Hubertus Kilian is said to have undertaken his first major trip to Spain in 1839, together with clarinetist Philipp Konrad. He often recounted stories from this trip later on:
“… how they made their way on foot to Bilbao in Spain, playing music along the way, how they played Christmas Mass there on Christmas Eve and then enjoyed some heavy Spanish wine. And then, with bated breath, he recounted how their first adventure unfolded, how they abandoned their colleague, the clarinetist Philipp Konrad from Eßweiler, in a foreign country, leaving him to wander around for about three decades before finally seeing his unfaithful friends again in Eßweiler 49 years later, by which time he had almost forgotten the German language.”
In another version, namely in the story “Der Birnbaum” (The Pear Tree) by Hermann Moos, it is reported that Philipp Konrad, seduced by a pretty girl, broke away from the group. After his return to Eßweiler many years later, he is said to have died under a pear tree.
