Occasionally German compound words capture with simplicity and accuracy a particular state of affairs. Heimweh denotes aching for home, (weh being a term the describes pain rather than simply longing). In contrast Fernweh describes an ache to explore the faraway. I am not familiar with a single English term that fits this concept, even though homesickness exists. Fernweh is more than Wanderlust. 

For anyone who lives between worlds there must come a point when the target of Heimweh shifts from the old country to the chosen one. At least, that is, if you made the right choice and live where you want to live, as I do. Oregon is home, has been for many decades.

I am going to give a lecture today to a group of young refugees and/or people with a migratory background and will ask them if they have reached that point. Or if that is a desirable goal for them at all, given that their migration has not necessarily been voluntary.

In any case, today’s photographs of ships and boats symbolized for me things that trigger Fernweh, and looking at the sky, the sight of planes triggers Heimweh. Luckily I will sit in one tomorrow on my way home…..

Then and now

 

 

Hamburg, world port, the river its lifeline, offers more views of boat than a single photographer could possibly capture. I do keep trying, though.

Below is part of Brahms’#2 – He was a son of Hamburg – during the opening concert of the Elbphilharmony, the building you can see in the cover photo.

https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/Elbphilharmonie-2017-Allegro-con-spirito-aus-Brahms-Sinfonie-Nr-2,brahms188.html