I wanted to add a picture of some lovely flowers beside an old building but blogger won't put it up. So you just get this one - the top of a chestnut tree as seen from the wall walkway. It is probably a little past the height of its glory. Helmut says that the fruit (nuts) of this tree are not eaten so it must be a different variety than the ones grown in N. America.

The Walled City Continued

After about as 40 minute walk up on the wall walkway we needed to come into the city to look for something for me to eat. I had a granola bar and a small drink along but consuming that wasn't sufficient to accommodate my need for calories at that time of the day.

First we saw this Chimney Sweep and he was quite willing to let us take his picture. Then we found the Bakery that I am looking at on the left side of the picture. Since the parking time was nearly up Helmut went to put some more money in for that. I had a piece of rhubarb cake similar to the rhubarb platz that is made in the Mennonite communities around MB. Helmut returned and had part of my cake as it was a very sizable piece.

Afterwards we walked around in the town for a while, visited a gift shop, saw this old old sheep barn (looks like a big gate) and then saw many other old buildings and the inside of the wall where it goes through a valley.

We were told that there was supposed to be a garden on the other side of the city some place. We drove around the outside of the wall but were not able to find a flower garden. We did see an area that looked like a veggie garden just getting started.

Up date

I've just been through my nightly routine of reading all the emails , blogs & some Facebook entries. Hello to all of you that I didn't comment on. Now I just want to get at my current sewing project ( a new dress for myself) while I have the opportunity to run the machine and make as much noise as I like. My sewing area is beside Andrew's bedroom so I'm staying away from it when he sleeps in the day time.

Helmut is busy sewing this evening (on the other side of A's bedroom.) H. is making blankets for Zambia - Mark put in an order for a blanket of a certain color so I think that is the one that just got finished. The blanket idea hatched because Palliser Co. was selling off unused goods to their employees at very reasonable prices. H. purchased (through Mark) 500 meters of the softest upholstery fabric they had. In my opinion , for a man past retirement he has more work to do or planned than any one else in his catagorey.

A Walled City

May 23 - We arrived at the place called Rottenburg auf der Tauber a three hundred year old walled city. (The parking lot charged for parking but entering the city on foot was free.)

First we decided to walk on the walkway of the wall - you see me watching a horse drawn vehicle while I waited my turn to cross the road. We went up to the walkway by the stone steps through the door way. The walkway has been maintained very well with many places rebuilt in recent decades so it is quite safe to walk along and look out on the roofs or third stories of all the houses. Many residents live in this place and you can look down on their homes and little yards.

If you can enlarge the picture of Helmut looking out over the houses - on the fourth gable from the left side of the picture you will see a beam sticking out from the peak of the gable this is where a pulley is attached to lift heavy items up to the attic for storage. Most of these old buildings have four or five stories and no elevators - pretty well true all over the country.

We spent about 40 minutes walking along the wall but didn't come close to getting all around the city. We had to go down to the city to look for a place where I could get something to eat as it was well passed lunch time. We have many more pictures from this interesting place but I'll have to make another post as this one wouldn't accept the sixth picture.

Family Tid Bits

For unknown reasons the New Post site refuses to let me put on pictures right now. Doesn't matter because I was only going to show a couple of roadside views. I started a post last evening and some how punched a wrong button or key and stalled all the ability to type - Andrew had to trouble shoot it today. I am basically restricted to evening use of this computer for the present time.

Yesterday morning we had a call that Helmut's Uncle Helmut Hasselhof in Germany had passed on into eternity in the early morning. He had become much sicker in Aug. than when we saw him in May. He was at home and in his own bed when the Lord took him. Aunt Hilde was there in the house but it was the home care person who had come to get him ready for the day who discovered that he was gone. They have three children, two live in Germany in other towns and one lives in New Zealand. The latter will be arriving home in Germany this coming week.
Uncle Helmut was Uncle Horst's brother-in-law.

Other tid bits- ten minutes of ear splitting brain numbing noise of an alarm that we set off and couldn't disarm - how embarrassing. Thurs. afternoon we picked our Grandson up at the day care and took him to his house where we were supposed to take care of him until his Mom would arrive home in the middle of the evening. His Dad was going to meet us at their house for a few minutes to say good bye before going on a hunting trip. Nobody told us that the house alarm would be set - we had the key so weren't breaking in. We didn't think we had the code and neither did we have a phone number for Mark or for Cammie. Finally several calls later from the security company and Mark's arrival everything got shut off - just glad the police didn't show up as well.

By the way we had lots of fun playing with Toby and eating pizza.

Last Installment of Markt

Please go back three posts and read that first then the middle one and last read this one.

Our descent to the valley was via a slightly different route and we were able to observe the castle from a very good angle. Here you can see the outside walls with a little round portion on the corner - perhaps this is what Helmut had remembered. Further along the highway we saw many poppies in bloom with the castle a way in the back ground.

So we continued on to Donauwoerth hoping to find a place to get near to the Danube river. The need of a WC presented itself so we started searching and finally found a MacDonald's. J. used the WC and H. availed himself of the chance to have a milkshake. We could not find a place to get near the river for a walk.

On another post we shall see where we visited in the afternoon.

Castle at Markt Continued

At the top of this post you are looking with Helmut at the small tower that is currently having some reconstruction done to it (not so visible from this angle). Next we turn a little to the left and H. & the lady have the main house in the background. this is the building that H's family would have stayed in while visiting. Now you have to make a 180 degree turn to the left to view the large tower with the Smithy building in the front of it and a corner of the church on the left of the picture. Think of the main house and the Smithy being two legs of a U and the building with the red roof behind the horse as the bottom of the U -now you have the general lay out. We took the pictures of the walls when we walked passed the Smithy on the right side.

Since these places are all privately owned and the owners didn't seem to be around we didn't try to find any way to have a tour inside. We could hear someone working inside one of the buildings but no one appeared to see what we wanted so we just went on our way again.

Castle Chase Continued

May 23. We left Gersthofen headed for Wurtzburg on the way we hoped to find Biberbach. Helmut had located on the map a place called Markt in the close vicinity and wished to investigate it for the castle of his childhood memories. We found the village but had some trouble finding the appropriate road to ascend the burg (hill) to the castle from that particular side we couldn't observe the castle very well. some of the things H. could remember were that one side of the castle would be on a high hill and the other side would have a long level field. (the top of the "mountain" would be flat for a long distance), the castle had round towers (we had been looking for such a place).

A very narrow road seemed to be the only approach to this castle and it seemed almost unused. We decided to drive up and have a look. We had to wind around quite a while but did come to an area that looked like the long flat area at the top. We met one car descending. Finally we passed a house that H. did not remember (it certainly looked old enough to have been there 60 some years ago). then we finally found the castle. We drove right into the yard and some folks were standing around in the parking area. There was a church in the center of the area and Helmut recognized the buildings and noticed that the towers were square. (Childhood memories not quite accurate.)

Helmut started visiting with the people standing around and discovered that they were from the village area and had been at the church that Wed. morning for a special service. The pink building is the front door area of the Catholic Church. Helmut didn't remember ever being in it when he visited here as a boy. These people remembered some of the family that had owned the castle or at least occupied it in the 40's. There was some discussion (in German) about the family and the current owners (not part of the family H. knew.) The various parts of the castle are now owned by various people. The female person (in the picture) in charge of the church let us look around inside before she closed up. You can see the very ornate interior in three of the pictures.

Helmut's Dad brought the children to this place for a few weeks while he was making mattresses for the owners. The owners of that time were Mennonites and had many refugees working for them just after the war also villagers worked for them as day labourers.

Because I have trouble posting too many pictures at a time I will end this post and start on a new one with more pictures of this castle.

Gersthofen and the ETAP

On the evening of May 22 we drove from Landsburg to Gersthofen which is north of Augsburg. First we found a grocery store that was still open for a few minutes and purchased some supplies for our supper. Since we were in a more or less industrial or commercial area we just parked on the side of the parking lot of the store and ate in the car.

Then we noticed close to the store a ETAP hotel advertising low rates. Helmut checked it out and we decided to stay. This was the very smallest place we stayed. You can see by the photos that the bed occupied the middle of the room - on the window side there was a little built in desk in one corner and a lavatory in the other corner. On the hall door side were two cubbyholes - you see the gray door of the toilet & the door to the shower was between that and the green door to the hall. Incidentally when the shower was used the sewer smells penetrated the room.

We took a nice long walk before settling down for the night. Helmut also studied the atlas some more and found a place called Markt in the area near Wurtsburg. We will check it out tomorrow.

My comment at the end of the 22nd. "Nine more days can't pass fast enough for me."

Mindelheim to Augsburg and Beyond

Be sure to read the post about Sun. in Mindelheim first. There were no pictures taken on Sun. afternoon or most of Mon. May 20 & 21.

We left the nice folks home about the middle of the afternoon and headed to Augsburg which was to be a pleasant drive until about supper time. I called it the "Wild Castle Chase" because we were looking for the castle where Helmut had spent some time in his youth while his Father made mattresses for the owners. Helmut knew it was called Markt - this is a very common name that means market and could be applied to lots of places. He also thought that it was not too far from Augsburg. So all along the way I am looking at all the castles to see if they have round towers. We checked out a few places that were Markt (something) but didn't find the right place the whole afternoon and the whole way to Augsburg.

By the time we were in Augsburg it was past supper time by every account either N. Am. or German. We also needed to find a place to stay. i vetoed taking a hotel in the center of the city figuring that they would be very expensive. We couldn't find any smaller looking places as we were driving around. Finally we saw a MacDonald's but it was on the other side of the major highway of course. So we drove around and around a back and forth until we were finally on the right side to turn in where we were able to get some supper. This was our first Macattack of the whole trip thus far.

After eating we drove on into the country side looking for a Gasthaus or hotel (it would have to take a Mastercard as we were very low on cash.) this was my idea. After many kilometers we came to the outskirts of Landsburg and found a big very modern hotel. It turned out to be fairly pricey and they charged 20 Euros more to have breakfast. We decided to for go the breakfast. It was a comfortable room and we had a good nights sleep. Even took a walk around the neighbourhood before bedtime.

The next morning our main goal was to find a bank where we could draw some cash against our Mastercard as we were getting very low on Euros. (I ate a granola bar before heading out). The first branch bank that we stopped at quite close to the hotel couldn't help us and sent us to the Landsburg Aldtstadt (old part of the city.)

Helmut tried several of the major banks with little or no help. One place the bank personnel were very helpful and made many inquirers for him. The long and short of this was that we found out that we couldn't get a direct withdrawal from the Mastercard with out a PIN number which we didn't have because they are never needed in N. America. We tried to get Mastercard to wire us some money but this required lots of different procedures and long distance phone calls. So we were stuck in this city for another night.

The whole day I had several bad episodes with low blood sugars so I learned that it isn't a good idea to go with out breakfast or to skimp on meals.

We went back to the same hotel for Mon. night. We were very exhausted by this time so had to have a nap before we found a Burger King for our supper.

Germany's parking and toilet situation is frustrating. Both of us would have gladly been on our way home that night but it wasn't to be.

Tuesday - we went back to the city center hoping to collect the wired money. After many hours of being sent from here to there and trying to make long distance phone calls to Mastercard and being put on hold so long that the phone company cut us off. We were unable to obtain any cash. We were tied up here until late Tues. when we just decided to go on our way without any more cash.

Landsburg has a nice little river running right through the center of the business area and it has a long park area where I spent a lot of time while Helmut went from one place to another. The Haupbahnhof (main train and bus station) had a good WC (washroom) that was free and was within walking distance of the riverside park. This city also has a walled castle in the center of town - it is used as some kind of a school so wasn't for sight seeing in doors. We drove through the area but couldn't find a parking place. On this day I ate a late lunch at the Haupbahnhof, managing to order it by myself in German. The biggest problem is knowing what the price is finally as you get charged for everything - the numbers are always said backwards to English so even when I understand the words I get mixed up. So I hand over a big Euro and hope they are honest and give me the correct change.

Around 5:30 pm we left Landsburg headed for some where else.

Sunday in Mindelheim

On Sat. evening, May 19, we drove from Immenstadt to Mindelheim which is a small city in the general area of Munich. (We tried to avoid the very large cities while driving - they are no picnic to drive in.) After searching some of the smaller villages looking for a room we ended up right in the old part of the city at Hotel Stern. The entrance was through a court yard where some people were sitting around smoking. Our window had to open on to this side of the building so we just left it shut until after the people went in. This same evening we went to a Greek restaurant for supper and meandered around the town on foot. We also found the address of the assembly so that we wouldn't be lost in the morning.

Sun. morning we arrived at the assembly building quite a little ahead of time and no one seemed to be there - also the time for the breaking of bread was not posted on the sign board - we had a time from the website. So we went for a walk in that neighborhood - it was a warm morning and I felt a little sweaty before meeting time but there wasn't anything to do about it.

We noticed an old gentleman on a public parking lot talking to another couple and when we came around the same way after quite a walk he was still talking. When the folks finally arrived for the meeting about 2 minutes before starting time the old gentleman was also there - the other folks he had been talking to were not.

The Breaking of Bread had a rather small attendance but was conducted about like most of the ones we have attended in North America

The S.S. and ministry meeting started at about 10:30 after a very short break. Many more folks showed up for the second meeting. They had an opening of hymns & prayer time when several participated. They sang What A Friend We Have In Jesus - they even had English words on the opposite page so I joined in in English. The children were taken to another area for their classes. The ministry lasted about one hour or perhaps a little over. (I noted that the benches were very hard and that it was hard to sit through so long without understanding the content of the message.)

The elderly gentleman got talking to H. after the meeting and continued on for a long time. He had an interesting story - Helmut will have to tell it some time ( maybe he did tell some of the family at the reunion.)

A dear couple with a young family invited us home to a meal. They live in a village about 11km from the city. You can see their pictures up above. Klaus-Peter barbecued sausages for the meal and Kerstin prepared the other items in the kitchen. While the meal was being prepared Helmut and I were asked to sit on the very small patio and the children came along to visit with us. The oldest is Madeleine, then Janet & the little boy is Jean-Marcel (pronounce that Jean as if it is Shawn). When he told us his name I couldn't figure it out at all but when I saw it written down then it made since. The folks were very pleasant to visit and spoke some English except for the little guy who doesn't go to school yet.

Coming Down the Mountain

View from bottom to top-

Late in the afternoon after an enjoyable time on Mittag we got on the chair lift and headed back to Immenstadt. This is the middle station where we ate our lunch on the way up. We needed to change to a different chair lift to continue our journey.

The rest of the pictures are the scenery as we approached Immenstadt. We also observed lots of people hiking up the trail but forgot to take any pictures of them.

In the town we found a place to get an ice cream treat and then headed off on the road to Mindleheim (I'll check the spelling of that one for the next post.)

Now I have to check my lemon loaves in the oven.

Mittag - Hang Glider

Same mountain, same observation area where we watched the paraglider. Here you can see a hang glider preparing his equipment and getting airbourne. We really wondered if he would make it without hitting that pole or cable - in the end he cleared it without trouble. It is so beautiful to watch them glide around up in the sky only on the air currents.

I am going to try shorter posts today because last evening I had trouble that blogger didn't want to upload more pictures after a time.

We walked around a little in the general area of this peak but didn't try any long hikes that were available - we saw many others hiking in the area. In fact there is a trail right near the cable chair but I was not fit enough for this type of hiking.

Immenstadt & Mittagbhan

You must check out the pictures from bottom to top of the post.

We arrived at Immenstadt around the noon hour. Decided to tour up the mountain on a chairlift "Mittagbahn". At the middle station about 1100m up the mountain we stopped (changing lifts is necessary at this point) and had our lunch at the Rasthaus. I had some kind of a cheese suace on lettuce with three slices of toast - I noted that the cheese sauce was "awful" I guess the taste was not my choice. You will note a couple of general views over the valley.

You see a man hanging over a rail watching a paraglider preparing for takeoff; in the next shots you see how he finally gets airbourne.

We watched several paragliders.

Mosieing Through Germany

Sat. May !9,2007 - Leisurely travelling from Zussdorf to Immenstad. A little snow is seen on the tops of the distant German Alps.

First we drove to Lindau near the Bodensee (Lake Constance). We wanted to drive west along the shore but couldn't find a suitable road from which to view the lake. therefore we turned back east and headed towards the Alps.

These pictures were taken along the way. The valleys are very wide and there are many farms and little villages. More of the farm homes stand alone in these valleys rather than everyone living in the villages. The tractors and machinery seem to be smaller & older than those we would observe in the prairies of Canada & the U.S.

We stopped at one rest area with a scenic view of the Alps and took some pictures and also noticed this green beetle crawling across the side road. If you can enlarge the picture you will have a better view of it.

We stopped at a strawberry stand and bought a box of fresh ones to nibble on along the way. This is not the exact one but it probably looked similar. This one was in a much different area several days later when I finally remembered to take a picture of one.