The rainbow never sets

ski quite well. So he went off on his own skis, while we were busy all morning to learn to bend the knees, as we were sliding down the gentle slope, learning to do a snow-plough, and to make a turn. It was all most exciting and we did very well for the first day, we thought.

Vater, Günter and I in Zakopane

Then came lunch. After lunch Ñ well, the lack of sleep during the night had caught up with us and we slept firmly for three hours. Vater had to wake us.

"Come, we will go for a walk through Zakopane," he suggested, and we, half in a dream, followed wherever he led us. The hoar-frost had disappeared after a whole day of sunshine, but we thought Zakopane was still a very nice place. It was surrounded by high mountains and everything seemed so quite in the place. Every now and again a sleigh, pulled by a jingling horse, passed by, but that made no sound!

At the evening meal we were introduced to a family Bardt. They had two daughters, both just a bit younger than we. One was Ingrid, the other Daudi. Ingrid, some 15 years later, was to marry our cousin Bernd. If we were not on the ski-slopes, we would play with them. It was good to have someone our own age there. Each day we took our lessons in the morning, and went skiing with Vater in the afternoon.

Our skiing improved quickly and soon the teacher took the whole group on an excursion. This meant we had to climb up a slope first before we could enjoy the down-hill run. It was rather strenuous for us with our short legs, and I think Vater eventually took us cross-country on his own Ñ but never very far. After two weeks, Vater had to return home. He had

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