Chapter 5: Into the mountains
The car drove swiftly down the lane and around the corner, past the main gates to the Abbey. There were several Nazi cars parked on the road outside the main gate. As the car fled past, they could hear the blaring sounds of whistles, yelling and thundering footsteps.
Just as the car past the soldiers, Maria swivelled around in her seat to look behind her. Seeing the headlights of the Nazi cars flash on, she began to panic. As Georg drove the car around a nearby bend, she lost sight of them but could hear the numerous vehicles starting up. She turned back and looked over at Georg. His hands tightly gripped the steering wheel and his eyes looked straight ahead, his expression set.
Maria's head was reeling. She had no idea what had just gone on in the graveyard between Georg and Rolf. The last thing she had seen as she fled down the stairs was the cold glint of the metal gun in Rolf's hand that pointed straight at Georg. Never before in her life had she been so frightened, fearing that she could possibly lose the man she loved. Then when Georg had appeared at the car, never before had she felt such relief!
But what had happened? She had to know. "Georg? What hap..." Maria began to ask.
"Maria." Georg quickly cut her off, "not now!" His tone was low but sharp and almost severe. Maria was taken back. Not since they had argued by the lakeside that day so many months ago had he spoke to her in such a way. Maria straight away closed her mouth and was silent.
Almost immediately Georg realised the harshness of his tone. He quickly moved one hand off the steering wheel and reached over to clasp Maria's hand, giving it a quick squeeze. Throwing her a brief glance and an apologetic half-smile, he whispered; "forgive me, my love. We'll talk later, I promise."
Maria nodded but continued to be quiet. Thankfully the children in the car were quiet too, all very much aware of the seriousness of the predicament in which they all found themselves.
Expertly Georg manoeuvred the speeding car through the streets. He was silent. They could no longer hear the sound of the whistles or cars behind them. Georg looked into the revision mirror. The road behind them was dark.
"I don't understand..." He muttered almost to himself. "Why aren't they following us?"
Maria knew Georg was tense and didn't want to say anything else to upset him. Gretl started to cry softly in her arms. Maria held her tighter and tenderly stroked her hair to calm her down. Georg kept driving.
Maria was all of sudden aware of the car slowing down.
"We're slowing down?" She asked Georg.
"Yes." He replied while still keeping his eyes firmly fixed to the road. "They don't appear to be following us. I don't know why. However if we continue to speed through the streets like this, we are likely to be noticed. I don't want to be stopped by a roaming Nazi patrol so I'm slowing down to be a little more inconspicuous."
Maria just nodded, not saying anything else. After a few minutes, Georg turned the car onto the road out of town. Thankfully there were no soldiers stationed there. The road was deserted. As they continued to drive along, Louisa spoke up from the backseat.
"Father? Where are we going?" She asked.
"Well children," Georg spoke quickly back to them, his tone much gentler and relaxed now it was clear they were not being followed. "As you know, the borders are closed so we are going to make our way to Switzerland on foot. We are now driving up into the mountains bordering Austria and Switzerland. When we get there, we will have to walk for at least several hours before we can stop. I suggest you all try and get some rest in the car now."
Maria turned to see the six frightened children nod to their Father in agreement. While it was a tight fit in the backseat, she could see them trying to find comfortable positions in order to sleep while they drove along.
Georg reached out his hand to take Maria's again, giving it another squeeze. "You should rest too darling." He told her affectionately.
Maria shook her head. "No, I don't think I could rest even if I wanted to."
"I understand." Georg replied.
They drove along in silence as Georg turned off the main road and headed up into the hills. The moon had gone behind the clouds and the inky darkness enveloped them, the only light coming from the headlights of the car.
Gretl had fallen asleep in Maria's arms almost immediately, the tension and excitement of the evening had become too much for the little girl. Maria glanced behind her to see all were asleep with the exception Liesl and Friedrich.
Knowing at this was not the time to talk to Georg while the older children were still awake, Maria relaxed back into her seat and began to think. She trusted Georg with everything, her life, her family. But she was worried. Growing up in the mountains she knew how treacherous they could be. It would be cold and the walk difficult, especially for the little ones. How would they know where to go and how long would it take to get to Switzerland?
She let out a deep sigh. Georg didn't say anything but reached over and took her hand. He stroked it, running his thumb over her knuckles. Taking his eyes off the road for a moment, he threw her a loving smile, which she reciprocated with one of her own. Those tiny gestures between them both gave her all the reassurance she needed.
The road they were traveling on became narrower and steeper at they continued to ascend into the mountains. Eventually, Georg slowed the car down and stopped it completely.
"I think this is about as far as we can travel by car." He told Maria. "I'm hoping we can get as far away from the car as we can tonight. If the Nazis are still following us and they find the car, I want to be able to get as much of a head start as possible."
"I guess we should wake the children then." Maria said, looking into the back seat of the car where all of them, including Liesl and Friedrich were sleeping.
"Yes." Georg replied. "Hmmm... I wonder whether the caretaker of the Abbey has left anything useful in the car that we may be able to take with us. A flashlight perhaps or a blanket? It is going to be cold sleeping out in the night air."
"I'm not sure." Maria's said before suddenly remembering the Reverend Mothers' letter. "Oh Georg, I forgot to tell you in the midst of us leaving the Abbey about this." She handed him the letter.
Georg held it up high so he could read it by the light of the silvery moon which had thankfully reappeared from behind the clouds.
Maria,
This is not much, but it was all I could find in such a short time. My prayers are with you and your new family. I hope you are able to reach Switzerland safely. Remember, you are not alone. The Lord will be with you always.
Yours in Christ
Reverend Mother
Georg gave a questioning look to Maria. "What did she leave us?"
"A satchel of food. I only had a quick glance so I'm not exactly sure what's in there. There's also a canteen of water and a blanket. Friedrich put them all in the trunk before."
"Good. I really am very grateful to the Reverend Mother." He gave her an appreciative smile. "Now let's wake the children and leave as soon as we can."
Georg got out of the car and immediately went to the trunk. Retrieving the satchel, canteen and blanket he also found in the trunk a flashlight in the midst of the caretakers tools and equipment. Unfortunately there was nothing much else of use that they could take with them. By the time he had finished examining the contents of the trunk, Maria had woken the children and they were all standing outside the car, rubbing their eyes awaiting further instructions from him.
"Right. Listen carefully, this is what is going to happen." Georg told them in a very militaristic tone of voice. "I'll lead the way. Gretl, you come with me, I'll carry you. Maria, you walk at the back. Friedrich. You take this and walk at the back with your Mother." Georg handed him the satchel and also handed the blanket to Kurt for him to carry. "Everyone else walk somewhere in the middle. Now, this is very important. There will be no speaking. We do not know who is around and whether anyone is following us. We do not want to give away our location with a bunch of chatter."
Quickly everyone assembled into their places. Louisa and Brigitta walked closely behind their Father followed by Kurt. He was less than impressed to be carrying the heavy blanket but one look at Georg's serious expression told him that he would be better to say silent than to complain. Liesl had taken the canteen of water and walked with Marta near the back of the pack where Maria and Friedrich were. Georg hoisted Gretl up onto his back, where she snuggled into him.
As they began walking, Georg discovered that he did not even have to use the flashlight he had found, as the moonlight was so bright now the clouds had cleared. Nonetheless he still had to be very careful with picking out their walking route, causing them to move slowly as a group.
Around two hours past with them all walking quietly through the darkness. Maria knew the children were getting tired and more than once she had carried Marta part of the way. She was amazed the children hadn't complained so far. Just as those thoughts left her mind, she started hearing some whispered complaints.
"We're tired."
"Are we there yet?"
"Can we stop to rest?"
"My feet hurt!"
Upon hearing their voices, Georg stopped and turned around. He was about to rouse on the children for talking but then he took a moment to observe them all. The children looked exhausted and so did Maria. He ran his hand over his mouth, rubbing his lips with his fingers as he worked out what to do. No, his children were not soldiers and long gone were the days that he expected them to march like ones. He had been so preoccupied in getting them as far away as he could from the Nazis that he had pushed them too much. All the tension that he had been feeling since arriving back in Salzburg earlier that day, together with the altercation with Rolf was taking a toll on him. He felt dreadful thinking back over the course of the evening. Seeing their tired faces looking up at him now quickly caused him to make up his mind.
"Alright everybody. You're right, it's time to rest. We've gone far enough for one night. How about we find somewhere off the track where we can make camp?"
Everyone seemed extremely relieved at his decision. Putting Gretl down, Georg walked up ahead to search for somewhere to spend the night and found a small open area a short way off the track. Some nearby trees protected it from the elements and he didn't think they would immediately be seen by anyone passing the main track. Walking back to the others, he told them what he had found.
They all quickly followed him to the nearby clearing and Georg instructed Kurt to spread out the blanket on the ground in the sheltered area of the clearing. Georg knew it was cold but it was better for the children to lie on top of the blanket and just wrap themselves tightly in their travel cloaks as the blanket would be needed to keep the damp of the ground.
Maria organised the children to lie close to each other to keep warm, which was met with strong objections from both Friedrich and Kurt. After a short argument with the boys, Maria convinced them to lie together at the edge so they really wouldn't have to be near the girls, pleasing them both.
Maria then spent quite some time quietly talking to the younger girls, reassuring them that everything would be all right before singing them a song. Both Marta and Gretl were asleep before she finished singing and it was only a few minutes later that Louisa and Brigitta were asleep too. Just as Maria was about to get up and check on the boys, Liesl called out to her.
"Mother?" She asked.
"Yes Liesl, is everything alright?" Maria asked her as she sat down besides her.
"Yes, I mean no. I mean, I don't know." Liesl confessed.
"You can talk to me Liesl. What's troubling you?" Maria asked gently, kneeling down next to her.
"Well, before in the graveyard... I'm afraid it was me that gave us away to Rolf. I gasped out loud." Liesl told Maria, her eyes downcast. "I saw him with the Nazis and well, I just couldn't believe that he was there. I mean earlier in the day when I saw him, I knew he had become 'one of them' but I guess I was just so surprised to see him there at the Abbey. I didn't expect it. I'm so sorry. Do you think Father will forgive me? He asked us all to be quiet and I let him down."
Liesl began to cry a few silent tears. Maria put her arms around the girl and held her as she cried.
"Oh Liesl, I'm sure your Father knows that you didn't mean to give us away. Please don't be too harsh on yourself. Maybe you could talk to him about it in the morning."
"Oh no! Mother! I really don't want him to be angry with me, but I just can't talk to him. Would you talk to him for me please?"
"Liesl," Maria began, "I can approach your Father if you like, but ultimately you will need to talk to him yourself. But you know," Maria gave a little laugh, "he isn't that fearsome, not really."
"Well it's because of you Mother." Liesl replied.
"Me?"
"Yes. You remembered what he was like before you came. Strict, stern, cold. He was never around. Even when he was, it was difficult for any of us children to ever talk to him. But then you came and he changed, back to the way things were before. You know only myself, Friedrich and Louisa really remember Mother, uhh… our real Mother I mean. Kurt and Brigitta only have isolated memories of her and neither Marta or Gretl remember her at all. When our Mother was alive, Father was loving and caring, fun to be around, happy. Now he is like that again, now that you're here. I can tell he loves you very much. Thank you for coming into our lives and making Father happy again."
"Oh Liesl!" Maria didn't know what to really say, she was so touched. So she said nothing but instead drew Liesl into a huge hug, holding her close.
Pulling back Maria told Liesl that should try and get some sleep like the others. Liesl nodded and lay down next to the other girls and closed her eyes. Maria quickly went to check on the boys. Kurt was already fast asleep, snoring loudly while Friedrich was desperately trying to stay awake in the hope of being on watch. Maria reassured him that she and Georg would be taking the first watch and for him to go to sleep. Reluctantly he lay down as well and not surprisingly asleep in moments.
Maria stood up and looked over to where Georg was. When they had begun to make camp for the night, he had told her that he would double back to the main track to make sure they weren't being followed before returning. Now he stood at the edge of the clearing, his back to her and the children, staring out into the night sky over the horizon.
Maria walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, not saying anything. Georg shifted slightly so he could wrap his arm around Maria instead. Together they stood in silence looking out over the night sky.
Finally he spoke. "Are the children asleep?" He asked.
"Yes they are. Asleep almost before their heads hit the blanket, they were very tired."
"I know. Perhaps I shouldn't have pushed them as much as I did tonight."
"Possibly, but as you said earlier darling we needed to get as much of a head start as we could have tonight."
Georg gave a grunt in reply, continuing to look out. They stood there in silence for the next few minutes. Maria decided to finally break the silence.
"Georg? Will you talk to me now? Please tell me what happened tonight in the graveyard." She moved out of his embrace to stand directly in front of him and she looked up into his eyes. He looked at her for a moment before nodding and letting out a deep sigh. Breaking eye contact with her, he turned slightly to walk past her and away from the children. Maria followed. While they were alone now the children were asleep, he didn't want to risk them waking up and overhearing their conversation.
Georg stopped after several paces and stood with his back to Maria. He was silent.
Maria was just about to open her mouth to speak when he did first. "That stupid, stupid, foolish boy!" Georg exclaimed. Maria didn't reply but waited for Georg to continue. He ran his hand up over his face, before letting it rest just above his mouth. He shook his head in frustration.
"I knew that Rolf had joined the Nazis. He made his allegiances very clear that day many months ago that he visited the villa. Besides the fact that I really felt that Liesl was too young to be seeing boys, that was the main reason I didn't want him around her. But tonight in the graveyard, well... It is bad enough that the Nazis have invaded the country let alone brainwashing the minds of the youth. At one point I thought I had him convinced to stop and come away with us but then... That stupid, foolish boy..."
Georg quickly recounted his altercation with Rolf to Maria who listened quietly and intently until he got to the part about he had grabbed the gun from Rolf.
"A gun?" Maria exclaimed loudly, in which Georg quickly shushed her. He reached down and retrieved the gun from where it was hidden, tucked into his sock. He held it out to show Maria.
"Georg, I really don't think..." Maria started.
"Maria, you forget that I spent many years in the military, I am quite capable of handling a gun."
"Yes, of course darling." Maria said, slightly embarrassed that it seemed as if she doubted his ability.
"Besides," Georg continued. "I already have it unloaded and it will remain on me at all times. Also, you never know what we are going to encounter before we reach Switzerland, we may need it." Georg tucked the gun back into his sock and let the leg of his trousers drop back down.
"But tell me more about earlier tonight. What happened after you took the gun from Rolf?" Maria asked him.
"Well I told him that he would 'never be one of them'. At that point he called out to his Lieutenant to alert him and I took the opportunity to get away and I ran to the car. I just have to say that I'm glad I was facing a naive, stupid young boy instead of a cold, well trained soldier or else I would have either been dead or spending this night in Bremerhaven, most likely in a jail cell."
Maria shuddered at the thought. "I'm glad you're safe. I was so worried." Maria replied giving him a kiss on the cheek, wrapping her arms around him. Georg responded by holding her tight too him. She moved her face up to look into his eyes.
"You know Liesl feels responsible for what happened tonight, for giving us away." Maria told Georg.
"I know. But it wasn't her fault." He replied.
"Georg, you need to tell her that. She is really upset."
"I will. I'll make sure I talk to her tomorrow."
Georg reached down and gave Maria a long kiss on her lips before pulling her back into the embrace. They held each other for another few minutes in silence until Georg heard Maria yawn.
"You're tired." He remarked.
"Yes it's been a long day. So much has happened. I can hardly believe we woke up this morning in Zurich!" She exclaimed.
Georg chuckled. "Yes that is hard to believe. You should get some sleep now darling."
He led her back near to where the children were asleep and sat down near them, leaning up against a large tree. He beckoned her to join him. Maria sat down next to him and he wrapped his arm around her as she tried to stifle another large yawn.
"It's a cold night. Let me hold you to keep you warm." Georg told her lovingly. Maria smiled and snuggled down into his warm embrace. She felt safe in his arms.
"Are you going to get some sleep too?" Maria asked, looking back up at him. "I know you didn't sleep well last night. You must be tired too."
"I am tired but someone has to stay awake to keep watch and no, Maria you must sleep." he said as he saw her open her mouth to protest. "I'll make sure I get some rest tomorrow sometime, I promise."
Maria nodded as she closed her eyes. Georg stroked her hair as she was trying to go off to sleep. He knew how much she loved it when he did that. Only moments later he could hear her breathing slow and become regular and he knew she was asleep.
Georg looked back out over the night sky. He was worried and many thoughts ran through his head. He had no doubts that fleeing the country with his family was the right decision. However their future was so uncertain. But tomorrow was another day and he would leave worrying about that until then. Looking down at Maria asleep in his arms he knew that no matter what, as long as he was with her and the children that somehow everything would be all right.