violin underground

My train pass had expired and the sun was bright. With one baby in the carrier and the other in the “buggy” we were walking downtown. And we decided to walk through as many parks as we could. We stopped at every flower so I could teach David their names and we stopped at every fountain because that’s what you do when you’re walking with David and me. And… well... we were walking with ourselves.

The flowers we saw:

• Magnolias
• Daffys (yellow AND white)
• Cherry blossoms
• Tulips
• Bluebells
• Pansies

The fountains we saw:

• Rothschild Park waterfall with a pretend hippo afloat
• “River” along a walking mall with yellow, blue, and green zebra-striped-cow standing proudly in the middle
• Alte Oper’s (The Old Opera’s) enormous spray of water that falls to a pool (perfect for splashing)
• Three nude statue pool (“What’s happening here mommy?” I really didn’t know. I guess nothing really has to be happening if you’re nude.)
• Miniature Alte Oper fountain

 

(photo of Alte Oper and fountain by coeser.de)

By the time we made it downtown and made our intended purchase, we were happy, sun-kissed, and thirsty. We stopped by the children’s museum because we were so excited to have finally found it after unknowingly walking within meters of it dozens of times before.

When I tore David away with the reminder that we were headed to the playground and the promise that we’d come again, we both discovered that we were now parched. After procuring juice, water, and a sleeve of cookies we were off again and dipped into the subway (a new metro card was the aforementioned purchase).

As soon as we found ourselves underground, swelling strains of music pulled us away from our intended platform and we parked ourselves in front of a pair of women who had drawn us in with the pulls of their cello and violin bow. “Zuper!” with a thumbs up was the way one woman described it. A man emptied a mountain of coins (and in the Euro zone, coins mean something) from his pockets to their basket, while smilingly shaking his head. Grinning and clapping David said “This is good music!” over and over again.

It was the most beautifully played music I can remember hearing in a subway or on the street. Truthfully, they didn’t look like they should be playing in a subway. Their music was more suited to an orchestral hall, although their selection of songs went far beyond classical. They might have grandchildren already by their age and their modest clean German attire and hair were everyday but dignified. They played with smiles on their faces, and I can only imagine their motives for leaving their desk-jobs that day to give us a concert.

David had lost all interest in the park and so we stayed and listened to song after song after song. As I smiled and swayed with Sebastian, the duo began playing Moon River. With people streaming around us in the heart of the Frankfurt underground, I was surprised to find my eyes filling with tears.

I think the song made me feel at home and miss home and wish to never leave Frankfurt all at once. But the biggest feeling was of wonder that we had happened upon so much beauty in one moment. David’s eyes sparkling in awe, Sebastian looking up at me with an open mouthed grin, a world full of people who were crossing my path and some who were stopped by the music that was stopping me.

Speaking of the importance that a snippet of time can hold, Elder Neil A. Maxwell an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commented “After all, moments are the molecules that make up eternity, affecting not only ourselves but others.” I wanted that moment to last for eternity. And I wish I could have expressed gratitude for how the music and the people standing near me affected me, how grateful I was that as different as all our lives were, we had so much we shared. Maybe someone saw my tears and they guessed. I don’t know.

Eventually, the park was visited and the sleeve of cookies eaten and we all met daddy at home. At the end of the day I was just grateful. Grateful for days full of sunshine. Grateful for people. I’m recording it to get me through days that are grey. And so I remember these moments when I’m old.