Chinese Version
After I accidentally saw red quince flowers blossom in the Würzburg Residenz Court Garden on the first day of my arrival, I stayed in the court garden for an entire day on the Saturday before Easter Sunday. I think staying in a faraway place and meditating via beautiful flowers is a good way to waste time here, which made me feel good.
While sitting and walking in the flower blooming April court garden, I was not bothered by tearing nor sneezing, the common symptoms of pollen allergy, and I praised myself for my well-prepared trip, as I took with me eye drops to relieve itching, ginseng slices and ginger slices (a home remedy for treating pollen allergy), and alcohol-marinated garlic (used as sterilizing). Being a senior traveling alone, I pay careful attention to avoid getting sick and maintain a good appetite without diarrhea and constipation. To expedite going to the paid restroom, I prepared Euro in coins right after I arrived in Germany. Today, I planned to stay in the garden for an entire day because I knew someone knew about the nearby restrooms. But on the door of the very old restroom in the Residenz there are only German words without symbols. Thinking “Her” is female in English, I guessed “Herren” would be female in German, and I almost embarrassed myself. Actually, “Herren” refers to men and “Damen” refers to women. When I saw the men’s and women’s restrooms with symbols at Frankfurt Airport, I thought it was people friendly, so I took a picture.
When I met families in the garden, I usually took a few more looks at them, as I had noticed that flower loving families were relaxed and joyful while walking in a garden. Being a flower loving solo traveler who is often in a garden, I felt people who love flowers and family carry unspoken joy and kindness.
It was very apparent that people bypassing the bright red quince flowers did not stop to enjoy the quince, unlike the many people who stopped to enjoy the blooming magnolia and take photos of the magnolia flowers in the garden on the left side of the Residenz. Although bright red quince flowers have a big advantage over pale magnolia flowers in terms of color, the former is less-known than the latter and is ignored by many garden goers. Wandering around the quince bush, I tasted the subtle feeling of being left out in the cold from my favorite quince flowers, feeling pity for beauty in my leisure; wandering around the quince bush, I saw a spectacular natural bouquet: in front of the red quince and purple lilac was a large green wall with a door that was shaped by cornelian trees, and at the end of the green wall were blooming pink cherry and white magnolias. In this small corner, my mother’s favorite magnolia, my favorite quince, lilac, and cornelian all presented a panoramic view to me, which created an atmosphere with a vaguely floating feeling and a lingering emotion.
At dusk, a gardener riding on a bike around the gravel road of the garden called out that the garden would be closed soon in English. On my way back home after walking out of the garden, I was intoxicated with the pleasure of watching beautiful flowers all day in the garden and heard someone singing on the roadside from a distance.
Following the music, I went into a side road and saw a male singer sitting on a high chair and holding a microphone singing. There was a black stereo on the ground next to his chair playing the sound track and a green box for tips and a stack of brochures on the ground two meters in front of him. Looking at the scene behind the singer, the sunset splashed gold on the white building to make an elegant and bright artistic background for the singer, I thought he had the good taste to pick this place as his natural stage. Because it was late, the passer-by in a hurry didn’t stop to listen to his song. However, the singer who didn’t mind the missing audience sang beautifully with passion, so I stopped to listen to him sing to show my support. The more I listened to him sing, the more I liked his voice. After finishing the first song, he sang a second song, which was an American pop song that I was very familiar with. However, tonight this song impressed me more than ever before. After enjoying beautiful flowers in a garden for an entire day by myself, I enjoyed the beautiful male voice of “I say love, it is a flower” which was full of emotion. This lyric made me feel that flowers have a soul. After spending a day in the garden with me in their natural form, the flowers waited by the roadside to let the singer express their feelings in such a way that touched me deeply. I felt thankful to attend a special concert of American pop songs with the soul of flowers after doting on flowers in a German garden for an entire day. From the song, I heard my soul: “The flowers I love and my love are in harmony: love is a flower, and flowers contain love.”
Little Episodes
1. 04-16-2022, in this small corner, my mother’s favorite magnolia, my favorite quince, lilac, and cornelian all presented a panoramic view to me, which created an atmosphere with a vaguely floating feeling and a lingering emotion.
2. 04-16-2022, in the Wurzburg Residenz Court Garden in Germany, a threesome family bypassing the blooming quince, the father and the son who was on crutches walking side-by-side in front with empty hands, and the mother with two bags was walking behind wearily, a picture of a mother pampering two big boys:
I remember a scenery that I saw on Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz California a few years ago, a picture of parents pampering their teenage son. Then I remember that my neighbor and friends sighed: “Nowadays, lots of young men are spoiled by their parents” and that some mothers joked about treating their husband as a son. While looking at the threesome family bypassing the blooming quince, I felt that making casual jokes is one of the nice ways to laugh at oneself and feel a sense of relief.
08-2016, on the Natural Bridges State Beach, in Santa Cruz California, a threesome family enjoying the beach, the father on the left, the son in the center, and the mother carrying a big bag on the right.
04-13-2022，many people who stopped to enjoy the blooming magnolia and take photos of the magnolia flowers in the garden on the left side of the Residenz. 【looking at Magnolia】 At dusk, I sat in my favorite place watching magnolia, one of my late mother’s favorites, being loved constantly by many people… I told my mother: “You enjoyed this very beautiful scene, right?”
04-16-2022, people bypassing the bright red quince flowers did not stop to enjoy the quince and I felt sad for this:
3. I was asking my daughter where the restroom is and which one is for females.
04-21-2022, the men’s and women’s restroom with symbols at Frankfurt Airport:
4. At dusk, a singer is singing on the street.
5. The 1979 pop song “The Rose” written by Amanda McBroom. In my memory “I say love, it is a flower” was sung solely by female voices.
Some say love, it is a river, that drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor, that leaves your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower, and you, its only seed
Its the heart afraid of breaking, that never learns to dance
Its the dream afraid of waking, that never takes the chance
Its the one who won’t be taking, who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying, that never learns to live
When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed, that with the sun’s love in the spring becomes the rose