The Wild Gerda

The 84-year-old warmly welcomes the 14 participants on today’s tour. Upright posture, alert look behind glasses, the jacket with the lily on the chest – only the thick snow-white hair testifies to the older age of the “Wandergerda”, as she calls herself. The Lilien hiking department is celebrating its 38th birthday with today’s tour. Krüger is the only member from back then who is still there. “The love for hiking is simply there. I am an outdoor person and really enjoy being in nature. I also have an allotment, but I don’t have to harvest anything from it. I just like being in the garden,” emphasises the trained human resources clerk or “Mrs. Personnel,” as she was also known in her engineering office at the time, and goes on to explain her passion for hiking: “You can talk, you can enjoy nature, whatever the weather and you’ll have something to look forward to.”

After the welcome, a lively exchange ensued among those present about the away point at Werder Bremen and the controversial situation at the end of the game. But after a short time, Krüger energetically puts an end to the shop talk: “You can also chat on the go.” She wants to stick to her time calculations as precisely as possible. Armed with a map, she sits at the head of the procession, which now makes its way towards the sleepy Sunday woods.

Born in Ober-Ramstadt in 1939, Krüger started playing football at the age of 20. At that time she watched various games in the region before she met her husband, had two children and moved to the country. Football took a back seat for the time being. However, with the move to Eberstadt and Mother’s Day 1973, that suddenly changed. She still remembers it like it was yesterday. “I went swimming with my children at Erlensee. We come back, we were still living in the high-rise building and there were blue and white flags everywhere in the parking lot. And then the boys told me about the 7-0 win against Nuremberg.” The passion for SV 98 was born and should never disappear again. Her first party as a Lilien fan followed with the 5-0 triumph against Röchling Völklingen in the promotion round. Since then she has hardly missed a home game.

Gerda Krüger has been closely associated with the club since 1973. By the way, it would be another 17 years before captain Fabian Holland was even born. Two years later, Krüger also became a member of the Lilies. The now 84-year-old still remembers the beginning of her club career when things weren’t looking so rosy financially: “I was the first to sell fan merchandise. We only sold small items. I had everything at home and always brought it with me to the stadium. There was an open hut and we always had to pack everything up during the break.” The certified hiking guide tells us about the time with shining eyes and puts forward an efficient step. The group has arrived in the forest. It smells of earth and leaves, but there is also a fresh note of spring in the air. However, the sun is still too timid to assert itself against thick layers of clouds.

Over the years, Krüger grew closer and closer to the club. So she is not only the head of the hiking department and the deputy chairwoman of the sports departments, but also a member of the council of elders. “One had to resign for health reasons and I said that a woman should come in.” “My husband said to me: Now you won’t take any more office!” remembers Krüger. But her husband’s request comes to nothing. She was elected at the next meeting and has since held three positions at SV 98. As a veteran, it is always important to her to emphasise: “We are not a football club, we are a sports club.” She is committed to this: year after year, day and night and spares no effort or effort. Nicole Heipel, a member of the department and an enthusiastic hiker, underlines this: “Gerda is always there with heart and passion and is a role model for the younger people.” She has an alert spirit and lives for the hiking department.”

The path becomes muddy in the Messel Forest. The hiking department repeatedly has to avoid large puddles. But that doesn’t deter anyone. Deciduous trees line the trodden path – still bare, but already with sprouting green buds. The destination of today’s tour is “Gerda’s Tree”. With shining eyes, she reports how her own tree was planted on March 12th last year. At first she didn’t even know what was going to happen. “I just knew there would be a surprise hike, but everyone except me knew what was behind it,” she remembers and laughs: “And then the current mayor Hanno Benz came and I said: Is that the surprise? And then Wolfgang Arnold came: Oh, is that the surprise?” Only when a car with a trailer drove up did Krüger get an idea of what was going to happen. “I got goosebumps. I love trees. I have a whole album where I take photos of special trees and then file them away. And giving myself a tree was just great. I was there and gone and back again. It was a really great day!” Even a year after the event, she is still very moved and emotional as she remembers the special gesture from the department and the club.

Krüger, who currently lives in the Paulusviertel in Darmstadt, is an energetic woman. She stops at intersections and explores the next direction – if necessary with a loud voice. She is used to leading and not just leading the way when hiking. She lost her husband to an illness, but the family is growing – Krüger already has a four-year-old great-granddaughter. The 84-year-old widow is bursting with vitality and spirit. She ran an annual marathon for twelve years. And as if it were the most normal thing in the world, she says that on Saturday after the Darmstadt game she went for a run before the evening game.

The hiking group has reached its destination. Tree seedlings covered with protective film stand in a long row along the side of the path. In front of each young barkbearer there is a wooden stake with a name plaque driven into the edge of the meadow. Of course, there is a lily sticker under the name Gerda Krüger. So big that the sides disappear behind the edges of the stake. She proudly presents her little chestnut. After a short rest, there are some finger exercises under the guidance of Krüger for a better feeling and body awareness. Even during the break, the loyal lily fan walks around, looks after things, tries to talk to fellow hikers and keeps an eye on everything.

According to a survey from the FuFa newsletter, the hiking department is the most popular department at SV 98 after basketball, which also makes Krüger happy. She puts a lot of passion into her club tasks and also puts in a lot of effort outside of the hikes. Every year in early autumn she organises a hiking holiday. This year we want to go to the Rhön. In addition, she explores the respective areas with their special places (buildings, wells, natural features) and checks the suitability of the route. Hiking takes place whenever there are no home games in the SVD match calendar. Where are you going? Wandergerda decides this with the help of maps, books and guides, but also with a now gigantic wealth of experience and a good gut feeling. Krüger uses a comparison with her late husband: “My husband cooked well. And he said that when I read a recipe, I know what it tastes like. When I read a description of a hike, I can imagine what it will be like.”

After the rest, the group heads back. After a brave fight, the sun’s rays were able to grab a few patches of open sky, which they now use to point their bright fingers towards the ground. The hiking party comes to a stop at a federal highway that needs to be crossed. Gerda Krüger not only found the asphalt, but also the rubbish that was carelessly thrown into the ditch. A horror for the nature lover: “Something like that is absolutely terrible. When I’m traveling alone, I always have a garbage bag with me to keep the outdoors clean.“

In addition to nature, togetherness and the social feeling of the group are an elementary part of the department. This was immediately noticeable when we warmly greeted each other and is also evident now. Different groups and constellations are constantly being formed and exchanges take place on a wide variety of topics. “And if you don’t want to talk to someone anymore, you just stop and say, I have to tie my shoes without offending anyone,” notes Krüger with a wink and a fine laugh line around his eyes. They prefer direct and open communication and honest dealings with each other. With her overview and prudence according to the motto “The group is as strong as the weakest link” and her good knowledge of human nature, she makes this social interaction possible.

But there are also bonds within the hiking department that go beyond friendship. Two relationships have already emerged in the group. One person involved is Karin Knye. She has been there for almost 20 years and appreciates Krüger very much: “Gerda is an amazing, admirable and special woman.” She then gives her head the best wishes from the entire department: “We all hope that she can continue to do this for a long time.” Krüger’s vital impression that she doesn’t have any hiking sticks compared to some of the others in the group confirms her wish, even if the 84-year-olds have lost their hearing after a sudden hearing loss.

Surprisingly it starts to rain around lunchtime. What started out as sparse circular patterns on the puddles quickly turned into a real downpour. But for the hiking department there is no such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothing. In no time, the forest is filled with colorful splashes of rain capes, umbrellas and rain covers. However, the rainfall does not last long and soon it becomes a part of it. The last section of today’s tour begins. Gerda Krüger cannot see the recent march. She is on the move, just as fresh as the forest after the rain shower, but now in the middle of the hiking caravan.

The greatest experience in the club for her was the miracle of Bielefeld, which was now almost ten years old, and the associated return to the 2nd Bundesliga. “Of course I saw the first leg in the stadium, but I didn’t go to Bielefeld because I thought it was hopeless if we lost 3-1 at home,” reports Krüger. Meanwhile, the hiking party has returned to its starting point. It’s twenty to two. The table is reserved for dinner at 2 p.m. The time calculation has fixed. Kruger is satisfied. The group recovers from the hike with a proper lunch and lets the meeting come to an end.

Incidentally, Krüger has not yet found a potential successor for the hiking department. The continued existence of the department is therefore unclear in the long term. But one thing is certain: the Wandergerda is on the move, whatever the weather and at any time of the year. “I hike as long as I can. “If I can no longer walk, I will either be sick or dead,” says the loyal Darmstadt supporter and nature lover for over 50 years. There have now been over 900 hikes and many people have been and are moved by Gerda Krüger – and not just when hiking, but also when it comes to being a role model, a proactive force or wise advice.