A Return to the Vaterland

Karl's parents, Ann and Joe, came to visit for the Thanksgiving holiday! This was a return to Germany for Joe who had both served a church mission in Munich and also served in the military in German. However, this was Ann's first ever visit to Germany. Her father and her mother's mother were both born here so it was a special trip for her. We had a lovely time with them!

France



They arrived on Sunday, November 19th, and on Monday, while Karl was at work, I took them to France. We visited the beautiful city of Strasbourg, France. The city is located in the Alsace region of France. This region was once German, then it became French, then German again, then French...you get the idea. Although it is now solidly part of France, there are many German-named towns, German architecture and they speak a dilect that sounds like a cross between French and German.

Besides being the seat of the European Parliment, Strasbourg also has an absolutely huge and beautifully stunning gothic cathedral. The cathedral was built mostly in the 1200s and is espcially known for its astronomical clock. The first clock in the cathedral was installed in the 13oos, replaced in 1574 and in about 1840 that clock was expanded to the clock that stands now. At 12:30 pm daily the clock strikes. After looking through the rest of the cathedral, we attending the fascinating ringing of the clock: a child turns an hourglass, apostles file past a figure of Christ, and a cock crows three times.

After eating lunch in Strasbourg we drove about 40 minutes south to the tiny village of Riquewihr. This little town was founded in the 6th century...and it hasn't changed much since! We could have thrown up from all the quaintness if it weren't just too beautiful!! Not only did we fall in love with the narrow streets, the colored timberhouses, and the cobblestones but they had just decorated the town for Christmas...it was all a fairy tale come to life!

Frankfurt, Wasserkuppe, and Bad Kissingen



The next couple of days we took a trip into Joe's past. On Tuesday we all drove up to Frankfurt am Main at the church's temple where Joe met an old friend of his from when he was a young missionary, Erna. She was a darling woman! We spent the evening with her then spent the night in a small pension. On Wednesday we drove up to Wasserkuppe where Joe had served in the military. The old base was at the peak of a hill, but unfortunately it was a very foggy day and there was no view...although the drive up and down was gorgeous. We drove on to Bad Kissingen where Joe spent much of his mission. We arrived after nightfall but it was still a very charming town. As its name suggests (Bad = Bath) it is a spa town. We walked around the park near the spa and around the beautify, charming city center before heading back to Buehl.

Burgs and a Biergarten

We had a German-style Thanksgiving starting with visiting a couple of ruined castles along the edge of the Black Forest. We spotted one off of the autobahn at the top of a hill in the middle of a grape wineyard. Then we visited Oberkirch and Schauenburg. We decided to eat our Thanksgiving dinner at our neighborhood biergarten (biergarten = beer garden, an open air drinking house with a yummy menu) up the street from us in Oberweier. It was a very traditional German meal in a traditional German atmosphere...all very un-American!

Baden-Baden

On Friday, we visited Baden-Baden. It was the first day of the city's Christmas Market, so we spend some time enjoying the market with yummy food, crafts, candles, and Christmas decorations. We walked through the old Trinkhalle (Drinking Hall) where people can enjoy the natural spring water, and through a beautiful city park then finally walked through the shopping area as night fell.

Windeck and Karlsruhe

On Friday we made a morning visit to Burg Windeck. Ann and Joe had a view of the burg out their bedroom window all week, so we finally visited it. But not before playing on the playground next to the ruin! We then drove up to Karlsruhe and walked around the Botanical gardens next to the palace. We walked around the palace and the city center, then ate dinner back at the resturant looking over the Botanical gardens. It was beautiful!

On Sunday, we thought we were saying goodbye to them, but Sunday afternoon, Ann and Joe were back again after a mix-up with their stand-by airline tickets when they found out they wouldn't be able to leave until Tuesday. One Monday we all ended our week as it began by visiting Strasbourg and their newly opened Christmas market. It was beautiful! There were gorgeous lights everywhere and booths all around the cathedral and Ann and I ice skated!

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