Friday, October 2, 2009

Last Day - Return to Franfurt


Our last day in Germany! We bid our hosts, Frau Bridget and Herr Karl good bye, and said a sad farewell to our favorite kitten on the farm. We stopped at Kriebstein Castle, supposedly Saxony's most beautiful knight's castle built high aboe the River Zschopau. We also stopped at Gleichen Castle near Erfurt, which built in 1088, but is now in ruins. We had our final dinner near the city, and then found the Holiday Inn near the airport, and got ready for the flight home early in the morning!

Day 13 - Kaditzsch


This day was one of the highlights of our trip for me because we visited the home of my great-great grandparents, the Wenzels in the samll village of Kaditzsch, which is near Grimma in Saxony. After spending some time in Wermsdorf and Kollmichen, previous homes to the Wenzel ancestors, we arrived at our destination. Our host for the day was the current owner of the house, Herr Weide, who had been the mayor of Grimma. He had located the original records of the family in the church, and then he escorted us on a fantastic tour of Grimma and Kaditzsch giving us a lot of history of the area, as well of the Wenzel family. We were able to see places that most tourist would not have been able to view, such as the attic and bell tower in old village hall, and the ancient mill in town. What a fantastic day, and we both wished we had more time to spend. Another return to this area of Saxony is on order!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Day 12 - Return to Frankfurt


We awoke to a rather overcast day in Schiltach, I think our first in Germany! Perhaps a sign that it is time to start thinking about returning to the US? We decided to take the side roads back to Frankfurt, which can be a bit stressful for the driver because of the twists, turns, and narrow lanes. We stopped briefly in Baden-Baden, which is an old Roman town famous for its baths. We took a peek at the "Neues Schloss", which only dates to the 15th century and then continued on to Frankfurt. Wes and I bid "Auf Wiedersehen" to Don and Leigh, and continued our journey to Saxony.