Landed at the airport around 7am Munich time, walked from Terminal One to Terminal F which is exclusively for El Al. It seems to be an old original terminal – separated from the rest and guarded more carefully by armed soldiers. The main terminal is new – wide aisles, tons of shops and restaurants. You walk about 15-20 minutes to arrive at the old Terminal F. No waiting area inside – passengers only. There’s an enclosed area outside for those who are waiting. I waited till around 10:30 when my mother, Yehudit (aunt) and Ami (cousin – Yehudit’s son) arrived. We met George, a guy around 36 years old, who had been sent by the mayor of Pocking to get us. We then trekked back to my old terminal to pick up Shellie Shapiro who had helped raise funds with Anna Rosmus to restore the memorial.

Pocking

George drove us the 2 hours to Pocking, dropping off Sheila first in Passau (a town around 20 minutes away). Sheila was joining a tour of WW2 vets in progress before meeting us on Friday for the rededication ceremony.

We checked in at our hotel, met the assistant Mayor who welcomed us and informed us that we were going to join Anna in Passau at the Museum of Modern Art (a private museum – we met the owner, a 90 year old man who spoke no English). We had an hour to clean up and unpack, and then George drove us back to Passau.  

Passau

The museum was interesting, the best part being a private tour (the photographers from the local paper and TV were asked to leave) of his room full of around 15-20 original Picassos. He stated that they weren’t ready to be shown until he found the proper building for them.

After the museum, we walked around Passau (by the Danube) for an hour to a library which had been the birthing hospital. One woman we were with had been born there – they showed us around and gave her a gift as a memento from the library store. Anita – a woman from NY who had moved to Passau in the 60s drove us back to Pocking. I left my phone in Anita’s car (it fell out of my pocket as I slept – jet lag). I called her later and made plans to retrieve it on Friday at the memorial ceremony.

Pocking redux

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant (only 3 vegetarian items – Gnocchi in a red sauce, Spaetzle in cream and cheese, and boiled veggies with cheese). We shared all three.

Ami, Mom and I went for a walk around Pocking (15 minutes, max) – everything was closed but Ami did get some ice cream. We then went to bed – asleep by 9pm.

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The photos are as follows:

• Yehudit, my mother, and me on the minibus on the way to Pocking.

• George, Yehudit and Ami near the minibus.

• The programs from the three events we attended. The left one is the tolerance event, the middle is the dedication of the children’s memorial near the memorial my grandfather erected in 1946, and the right one is the Sabbath service in Passau.

• The group in front of the library that used to be a maternity hospital. The woman 3rd from the left was born there. Anita is fourth from the left.

• Ami on the minibus.

• George and my mother.