Diary Entry of May 9, 1870
Wagner unexpectedly chooses to proceed with the outing, and the family travels joyfully to Brunnen and the Gruetli despite uncertain weather. Cosima remembers Grandmama and Daniel on their shared birthday, folding private memorial feeling into the excursion. The weather deteriorates, but cheer remains, and Wagner’s nighttime call of the Siegfried-Bruennhilde love theme gives the journey a romantic close.
Monday, May 9:
To my surprise R. decides on the outing. We go in spite of the pale clouds. Great joy among the children, arrival in Brunnen; drive to the Grütli, I remember Grandmama’s and Daniel’s birthdays, both today. The weather turns bad, but we remain cheerful. In the evening, as I go to bed, I hear R. out on the Axenstrasse calling to me the theme from the love scene between Siegfried and Brünnhilde.