By Steven McGonigal
A Heidelberg Winter Morning
I
finally reached my destination on a dry and cold winter’s night, to be met by Julia Szeremeta and Dr Markus Sack and several teckels at the train station. The journey leading up to this would take an article itself, but to cut it short I got on the wrong train not once, but twice and the airline lost my luggage! I am now very clear on the difference between a regional and an Intercity Express train. In future, jump on the white one! It was so great to see my German friends, the teckels and again experience beautiful Germany for a few days. What is not to love about Germany? The
people, the culture, the food & not to mention the hunting tradition which for me is the best in the world. Germany is everything I could ever want and my only regret is that I didn’t discover it when life would have allowed me the opportunity to spend years instead of days there. I had come to Germany on the invitation of his Highness Ferdinand Graf Von Merveldt who I had the pleasure of meeting earlier in the year while working with Teckels on a driven hunt in the same area. He and I discussed trees, Germany and Ireland at length and some months later I received
a very kind invitation to participate in a state hunt in the area where I had previously been. I could never quite put my finger on exactly what it is about oak forests, boar and teckels that really quickens my blood, but it really does. It’s simply not possible to put into words the feeling and atmosphere of standing in a forest with dogs baying, shots going off and boar dashing between ancient oak trees. To say I was looking forward to it was an understatement! Driven shooting with a rifle simply does not exist in our part of the world. It is not something many people are accustomed to, least of all me and Julia Teckels ready for boar.
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Winter 2020 Irish Country Sports and Country Life
