Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

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47.Calling the dead 190748.Gocha teaches Alexandra to fly 190749.Playing games, St. Petersburg. 1907-191050.Konrad studies Chinese 190751.A political refugee at their door 190852.My stunning discovery in Paris-198153.Alexandra in Paris 191154.Konrad in China 1911-191255.Konrad's Return from China 191256.Alexandra's journey to Munich 191357.Dahl's examination of Alexandra, Munich 191358.Kandinsky in Murnau 191359.Alexandra's return via Tiflis 191360.St. Petersburg Winter 1913 – 191461.The War Years 1914 – 191762.They flee to Georgia 191863.New Beginnings in Tbilisi 191864.Alexandra turns forty 191865.German Troops in Tbilisi 1918-191966.My Visit to Tbilisi 198267.Alexandra's Letters 198368.A Concert in Kreuth 19894
1.My Grandfather's Watch among the bric-á-brac in Moscow1969A heavy downpour drove me into a prominent shop on Moscow’s October Square. People crowded at the glass displaycases behind which robust salesladies dawdled in socialist apathy. A big English sign said, "Russian Antiques"—a highbrowpawnshop!A motley array of old and new bric-a-brac filled the shelves, samovars, pots and pans, Russian lacquer boxes, secondhandclothing, art-nouveau bronzes, a life-sized statue of a Negro assembled from variously colored marble.The people stared at the foreigner.I had no intention of buying anything.In the back of the store I found a wall covered with amateur paintings: a young woman reading on the verandah of adacha, flower arrangements, a stand of white birches, a leaning peasant hut at the edge of a meadow. A melancholypainting of dappled sunspots under trees through which one saw the blue of the sea brought back long-forgottenmemories of the summers of my childhood on the shores of the languid Baltic Sea, where the leafy beech woods reachto the water’s edge, and one could hear time sigh. This unexpected discovery was a sufficient excuse for spending halfan hour in the chaotic place.I was about to leave when my gaze was caught by an antique silver pocket watch lying in a locked glass case amongenameled brooches, amber necklaces, and old jewelry. I don’t know why this watch attracted my attention. I am not acollector of antique timepieces.I bent over the case and one of the buxom sales ladies descended upon me. Uncertain, I asked her to show me thewatch. She placed it on a black velveteen cushion. I knew she would not let me handle it. The watch carried the markingsof a renowned Swiss manufacturer. A lid covered its dial, another its back. In place of a crown it had an ear for a chain.The key to wind it was missing.The saleslady pressed a pin, and with a click the lid sprang open exposing an inscription in large, curlicue, GermanlettersKonrad RostBerlin1895I stared at the inscription—my grandfather’s name.Vertigo overcame me, I grasped the counter. The sales lady darted from behind the table and offered me a chair. "Areyou all right? It is terrible how many men die of heart attacks these days."The room began to turn, time collapsed. A string of long-suppressed memories ran through my dizzy mind.In Mid May 1945 we fled from H--- before the advancing Soviet troops. Father, Mother, and my three siblings. We walkedor hitched rides on the pony carts of the retreating German army. We abandoned one piece of luggage after another.Carrying our possessions had become impossible in the heat of spring.All our efforts were in vain. We never reached the West, where we believed the Americans would protect us from thefeared Soviets. On the day after the German surrender, near the Czech border, the Soviet Army overtook us.Red Army men combed the thousands of refugees for German soldiers. They ordered my father aside. He had his handsup. A Russian soldier pulled the watch, which now lay before me, from his pocket. The soldier dangled his booty from hisleft hand. In the other he held an automatic.For the first time in my life I heard Father speak Russian. He begged for his watch, then shouted at the Red Army man.Nervously the soldier threatened him with his automatic. Father grabbed for his watch. The soldier hit father’soutstretched arm with the gun and then continued, mercilessly beating him, to drive him towards a group of POWs by theroadside. Dissolved in tears, Mother ran after him. Her pleading was futile. Father disappeared down the road with theother POWs.For two days we hid in the woods and traveled only at night, carefully avoiding populated places. Finally Mother and Idecided to return home to the house in H— where we had lived throughout the war.Grandfather Konrad had given this watch to Otto, my father, in 1918 when he had sent him to safety in Germany. I knew5
Page 3: Table of Contents1. My Grandfather'
Page 7 and 8: ditch beside the road.Mother was tr
Page 9 and 10: Deep snow still covered Djvari Pass
Page 11 and 12: "But you know nothing about how to
Page 13 and 14: newborn baby! You won’t need a ba
Page 15 and 16: Dadiani bent over the table, reache
Page 17 and 18: Autumn had come to Georgia, and it
Page 19 and 20: "Gespenstisch!" whispered Mouravi t
Page 21 and 22: Finally, depressed by his inability
Page 23 and 24: They slowly rode up the hill north
Page 25 and 26: On their way back to the Lavra Alex
Page 27 and 28: Blushing like a young girl, she gav
Page 29 and 30: Alexandra bowed deeply to a middle-
Page 31 and 32: All applauded and Ilia made a small
Page 33 and 34: She had done her hair up in a new w
Page 35 and 36: ape her. But then he must die, and
Page 37 and 38: a rear door when she entered.If Per
Page 39 and 40: Alexandra went purple with embarras
Page 41 and 42: The smell of roasting lamb wafted t
Page 43 and 44: Konrad quietly sat back. To his gre
Page 45 and 46: The tall, dark-haired woman began w
Page 47 and 48: She kissed him."Maybe you dream of
Page 49 and 50: 14.Tuscany - the Wolfsons' House in
Page 51 and 52: ut are, unjustly, much more famous.
Page 53 and 54: Alexandra had fallen into melanchol
Page 55 and 56:
She kissed him tenderly. "Niko, I a
Page 57 and 58:
obligations, and she, ever since th
Page 59 and 60:
months, was flooded with the diffus
Page 61 and 62:
could they be aroused into communal
Page 63 and 64:
19.An unexpected encounter with Vla
Page 65 and 66:
chauffeur drop me at the station ju
Page 67 and 68:
She described her sensation of flyi
Page 69 and 70:
sky a thin, transparent blue. Imbed
Page 71 and 72:
interest in Theosophy."Marti shrugg
Page 73 and 74:
to?Mother had never mentioned any d
Page 75 and 76:
"Ah, of course, of course, ‘Eine
Page 77 and 78:
Konrad agreed that this sounded mor
Page 79 and 80:
patriarchal oak and smiled, a littl
Page 81 and 82:
have a similar situation in our vil
Page 83 and 84:
Alexandra disagreed. "Most abortive
Page 85 and 86:
a limited edition, hand-screened ma
Page 87 and 88:
Alexandra touched her necklace and
Page 89 and 90:
close!"She had hugged him, tears ru
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The others came lumbering up the st
Page 93 and 94:
urden the heart with this task, whi
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the colors mixed and changed depend
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28.Kandinsky's suprising confession
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With kisses Alexandra removed the v
Page 101 and 102:
He knelt, removed her knee and leg
Page 103 and 104:
Joachim viewed Konrad with sympathe
Page 105 and 106:
The rumbling continued at regular i
Page 107 and 108:
Russia."She picked up a piece of br
Page 109 and 110:
conservative pessimism, demanded th
Page 111 and 112:
preventative method and taking it e
Page 113 and 114:
new provocation in modern music and
Page 115 and 116:
exhausted the Renaissance idea of b
Page 117 and 118:
creative clairvoyance, and her shar
Page 119 and 120:
Left to herself, Alexandra, awed, w
Page 121 and 122:
public. She fended off the fuzzy wo
Page 123 and 124:
ailways on strike. The strike had t
Page 125 and 126:
Grandfather was very sad when he fo
Page 127 and 128:
and put on his coat and shoes, he r
Page 129 and 130:
Alexandra not in the mood to give V
Page 131 and 132:
crowd of the fashionable and the ma
Page 133 and 134:
established tradition with some mil
Page 135 and 136:
42.Uncle Muravi's Benz, Tiflis1907"
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equisitioned a locomotive to take t
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meaningless rituals. That may be on
Page 141 and 142:
lacking. I like this man, and at th
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are suitably ambiguous."45.The Dadi
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think of Munich or something else p
Page 147 and 148:
He showed them the room where they
Page 149 and 150:
death."Alexandra was more intereste
Page 151 and 152:
they fought over the offering. The
Page 153 and 154:
flew off cawing.Claudia grabbed Ale
Page 155 and 156:
Together they were hedging out a pl
Page 157 and 158:
the right of women to own their bod
Page 159 and 160:
The Chinese wife of a sinologist at
Page 161 and 162:
these texts."However, Ch'an is the
Page 163 and 164:
times, but moved back together agai
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survived the Bolsheviks, the Fascis
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physically overwhelm her. Despite h
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Konrad picked up Alexandra at the t
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Abruptly her vision had narrowed, a
Page 173 and 174:
the Kwadjagani, the Masters of Wisd
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somewhat, his back was still bent,
Page 177 and 178:
century. The characteristic Chinese
Page 179 and 180:
Alexandra was relieved and happy, a
Page 181 and 182:
subconscious past her observant min
Page 183 and 184:
Dahl leaned back in surprise. "This
Page 185 and 186:
visions reappear. Entire armies mar
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"This method is not easy, I have ne
Page 189 and 190:
He had started with representationa
Page 191 and 192:
His hair had turned completely whit
Page 193 and 194:
Overnight the mood in St. Petersbur
Page 195 and 196:
daughter. His wife had left him no
Page 197 and 198:
which was presented to him—with a
Page 199 and 200:
"From the soldiers whom I took care
Page 201 and 202:
He watched Alexandra’s doubting m
Page 203 and 204:
lond, bony girl whose gray eyes loo
Page 205 and 206:
call it intellectual humanism. It d
Page 207 and 208:
time I asked this question I had me
Page 209 and 210:
"I spent most of the winter of 1918
Page 211 and 212:
We buried him in the cemetery at G
Page 213 and 214:
ways. Corruption became the way of
Page 215 and 216:
68.A Concert in Kreuth - Eliso1989I
Page 217 and 218:
Eliso listened with increasing fasc
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