The journey of a reluctant traveller

We are two sisters, and with both of us getting married and settled, my father was free of his responsibilities. He was not dependent either financially or physically and, having been retired, had all the time in the world. My sister and I felt that he should travel and visit places as much as possible.

He has friends, some of whom he has known for over 50 years, and who would invite him to go on tours, but he showed no inclination. With my sister moving to Stuttgart, Germany, four years ago, we thought it was a nice opportunity for him to see a foreign land. But to our disappointment and frustration, he continued his resistance. We decided to dig in our heels this time, and with a lot of push from my side and pull from my sister’s side, we got him to finally board the plane.

He remained indifferent for a week after arriving in Germany. Boredom probably forced him to board a local bus and explore the city. He embarked on this routine for the next few days, and it sort of became his ritual. He would board the same bus at the same time, get down at some stop, take a walk around the area, board the same route and get back home.

My sister got him a monthly pass for 49 euros, which could be utilised in all local transport. He decided to make the most of it and started taking the U-Bahn, which is the metro serving inner-city areas. He then graduated to S-Bahn, the suburban rail, which went slightly farther off places. By now he had conquered Backnang, Schorndorf, Ludwigsberg, Vaihingen, Weil der Stadt, Bad Cannstatt and many more.

One day he even managed to find his way home with the help of some friendly people when he had to get down at a stop that he was not familiar with, as the bus was going to the depot. My sister overheard him praising the orderly way of life in Germany in an elated voice to his friends, which we both found very amusing. When he came back after his three-month stay, he would not stop talking about the places he saw.

I had a smug smile on my face, pleased that my altercations with him on the subject of visiting my sister had not gone in vain.

This year when he left for the airport, my daughter posted a message in our family group saying, ‘Bird has left the nest.’ My father posted a message after boarding the aircraft which read ‘About to take off.’ My father had indeed come around.