We live on Pelikanova Ulice (street) West of the Castle in a town house.
Not too far from our home the Špilberk Castle is overlooking the town. It has a park where I will play later.
The castle, built in the thirteenth century, held much history. It presided on the hilltop of the town of Brno, where I was born, in the southern Moravia, looking after the happy years of my childhood.
Many hundreds of years before I was born, in 1560, the town of Brno had bought the castle and made it into a municipal fortress. My schoolteacher had told us, that the bastion fortifications of Špilberk helped Brno to defend itself against Swedish raids during the Thirty Years’ War, and then successful defense led to further fortification and the strengthening of the military function of the fortress.
I also learned that, after losing The Battle of White Mountain (in Czech: Bílá hora) on November 8th, 1620 the leading Moravian members, of the anti-Habsburg insurrection, lived, imprisoned in Špilberk for several years. The battle marked the end of the Bohemian period of the Thirty Years’ War.
With all this history behind us, I felt safe. My family had lived in this town ever since my grandfather; Moritz owned his business in wholesale apparel.
We live west of the Castle in a town house. We are upstairs and my grandparents downstairs. My Grandmother, Gisella, loves to read. Every day I see her reading her newspaper. She wears fashionable clothes and smells of spices. I relish her baked Strudels, those with apples or with mushrooms and red cabbage. She has a quiet smile and often gives me wise advice:
“Anita: You need to learn manners”.
I run out of the door. Of course, I am a bit of a Tomboy and do not care about manners. I am not fond of dolls either. I want to be a doctor, actually a surgeon.
My father works hard. I do not see him as often, except on the weekend when we go to the club with my grandfather. We belong to a Tennis Club. He is teaching me to play, but it is only a few hours a week. I always look forward to the days we go. I have to wear a special tennis outfit.
I have great memories of learning to play with my father. I cherished those memories of those few hours a week. He held, at the time the highest place in my heart.
We do not live far from the river named Svratka that meanders through town. A steamboat also goes to the Lake, and we take it with my grandparents on Sunday sometimes often stopping at castle Veveří built by Duke Conrad of Brno.
Needless to say my perception of my childhood was surrounded with Kings, Queens and Dukes and could never prepare me for the events that will follow these happy years.
Darina Dvorak is a friend of the family a few house down. She and my mother are good friends. They speak German together. My mother is very fluent in it. She attended school in Vienna and has an accent, I used to make fun of..
Little did I know, I would live my entire life with one too.
Her family lived on the border next to Austria. That area is called the Sudentenland(1). People there speak German too.
Much was happening in our country during the years preceding my coming along. The Paris Peace Conference held in Paris in 1919 had approved the Czechoslovak Republic. The full boundaries of the country and the organization of its government were finally established in the Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920. During the years following this event, a renewed hope for peace and economic growth was in the air.
I am attending a secular school and enjoy learning. I have no difficulty in school, have B+ without trying. My teachers also are praising my attendance. Mrs. Vodka, that is what we call her, her name is probably Vodkta. She is tall and relentless about our good behavior. Isle is sitting next to me and we are drawing a map of Europe. A boy, sitting a few seats ahead has just sent his latest secret message in his fountain pen cloth blotter. When Mrs. Vodka is writing on the blackboard, I quickly pick it up. A piece of paper inside the blotter is hidden and says: “Did you bring the sugar cubes?”. I jot down an answer. “Yes.” And slide the blotter back on the floor.
I remember a fair popularity among my school friends. By then my younger brother, Michael was born and must have been three or so..
Copyrights 2013, Marion Stahl
Anita 