Germany Visit: January 29 - February 9, 2009

Our extended family visit at the Kurpfalzhof for Erich Becker's 75th birthday: Erich, Joe, Ruth, & Renate.

 

Ruth's Travelogue Mapping our Winter Visit in Germany

to Bretten with the Fuchs Family, & to Heidelberg with the Becker Family:

 

Leave home 5:15 p.m. EST – CLTFRA US704 (A330) 8:15 p.m. departure  –  noon arrival local time in Germany –

German Immigration and Customs – walk to elevated Frankfurt Airport Long Distance Train Station – buy tickets –

Frankfurt 12:59 p.m. ICE train – Karlsruhe – S-Bahn with Fuchs & Gertrud’s sister Erika – arrive Bretten 2:15 p.m.

 

21 hours travel time, door to door: 5:15 p.m. local time Thursday, in Charlotte, to 2:15 p.m. local time Friday, in Bretten.

Awake 31 hours straight: 8:30 a.m. EST Thursday, Charlotte, to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Bretten [24 hours] & 9:30 p.m. to bed.

 

At Kristen and Marcus' New Year's Eve party, Marcus' father, Eugen Fuchs (sounds similar to "foods"), expressed surprised disappointment Joe and I had not yet visited them in Bretten—he & his wife, Gertrud, had invited us! We decided to come visit and then go about 45 minutes north to Heidelberg for Erich Becker's 75th birthday.

 

The first excitement came going through security in Charlotte. After visiting their son and daughter-in-law in Charlotte, Eugen and Gertrud left behind two humongous and heavy suitcases—broken!—that were wide and deep and tall enough for me to fit inside, filled full of their clothes and accumulated miscellaneous material they then found to be (way) too much to take back. Joe and I volunteered to hand-carry back as much as we could for them, clothing like their suits, jackets, and coats, and I then unpacked my changes of clothes in order to squeeze in a box of theirs, taped shut on top. I opened the bottom, glanced inside, and started pulling out an assortment of little packages: a sink drain stopper, magnifying glass, etc., jam-packed around the end of a huge flashlight—whatever it was, it was, to be sure, a lot of bulky weight.

 

Joe & I don't usually check our luggage; for one reason, the airline, my employer, is not responsible for employee lost/damaged bags. My big rolling suitcase contained nearly only Gertrud and Eugen's things, Joe also took as much as he could, and between the two of us, we managed to carry a considerable amount of the contents of one of their broken suitcases (we have no idea what their other gigantic weighty one contained). I also took five seashell pictures my dad made to give the Beckers.

 

At Security, my bag was pulled for a close and personal inspection. Of course I was curious… Holding his hands out about a foot apart to show the size, he said, “The x-ray shows you are carrying a hammer.” A HAMMER???!!!!! Every stitch I was wearing suddenly became drenched in sweat. Was I doing the unthinkable, accepting an UNKNOWN article to carry onboard for somebody, and lo and behold, out of all the things in the whole wide world, it turned out to be a HAMMER???!!!!! Or, was I KNOWINGLY trying to carry a HAMMER on board the aircraft?

 

Either way, I could possibly lose my job as a flight attendant, as well as have a bunch of difficult explaining to do. “Let me help you look... let’s look in this package.” He took out the mystery box and while tearing the cardboard to try and get inside through the strong, clear tape on top, I suggested he open the bottom. Out fell an assortment of little packages: the sink drain stopper, magnifying glass, etc. He took a look inside at the huge flashlight, and laid the opened box on the countertop: “It’s not in there.” After examining the other suitcase compartments, he declared, “We’re going to run your suitcase through screening again.”

 

Hover the mouse over a picture for a caption. Click a photo to enlarge it. Maps.

 

Our Visit for a Weekend with the Fuchs Family in Bretten

 

We visited the Fuchs family, arriving Friday afternoon in Bretten.

Beautiful hand-painted chest by our bedroom and the bath. Gertrud placed a luscious selection of oranges, apples, & bananas in our room, a big bowl set next to plates, silverware, & napkins: service for the two of us. A lovely view from our balcony. We had thought we'd sleep late for a slow weekend, enjoy a little strolling around town & church on Sunday. Little did we know! Eugen lights the Feuerzungenbowle (Tongues of Fire Bowl) sugar cone, an impressive flaming punch finale to our last evening we'd never experienced before. Gertrud & Eugen pampered us with superb meals 4-5 times a day; I used my artistic license in whimsically decorating these slices of good German bread.
 

Next day: 5:45 wake up, 6:30 breakfast, 7:05 leave for a 7:17 - 9:47 train ride 2½ hours into the Black Forest.
Elfriede meets our train. Schiltach lies in the heart of woods so dark and dense the Romans called them "Silva Nigra" and ninth-century monks "Svarzwald", the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). Freshly fortified with a delectable second breakfast at the hillside home of Elfriede & her husband, Siegbert, we relished the wonderful walking tour around town Elfriede gave us. This prettiest of towns dating to the 13th century lies at the mouth of the river Kinzig in the Rottweil district of Baden-Württemberg in the eastern Black Forest. A small town with an idyllic climate in the Kinzig valley of fine half-timber facades, tanners, and rafts men; Schiltach rafters floated logs from here up to Holland. 

We visited Gertrud's cousin Elfriede & her husband, Siegbert, in Schiltach, a lovely village in the Black Forest.
Jägerhäusle door. Schiltach presents a true treasure in terms of half-timbered buildings with no equivalent in the Black Forest. The vast national park, draped in a bean shape across the south west corner of Germany, is crisscrossed with gorgeous villages and towns. Jägerhäusle, the "hunter's hut", 1590 door lintel reproduction, faithfully carved with Roman ciphers, graces this town first officially chronicled in 1275. Market place. A beautiful 1594 town hall, impressive central landmark Rathaus Schiltach, its painted facade depicting the village history. Elfriede and Eugen by the 1590 Jägerhäusle; we had so much fun traversing the well-kept medieval narrow cobblestone streets & alleys, loved Elfriede's insights on the tanners who lived outside the walled town.
Decorative half-timbered construction and quoins (prominent stones at wall corners or door and window openings) of the Jägerhäusle, built into the city wall of this perfectly preserved town in the Kinzig Valley surrounded by sunny forested slopes & shady valleys. Fountain and half-timbered houses on the triangular market square typify what is so appealing about this part of Germany, an area of the country that gets the most sunshine. Lion statue crowns the 15th century fountain surrounded by old half-timbered houses around the exquisite market square, nestled among the granite and sandstone mountains of south-west Germany. Looking from the tanners lane past the museum tower up to the town church of Schiltach, the Evangelische Schiltacher Stadtkirche, built of red sandstone in the new Byzantine style.
Graceful downtown Schiltach, resplendent with culture and craft trade, with flags for Fasching. From the heart of the city, the marketplace, looking up past the Renaissance town hall to the covered wooden bridge on the hilltop. Gertrud, Eugen, and Elfriede walking outside the town wall in the Gerberviertel, the tanner's quarters, past the town's second mill, the Äußere Mühle, and it is the oldest half-timbered house in Schiltach, built in 1557. I love this this lovely little dandelion picture with its poem to honor God (Gott zu ehren, blühen und vergehen, allen guten Samen in die Welt verwehen), hanging in Elfriede and Siegbert's home.
After our tour of the town, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch Elfriede had prepared, followed by dessert, and in the afternoon, coffee and cake Elfriede served with her tasty homemade pastries. My mouth-watering portion of Elfriede's homemade southern German dessert, a scrumptious form of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cherry torte). Siegbert, Elfriede, Eugen, and Gertrud. We enjoyed a most wonderful coffee time and relaxing visit in their lovely home! We loved visiting Schiltach. Ruth & Eugen on the 3:47 train back to Bretten; we all arrived at 6:38 and ate a marvelous supper at 7:45 p.m.
 

Sunday 7:30 wake up, 8:30 breakfast, 9:15 church, Gasthaus lunch, 12:40-2:48 train ride 2 hours to France.
After church in Wössingen & lunch at Kleines Paradies in Helmsheim, we drove back to Bretten to catch the 12:40 p.m. train. We arrived 2:48 for a half hour in Wissembourg, where I liked the style of this roof. Eugen, Gertrud, and Ruth by the cobblestone streets of downtown Wissembourg. The name Wissembourg, a Franconized version of the German Weißenburg (Weissenburg), means "white castle". Medieval (1448) salthouse (Maison du Sel), its distinctive enormous roof overlooking one of the canals threading through downtown. Impressively beautiful stained glass windows of the abbey church of Saints-Pierre-et-Paul (Peter and Paul).

Our train would leave within an hour; we had a mere 49 minutes to dash into & around Wissembourg, & back.
Eugen crosses historic downtown. The first battle of the Franco-Prussian War, the Battle of Wissembourg, was fought here August 4, 1870. At the Abbey, the monk Otfried composed a gospel harmony in 869, the first substantial work of verse in German. This former Augustinian convent (1279) is a town highlight, along with the Pastry Shop Rebere, one of the oldest – and top 100 – in French pastry. In 1803 the red sandstone church of St. Peter & Paul became the parish church, the largest in Alsace, exceeded in size only by the cathedral of Strasbourg.

The Benedictine abbey from the 7th century, around which the picturesque town grew, is now a gothic church.
From the abbey, Joe heads towards picturesque Patrician houses and the town hall. Off to the left stands the home of the Bartholdi Family whose famous sculptor descendant gave the French their Lion de Belfort & Americans their Statue of Liberty. Gertrud, Eugen, & Ruth leaving Wissembourg. The town was fortified in the 13th century; parts of the walls and gateways of the town, along with splendid 15th & 16th-century timber-frame houses still stand. Weißenburg is situated on the little River Lauter (one of Rhine's west inflowing rivers) near the German border in the eastern Alsace region (approximately 37 mi. north of Strasbourg and 22 mi. west of Karlsruhe). Gertrud on the train ride back (3:37 - 7:38 p.m.) from Wissembourg, France. The town commands the defile – a narrow pass or gorge – between the Vosges mountains and the Alsacian Rhine plain.

We rushed to catch our 3:37 p.m. train in Wissembourg (German: Weißenburg), arriving 5:38 p.m. in Bretten.

Our Visit for a Week with the Becker Family around Heidelberg

Monday breakfast, lunch, train Bretten - Heidelberg, Christa meets us & drives us to their home in Rohrbach.
Dieter built this energy-saving oven; Daddy's shell picture holds this place of honor in the living room. Close-up of Daddy's shell picture looking so pretty atop the awesome oven Dieter designed and built. Dieter's hard-working business van. Lena arrives with us and sees the haircut Dieter gave Philipp Sunday evening.

Going to Wiesloch for Lunch with Christa and Dieter, their children Philipp and Lena, and Tante Hildegard
City church tower, Evangelische Stadtkirchturm, almost completely 11th century, re-built after the earlier church (1061 or 1071) was war-ravaged. We ate a great lunch at the Bistro Trattoria Italia – & I admired my view of magnificent horse head statues. Life-size bronze horse portraits, "Maja" 1975 & "Gajo" 1987, Carrara marble on cement stela, at the historical 1742 Hesselgasse Postal stop; erected 2007; donated by the family of Dr. Helmut Bergdolt, Wiesloch. Lena and Philipp at the Elefantenvogel Kroko (1992) glass fiber synthetic bird, atop a concrete column, in the Hesselgasse; erected 2007; financed/initiated by Willi Schmidt (SchuhWolf) & the "Bürgerstiftung Kunst für Wiesloch e.V."

Visit to the Städtisches Museum, City Museum, in Wiesloch
Philipp, Lena, Tante Hildegard, Christa, and Dieter as we have some fun on the way to eat lunch. Christa & Dieter (front) with Joe at the Städtisches Museum, which highlights the region's geology, & mining dating from the 1st century A.D., also Bronze age, provincial-Roman, & medieval presentations, as well as events of the Thirty Years' War in Wiesloch. Joe strikes a pose at the medieval weapons exhibit. Christa & Dieter (front) with Joe at the City Museum. Wiesloch lies in northern Baden-Württemberg just south of Heidelberg, spread across the southern foothills of the Odenwald, Rhine Valley and Kraichgau.

Museum Close-ups
Ceramic dish holds an assortment with an ancient stash of peas (Pisum Sativum L.). Neolithic life in the Wiesloch area dates to 5500 B.C. Ceramic dish with barley. In the vicinity of the Wiesloch-Walldorf train station a Roman village, dating from the 2nd and 3rd century A.D., prospered at the intersection of two Roman main roads. Spindle. Celts 500 to 400 B.C. invaded the fertile strip of land between the Rhine plains & steep Odenwald hills that block eastern winds, an ancient trading route from Darmstadt via Heidelberg to Wiesloch that the Romans called „strata montana“, the „Bergstrasse“. Mineral slab. The world's oldest known hummingbird fossil, Eurotrochilus inexpectatus, from the Early Oligocene (30 million years ago, with a subtropical humid climate), was found in a clay pit at Frauenweiler (southwest of Wiesloch).

Walking Around Wiesloch with Christa and Dieter, who hosted us and planned a wonderful family week.
Ruth & Christa at a home built into the city wall. Wiesloch, industrial center of the Heidelberg area south, also houses the world’s biggest printing press manufacturing site, operated by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen. Dieter and Christa at the 14th century remains of the city wall and defense tower, the Sauermillichhaffe. No one knows now how it got the name sour milk pot. Oldest residence (1st mention, 1340; sole survivor of the January 28, 1689 city destruction), the Freihof stair gable & out-houses (Plumpsklo, "ker-plumps closet") reflect its heritage as a stand-alone fortification within the southeast quarter, inside the medieval city walls. The Wiesloch city pharmacy nearby became the first petrol station in the world when Bertha Benz stopped there on her maiden voyage, August 5, 1888, to refill the tank of the first automobile that her husband, Karl Benz, invented.
 

Inge takes us to the Töpferei (Pottery Factory) in Langenzell and to Dilsberg
We stopped for a nice pottery shop visit at Langenzell, where lumps of clay turn into glazed works of art. I liked these eye-catching wooden candles "sprucing up" the washbin planter, at the pottery entrance. Castle view from Dilsberg, a jewel of the Neckar sitting atop a hill the Romans settled between 100 & 400, the old part of town with its cobblestone roads enclosed by the town wall, a phenomenal panoramic vantage point that was enclosed by rain clouds during our visit. Apart from the Heidelberg Castle, the second most impressive sight on the Neckar River is the small town of Dilsberg, situated on this steep point overlooking the Neckar River valley, a spectacular panorama of the Neckar Valley in all its splendor ... when visible.

Enjoying being home with Inge and Andreas, and their children, David and Fabian
David comes out to greet Joe and Ruth. David and Fabian's drawings now grace our home. David's musical debut, in the elementary school that his mother also attended, as did earlier generations of his family, like Aunt Hildegard. We were proud to be invited guests at David's first performing arts program & hear him play xylophone.
We loved the grand quiches Inge fixed us. Joe, happy for lunch—we ate so well, at every meal. Inge treated us to wonderful meals and excursions. Andreas reads a long story to David and Fabian after our delicious Raclette dinner.
 

Tante Hildegard takes us to eat at the renowned Cafe Schafheutle in downtown Heidelberg's pedestrian zone.
Tante Hildegard invited us to her home for breakfast (a feast!) & day in the historic downtown. Heidelberg lies on the river Neckar where it leaves its narrow, steep Odenwald valley for the broad Rhine valley; records date to the Roman Army in the year 40 A.D. Tante Hildegard likes her shell picture my father made. Ruth and Joe with Tante Hildegard's new shell picture. Tante Hildegard and Ruth—we all enjoyed a sweet coffee & teatime at the Cafe Schafheutle—lunch, too!
Tante Hildegard and Joe in the 1-mile Hauptstraße (Main Street), longest pedestrian zone in Europe. Joe's superb cheese Spätzele lunch at the Cafe Schafheutle, "the sweet heart of Heidelberg," after we came in to eat a second time, with the appetite of a lion (traditional symbol of the "Kurpfalz", Palatinate). My exquisite Cafe Schafheutle lunch, spinach quiche. Joe at the market place ending the pedestrian zone, where we visited the Church of the Holy Ghost.
Pre-dating a first mention of Heidelberg (Heidelberch, 1196), the Celts (5th century B.C. fortress of refuge & place of worship, Heiligenberg, "Mountain of Saints"), Alamanni & Teutonic tribes, and Romans lived here. The same evening, Christa & Dieter treated us to a Zimmertheater evening near Bismarckplatz, gateway to Heidelberg's Fußgängerzone, pedestrian zone. Looking up the main pedestrian thoroughfare towards the Holy Ghost Church (Heiliggeistkirche), its gallery once a safe haven for the famous Palatine Library of most significant European books, Bibliotheca Palatina. At the pedestrian zone end, just past Hotel zum Ritter (knight with plumed helmet silhouette, top right), a path leads up to the Heidelberg castle, one of the world’s most famous, dating from the 14th century.
Facade detail at Germany's oldest university, founded by elector Ruprecht I in 1386. One in five Heidelberg residents is a university student. Close-up of a colorfully adorned bartizan (a small, overhanging turret on a wall or tower) on Main Street (seen in the above photo). Stunning vaulted ceiling of the great gothic style Church of the Holy Ghost (Heiliggeistkirche), first mentioned in the year 1239, soars high the tomb of Prince-Elector Rupert III, founder of the church. Elegant Renaissance 1592 Hotel zum Ritter St. George, built in the German Mannerist style, “Persta invita Venus” inscribed in gold letters on the gable's facade.
City Hall balcony, overlooking the market square. Kurpfälzisches Museum courtyard; we loved visiting the extensive exhibits: 600,000 years of Heidelberg’s human history (Homo heidelbergensis, "Heidelberg Man", earliest evidence of human life in Europe) from the Paleolithic Age through the court of Kurpfalz (Electoral Palatinate). Close-up of the wonderfully crafted wrought-iron sign at the Kurpfälzisches Museum der Stadt Heidelberg (Palatinate Museum of the City of Heidelberg). Pulpit of the Holy Ghost Church, which for years had been shared equally, even simultaneously: Protestants worshipping in the nave (body of the church) and Roman Catholics in the choir (chancel area, with altar).
 

Luisenpark Mannheim with Hans-Werner and Jutta, and their children, Hannah and Simon
White stork, part of Germany's largest bird sanctuary breeding colony, in tree top at the large Mannheim municipal Luisenpark, adjacent to the Neckar River. Primrose planting at the expanded, enhanced entrance to the Pflanzenschauhaus (the conservatory celebrated 50 years in 2008). Camellia blossom at the zoo entrance, a bright spot of color in stark contrast to dreary, rainy weather outside. Hans-Werner & Jutta, Simon & Hannah in the cacti house. That afternoon they treated us to coffee in the conservatory cafe, and the next afternoon to an expansive, exciting Viking exhibit in Speyer.
Three otters face another otter, behind the waterfall, at the entrance (we also enjoyed seeing their babies). We were fascinated by the terrarium animal collection in the Luisenpark, one of Europe's most beautiful parks right in a city center: a botanical garden, zoo, leisure and recreational park. Tropical plants and animals can be seen in the botanical house, with 50 reptile species and 350 kinds of fish in salt and sweet water aquariums. Frog perched on a blooming bromeliad in a terrarium, in Mannheim’s largest open space for recreation, known as City Park.

Enjoying Supper at Hans-Werner and Jutta's House
Daddy's shell picture stands in Hans-Werner and Jutta's kitchen. Corner of Hans-Werner and Jutta's kitchen, showing off their new shell picture that Daddy made. Joe photographed Jutta, Hanna, Manfred, Simon, Ruth, Rita's hand, & Hans-Werner, after a wonderful day in foggy drizzle at the Luisenpark. Joe photographs Ruth, Rita, Hans-Werner, Simon, Jutta, Hanna, & Manfred enjoying our special Fondue.
 

At the Kurpfalzhof
David, Fabian, and Lena. Andreas and his son, Fabian. Erich, Renate, Fabian, & Philipp, ready for juice, tea, coffee & cake. Daddy's shell picture, at the Kurpfalzhof.
 

Re-accommodated on the US Airways A330 Philadelphia Flight

Monday, a 24 hour day with locked train doors & a cracked cockpit window, ended well: home sweet home.
View of our plane for four hours, FRACLT US705. Joe, on the Philadelphia plane that took a delay to bring us all back to the States. Smooth sailing. Also making it easier on us was that we had so much room in our luggage! We packed for our return flight in well under an hour. View of the North American coastline from the window of our Airbus, an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company based in Toulouse, France.

Pause the mouse on a picture to pull up its caption. Click on a picture to enlarge it.

Most browsers (like Internet Explorer) display all 109 hover captions for our pictures.

Photos by and of Ruth and Joe. Website by Ruth & Joe.

 

What was inside the box with the huge flashlight airport security inspected? A toolkit for a car trunk, outfitted with items like a set of wrenches and... a hammer! We carried back some of the stack of books Eugen wanted us to take to Charlotte for him (10 pounds); I carried half, filling nearly half my big suitcase, Eugen also gave us a calendar (weighing over a pound). I then had repercussions from exceeding the 5-10 pound limit from my neurosurgeon for me to lift after a disc in my back ruptured. I also carried back souvenirs for us like Manfred's chestnut honey (1½ lbs.), gorgeous handpainted Easter eggs, & 4 loaves of bread (5 lbs.).

 

Christa drove us to the Heidelberg train station and helped carry our luggage to the IC train. We tried one door—locked!—and then another, noticing that the other passengers doing the same finally found a door in a middle car that opened. We climbed aboard and stood at the door for the 11 minute ride to Mannheim, talking with a Berliner on his way home from a ski trip in Austria. After the train came to a stop, the door wouldn't open. We tried and tried, then proceeded to the next car. That door was also locked and would not open. We ran to the next car—locked!—and through to the next car—locked!—and on into the next car. This door had been opened and passengers streaming inside stood with their luggage in the aisles and would not move aside for us to get out. We reached the door. It shut. The train started. A conductor came; after he didn't believe the first man, a half dozen of us out of breath convinced him. Instead of requesting tickets, he looked up new connections for us.

 

Heidelberg 7:55 – Mannheim – train doors locked – Mainz – underground local Frankfurt Airport Regional 9:20

– FRAPHL US705/701 (A330) 11:40 a.m. local time departure, taxi out, cockpit windshield cracks, turnaround,

four hour delay, bus transfer to the Philadelphia flight accommodating all Charlotte passengers, four p.m. lunch,

6:15 p.m. arrival EST – Immigration & Customs – PHLCLT US1165 (B757) Gate C29 (very long walk) 8:45 p.m.

– 10:30 p.m. CLT – bags 11:00 – 11:15 Long Term Lot 1 bus – $48 airport parking lot charge – 11:30 p.m. home.

 

21 hours travel time door to door: 7:30 a.m. Monday local time, Germany – 10:30 p.m. Monday EST, CLT.

Awake 25 hours straight: 5:30 a.m. local time Monday [11:30 p.m. EST Sunday] – 12:30 p.m. in Charlotte.

 

Click here for a page of Maps and More from our Visit

 

— Ruth's Haiku on our visit in Germany (since many years) —

Hospitality:

Bundled up against the cold,

Warm winter visit.

 

Click here to see a slide show of pictures from our visit.

Music by Dan Thomasson.  Used with permission.

Our Travels   Home   Top