Saturday morning, Sept. 24 - After spending the night in what we not-so-affectionately call the "My Cousin Vinny Motel" near London's Stansted airport (if you've seen the commercial about customer service that Capital One is airing, you'll understand--transfer, transfer, transfer, transfer, this is Peggy), we boarded a Germanwings flight headed to Stuttgart, Germany in search of family ancestors. Der Deutsch Bahn est wunderbar! In no time we took two trains to Baden-Wurttemburg area and settled into our B&B in Baden-Baden, Rathausgloeckel, a 16th century guest house. Didn't have to worry about setting an alarm clock--the church bells started ringing at 6:00 am every morning! Quaint cobblestone, narrow streets, and a relaxing stroll along Lichentaller Allee along the Oosbach River. Found Decker Art Gallerie but it was already closed for the day and was closed on Sunday as well, so we left our card in the door. We found several Deckers in the local phonebook but decided to write letters (in German) when we got home rather than trying to call them--very few people spoke English in this part of Germany :)) Had a lovely dinner at the B&B. Did you know that dogs are allowed in restaurants in Germany? Dogs in restaurants, dogs on trains, baby strollers on bikes, shopping baskets on bikes, bikes everywhere, no fat people in Europe--everyone walks or bikes, no fast food. Also no sheets--in Ireland, England, and Germany all the beds were made with fitted sheets and duvets--no top sheets or blankets. Sunday morning we beat the crowds and visited the traditional Roman baths at Friedericksbad. What an amazing experience--17 steps which were a combination of warm air rooms, hot air rooms, sauna, hot pools, jacuzzi pools, soap and brush massage, more pools and saunas, and finally the icy cold plunge into 65 degree water. Yes, we did it! Then the creme massage and 30 minutes wrapped up like a burrito in a warmed sheet and blanket in a quiet room. The entire process took 3 1/2 hours. Sweated off at least 2 pounds! That afternoon we took the cable car up to the top of Mt. Merkur overlooking Baden-Baden and the Black Forest. It's a popular spot for paragliders and it was a perfect, sunny day. We saw lots and lots of people paragliding.
Monday morning - time to hop the train again to Karlsruhe to visit the genealogical archives. Herr Louber was gracious enough to help us look through church records going back to the late 1700's and we found Ed's great-great and great-great-great grandfathers listed from Langenalb. Herr Louber also phoned Herr Herbert Kling who has done extensive research on the families of the Langenalb area and actually published a book in August 2011. Herr Kling agreed to meet with us at his home the next morning. Took the train to the end of the line at Ittersbach and then hitched a ride to Langenalb. No place to stay in Langenalb so we walked 3 km to Conweiler (Ed kept calling it corn muffin) and found the Rossle Gasthaus in Ottenhausen. He picked us up from our guest house the next morning and took us to his home. We bought a copy of his book and now have information to continue research back into the 1700's. But it will mean another trip to Europe - to Bavaria! That's where the Deckers originated from. One of Ed's great-great grandmothers was from Bavaria and one was from a different town in Germany. Herr Kling has also done research forward into the 1970's so we will be corresponding with him to find family members still living! He was ecstatic to get the Decker family genealogy information from us about Ed's great grandfather, Karl Friederich Decker, who came to America in the 1850's and established the famous Decker pottery in Tennessee. After looking through records, Herr Kling was gracious enough to drive us around Langenalb and showed us the school building where Ed's great and great-great grandfather went to school, the road with the sawmills where the Deckers worked, and the church they went to.
Tuesday afternoon we took trains to Bacharach on the Rhein River and walked the 400 steps up to the Stahleck Castle which has been converted to a youth hostel. They also allow old folks :)) It was SO cool. We had a great view of the Rhein River and Bacharach from one of the terraces. You had to be careful walking because all the courtyards and stairs to the rooms were original stones and very uneven.
Wednesday we took a 1-hour cruise on the river to St. Goar and did the walking tour of Rheinfels Castle. Saw the famous Lorely Rock along the river. We wanted to spend another night at the castle hostel but they were fully booked for the second night so we found Ursula Ort's B&B on a tiny side street in Bacharach. Had some heavenly Schwarzwald Torte (Black Forest Cake) at a local bakery and walked all the tiny streets of town.
Thursday, Sept. 29 - time to head back to the airport to return to London and the Rifle Club to pick up Ed's shooting gear which we stored there while touring Europe. Got to see London at night when we took a taxi
from Liverpool Train Station to Waterloo Train Station to catch the train to Surrey County where the Rifle Club is. So beautiful! And so scary--that taxi ride was scarier than any amusement park ride I've ever been on! Got in trouble for sitting in the First Class car instead of the Ordinary People cars :))
Friday, Sept. 30 - repacked our bags and walked around Bisley some more. Got a taxi to a Best Western at Gatwick Airport. I think jetlag finally caught up with us. Ed poured his potato crisps (chips) into a coffee cup and tried to drink them :))
Saturday, Oct. 1 - the flight home! it sure felt good to touch down in Atlanta (especially after all the turbulence the last 30 minutes of the flight). My cousin Angie was there to pick us up. Thank you Angie!
It was an amazing experience to see how another part of the world lives. The lack of commercialism was in stark contrast to the excessive commercialism in America. Very few cars--people walk, bike, or use public transportation. They recycle everything! Shops open at 9:00 or 9:30 and close at 5:00 or 5:30, no if's, and's, or but's. I've posted some more pictures on the blog. Go to http://miss-arleen.blogspot.com/
Ed and Arleen
