

Blankenburg/Harz

The beautiful Harz is worth a visit!

We were confirmed again in this slogan at our meeting in Blankenburg from June 23 to 26.

54 participants again had a wonderful weekend.

As usual we arrived on Thursday in the course of the afternoon and exchanged first thoughts at dinner à la carte in the hotel restaurant.

In addition to our special guests from Australia, Lionel Allen and his daughter Rebecca,

we welcomed new members and some "old" ones which had not been taking part for a couple of years.

With a minute's silence we remembered the members which left us for ever during the previous 12 months.

Friday was dominated by culture: First we went to Quedlinburg by bus. After a short walk  through the old town we had a guided tour of the Chateau. Her Highness Maria Aurora, wife of August the Strong and Provost of the women’s home (beginning of the 18th century) was our guide around this impressive Renaissance Castle from the 16th/17th century. A truly priceless pleasure!

In the afternoon we went to Wernigerode. Free to manoeuvre we could look around  in this almost 900-year-old city ourselves or even take the tourist train to the old Castle at the hill and enjoy the view over the city from the top.

Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time for a trip on the Brocken (highest mountain of the Harz, 1224 m) with the old steam train, but the mountain was hiding in thick clouds anyway.

The evening at the hotel proved to be this time somehow "sportsmanlike": The galley obviously had problems, our patience was put to the test until we had something to eat on our plates. But time passed with a presentation from the diary of Jakob Geibel about his ride with the "Queen Louise" from Wilhelmshaven to SMS "Emden" in Qingdao in spring 1913. Also the comments of Lionel Allen on Cocos (Keeling) Island and the planned memorial service in 2014 were pursued with great interest.

Saturday’s program began with the wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of the Commander of the small cruiser "Emden", Captain Karl von Müller. The Mayor of the city of Blankenburg, Mr Noll, joined us with a flower bouquet. The commemorative speech reminded us all again of the great example this man and his crew which was dominated by his spirit have given us. We honoured the 140 fallen sailors of both vessels, SMS "Emden" and HMAS "Sydney".

During a reception at the Town Hall the Mayor told us about special features and challenges of the city. A guided tour with a lovely lady guide in historical garb

was a journey through past, present and future. She inspired us to return to this beautiful town on the outskirts of the Harz.

After a few hours of relaxation in the afternoon the festive evening in the restaurant of the Castle Hotel rounded off our meeting. Nice atmosphere, good food, quick service and good mood were characteristic for this evening. The reading of an  article by adolf hohlen, participant of the landing party, in the Rhein-EMS Zeitung No. 252 of 28 October 1934 “My Experiences on the Day of Sinking of S.M.S. "Emden" was met with enthusiasm.

Thus the days of the meeting passed very quickly. Everything worked just fine, we were lucky with the weather as we had no rain during the open-air activities. A big thanks to our organizer Dörte who had perfectly prepared everything making this wonderful meeting possible.