Germany: Deutschland: Heritage (Part I)

Jay and I flew to Frankfurt, Germany on January 2nd to spend time with our relatives that live in the nearby village of Höchst. The rest of my family flew back to America the same day. Our cousins Kerstin and Günther who so warmly welcomed us into their homes for the next 5 days greeted us at the airport. I guess I should explain how it is that I have family in Germany in the first place. About 15 years ago, my grandfather (Dad's Dad, a.k.a. Pop) researched our genealogy and worked really hard contacting people in Germany to see if we still had relatives there. It turns out that we did, so with dictionary in hand, Pop made a solo trip to Deutschland to meet the family he'd never met before. He didn't speak German and they spoke little English so I can only imagine how that first meeting went. Now of course, they speak nearly fluent English (with the exception of Annemarie), so there are no problems with communication. Annemarie Dähler Weil (notice the old German spelling of my last name) is married to Günther Weil and they have two daughters: Kerstin and Andrea. Kerstin has been to the states twice since Pop's initial visit. She is now married with a beautiful son named Jonas and living near her hometown of Höchst. Andrea recently married an American soldier and is getting ready to move to Hinesville, GA where her husband is stationed. For now, she is in Germany waiting on her visa and was also there to show Jay and I around. That's just a teeny tiny summary of the family that I have there (and Pop, please correct me if I'm mistaken about any of it).

Anyway, Jay and I arrived to Annemarie and Günther's cozy little house, and immediately I felt at home. I would later come to find that everywhere you go in Germany has a "cozy" feel to it. We dropped our luggage, and our first excursion was the quaint town of Heidelberg. After visiting the castle and the pharmacy museum, we shopped for gummy bears and Christmas ornaments along a quaint, shop-lined street. We had a very German lunch that included some form of sausage and sauerkraut, and then made our way back to the Weil's. It was nice to be back on a more American eating schedule - the Germans eat their meals at the same times as we do (versus the Spanish who eat lunch at 3:00 and dinner at 10:00). That night, we went to Kerstin and Alexander's to watch a movie in their home theatre that Alexander built himself. It was very impressive - complete with movie theatre seats, surround sound, and a selection of over 400 movies!

The next day, Günther and Andrea took us to the Rhine River Valley and Frankfurt. Seeing the river made me realize why our ancestors settled in the Ohio River Valley - the scenery is so similar, there were times when I felt like I was back home. Frankfurt was much more cosmopolitan than any of the other places we visited - complete with skyscrapers, museums, and designer stores. We had lunch at Günther's favorite restaurant and Jay and I got to try "green sauce" for the first time. It's made with 7 different vegetables and served with hardboiled eggs. Strange, but good.

That night, Jay, Andrea, and I went to The Irish Pub to celebrate Andrea's birthday. The pub had high ceilings that were covered with books and old religious paintings. There was a live band that sang old American classics, and even Happy Birthday to Andrea at midnight! We toasted with champagne and sparklers (apparently a German tradition that we reserve only for Independence Day). All in all, a great night.

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