it's on in bonn: Beethoven House

On Monday, the kids & I headed into Bonn to meet Matt & his students & tour the house where Beethoven was born. On the way, our tram stopped and everyone got off. I didn't understand the announcement, but just followed suit. As we were following the crowd, we saw that another tram was stopped in front of ours, as was an ambulance. We really had no choice but to walk between the tram & ambulance to cross the street. As we did this, we walked very close to the medics working on a man. They were trying to revive him and didn't seem to be successful. It was pretty shocking and, of course, my little birds were staring with their eyes bugging out. When we got across the street, I stopped and was met with a barrage of questions. I just told the kids, I don't know what happened, but it looks like that man needs help. Let's take a moment to think good thoughts for him and for the people trying to help him. That's all we can do. Both kids closed their eyes and whispered and then shared what they thought. They were really sweet and surprisingly strong and matter of fact. Luckily, we were close to a stop that I am familiar with. We skipped meeting Matt at AIB and went straight to Beethoven Haus. We were a bit shaken, but moved on.

The house was remarkable! It is the only house still standing of the 9 houses Beethoven lived in during his lifetime. There is only one painting of a member of his family, his Grandfather, also Ludwig Van Beethoven. He was also his Godfather, hence the same name and he was the first in the family to move from baking to music. We got to see Beethoven's first composition. It said he was 10 when he wrote it, but he was really 11. (His father lied to make him seem more like Mozart). I was surprised at how open to people (& the elements) the artifacts were. They'd be behind thick glass & lasers in the U.S. We also saw the first "piano" that he learned on and hearing aides that he used when his hearing worsened and eventually failed. We also saw the room where he was actually born.

When we got home, Matt asked the kids to draw something that they saw that day. They both went to town drawing pictures of things in Beethoven's house. Even when we think they're not paying attention, they're soaking it in.

At dinner, there was a lot of talk about illness, death & dying. I went to bed thinking about how life is so out of our control, even though we like to think otherwise. While I wish we could help our kids stay innocent and little forever, it can't be so. They're going to learn some hard lessons whether we like it or not. Just glad we can be there to help them figure it out.

Sorry for the bummer post! On to happier things!

Lily & Ben & Beethoven's house (no pictures inside)