From August 30 to September 1, 10 families traveled with the Kinderplanet to the state capital of Brandenburg, Potsdam. The UNESCO World Heritage city is beautifully situated in the middle of castles and gardens on the idyllic Havel lakes. It is a very diverse and popular cultural city. Our families were able to spend a wonderful weekend there together.
We were all accommodated in the youth hostel in the Babelsberg district. Our weekend began on Friday with a small welcome coffee. In the evening, all the families met in the common group room after dinner. There we remembered all the little angels. We lit candles, shared memories and experiences, played with our siblings and simply spent the evening together.
The next morning after breakfast, we went straight onto the boat for the castle tour. From the water, we got a special view of the beauty of the city and the surrounding area. In the afternoon, we enjoyed delicious coffee and cake together in the Dutch Quarter. After dinner back at the youth hostel, our varied evening program began. In addition to conversations, games and the obligatory knowledge quiz (this time about Potsdam, of course), the families were offered Kintsugi. This is a Japanese handicraft technique in which the families were able to reassemble a broken heart shell with gold glue. For our families, grieving for their own child feels similar to this destroyed bowl. It is as if they have shattered into pieces and the pieces no longer fit together properly. But something new and unique can emerge from what has been broken. The scars will remain. The grief also remains. But it changes. And so the small repaired heart is symbolic of our own grief.
On Sunday morning after breakfast, the wonderful time was unfortunately already over and it was time to say goodbye. But not without formulating a wish for the next year. All the wishes were written down on magic paper and then sent to heaven to be fulfilled. A wonderful weekend came to an end and we are now looking forward to next year.
Many thanks to all the donors who support us. This is the only way such trips can be possible.
By the way: Kinderplanet has been offering these short trips to families who have lost their child to cancer once a year since 2012.
