Wanderings Through Childhood. Fontane was 72 years old when he fell seriously ill in 1892 and was unable to recover for months. In this situation, his family doctor encouraged him to write down his memories: "Start with your childhood tomorrow!" The reflection on five happy years in the Baltic seaside town of Swinemünde becomes for the poet a vividly animated picture of childhood filled with unforgettable experiences and a wealth of lovable and quirky characters. "On one of the last days of March in the year 1819, a half-chaise stopped in front of the Löwen Pharmacy in Neuruppin, and a young couple, whose joint fortune had recently purchased the pharmacy, alighted from the carriage and was received by the household staff.".