Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

The Dahl's House
Katharina Weisshuber
Munich 1904
The telephone rang for the first time. Suspicious, Alexandra picked up the receiver.
Claudia’s voice, far and alien, crackled and sputtered from the instrument. "Alexandra, this is
Claudia. Come and visit me and bring Otto along. How about in the afternoon when the men
are at work? I want to see you without Niko and introduce you to my mother."
Alexandra, still uneasy with the contraption that had such an alienating effect on
Claudia's voice, accepted.
The Dahl’s lived in Solln, a quiet part of southern Munich where ‘better’ people lived.
She took the tram and from the station walked, Otto on her hand, along the tree-shaded streets
of well-kept villas each in its own small park.
She was surprised to find the Dahl’s house to be an exceedingly stark, box-like building
with an odd roof and large, plain windows of various sizes randomly distributed over its bleak
walls. How could anyone want to live in such a house? It looked as uninviting as a castle. For a
while she stared at it in disbelief and then rang the bell. A small plaque announced Prof. Dr. R.
Dahl, Psychotherapy, By appointment only.
A solicitous maid in servant uniform opened, but before she could announce them,
Claudia came running. "Come in, come in, we have been waiting for you. Greetings, and this is
Otto."
Alexandra unwrapped the bouquet of flowers she had brought following Niko’s example,
a few red roses amid dark-blue delphiniums. The maid took the wrapping paper out of her
hand. "Oh, how beautiful," said Claudia, "give them to mother, she will love them."
Otto allowed Claudia to take him by the hand and lead him into the living room.
As forbidding as the outside of the house had been, its inside was dazzling. The light!
Simple, blond oak floors covered by scattered oriental rugs, a few modern paintings on the
plain white walls, a spare selection of antique furniture, a mirror in a gilded baroque frame in
the entry hall—contrasted by a black grand-piano, three contemporary easy chairs, and a
couch, and all was flooded from three sides by the light from the curtainless windows.
Speechless, Alexandra had never seen a room like this. She felt as if floating on light in
its uncluttered space.
Claudia hugged her smiling. "I am so happy you came. Konrad told me that you liked
beautifully simple things. A few years ago Father had this house built especially for my mother
by a young Viennese architect. Our neighbors were up in arms because of its stark outside, but
now that the architect received several awards for his designs they have acquiesced."
Claudia’s mother entered, a tall, slender woman with an even, lovable face, copious
graying, once chestnut-brown hair, and laughing brown eyes. She must have been a
captivating beauty when young.
A little awkward—she had never brought flowers before—Alexandra presented her
bouquet.
"They are wonderful, thank you, Alexandra," Claudia’s mother said, combining the
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