Jaxon and I love to travel. Some time ago we ran into a big dog on the trail, and as we worked to keep up with him, he hit us with the zinger that with our short legs, it takes us forever to get anywhere. I guess you could say we focus on enjoying the journey even if we have to stop and smell everything along the way.
Despite our love to roam, there are a lot of places we still have to visit. For example, we’ve never been to Germany, which is an entirely different country from where we are. Getting there would be a very long walk.
Hank’s pedigree on his father’s side indicates he had a bit of German in him. He didn’t speak the language, but that mention of Allright you see in his pedigree is from the highly-regarded Allright kennel of Dr. Frauke Hinsch. Maybe that’s another reason he wanted Otto to take the name of a famous German aviator?
I include all of that because it helps to make the endearing notes we received from Mini from Germany even more remarkable. Read below to learn Mini’s own story.
Dear Ernie, Hello Jaxon,
Your little Mini
My name is Mini, I’m 6 years old and I’m writing to you from Germany. I have already watched many of your videos on Youtube, but just now came across your blog. As you can see, I get along quite well with a laptop and cell phone. Unfortunately, I don’t speak English very well, so I’m happy to use a translator.
In fact, Hank’s father and I come from the same large family and we are distantly related. Unfortunately I couldn’t get to know Hank and Otto anymore. Your stories made me very sad at the end. I also love playing on and in the water and I have the North Sea almost in front of the door. Then I think of you.
But I’m very proud of you, Ernie, that you dare, even dare, to accept Hank’s legacy and have the courage to write down these and your stories. You must too. Norfolks are always experiencing something, curious, adventurous and smart. And we love driving, trips, vacations, new places. I’m even allowed to fly to an island in the plane in the fall. They take me everywhere.
But now I’m tired, I have to go to my chair and sleep.
I read over and over again how Mini was proud of me. Jaxon seemed to skip over that part, so I had to commit it to memory. And this appreciation of my efforts was coming from a distant relative of Hank from Germany! Wow. Just wow.
A short time after getting Mini’s first letter, she was writing us again.
Dear Ernie, Hello Jaxon,
Your Mini
I can finally use the typewriter. I have been living with my new family on the North Sea coast between Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven for over 2 years now. The sea is very shallow here. It’s called the Wadden Sea. But the ground is firm. Good for running and swimming.
Their names are Geli and Fred and they seem to have plenty of time, including for me. They take me everywhere, to restaurants, go on vacation a lot, to hotels or to the beach in the Netherlands. I’m even supposed to fly to Mallorca, an island in the Mediterranean, in September. They always say: If the dog isn’t allowed to come with us, then we won’t come either. I think they really like me. And I like all their food and the treats. And I like them very much.
I don’t get all the pictures in the mail. Something is stuck. My paw is too big. I’ll write a new letter right away.
Jaxon and I face the same problem of big paws when we try to type, so we both understand Mini’s struggles at the keyboard.
Mini’s love of travel seems to be a family trait. Before Mini showed up, her family had a rescue dog named Lina. Mini included a few pictures of Lina, including one with her travel bag. Take a look in the gallery of images at the bottom of this post.
Mini continued to intrigue us with details of her exploits.
Dear Ernie, Hello Jaxon,
Your Mini
Today I would like to write a few lines, because I am alone in the office.
I found some nice pictures, while looking through my photo albums:
– We don’t have a sandy beach here in Dorum-Neufeld, but a green beach with beautiful beach chairs.
And there is a beach just for dogs.
– The 2nd picture is from a visit to the hardware store in Bremerhaven.
I like to go there to buy my tools and they even have good treats at the tills.
So there is a lot to do. But I like doing it.
– Then my family built a gate, so I wouldn’t walk out into the street alone.
When my neighbors drive by here, I always ran onto the street and stopped the cars,
so they wouldn’t drive any further. Bold idea. That suits a Norfolk. But it’s supposed to be dangerous.
Have a good night, see you soon.
Mini’s final note included a video of her standing tall in the face of big waves on the coast.
Dear Ernie and Jaxon,
Mini
Before I go to sleep in my armchair, I found a film of, how I brave the huge waves on the Dutch northsea coast.
So good night again.
Jaxon finally figured out how to get a picture from the video, so I included it in the gallery of pics at the bottom of this post. For those times when I want to get a closer look at Mini or Lina, I just click on the image, so I suppose you can do that too.
I find it amazing that although none of us have been to Germany, we were discovered by Mini. Once she discovered us, she was thoughtful enough to tell us about her life in this foreign land and share details of shopping, going to restaurants, playing in the street, and visiting the ocean. Judging from the pictures she included, it looks like a very pleasant life indeed.
To see if we would even be in a position to visit Germany and experience some of these wonders for ourselves, I asked Jaxon to start trying to learn the language.
So far, he has mastered just one single word: Hundekuchen.
At this rate, it’s going to take us a while to be ready for such a long trip.
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