Day 2 - Very little English

It's our first morning waking up in Germany and everyone seems to be well rested and feeling great (we did sleep until 9:30 so we should be!). After a wonderful traditional German breakfast of fresh baked pretzels, farm bread, homemade strawberry jam, delicious cheese, prosciutto, cold beef sausage, soft boiled eggs, juice and coffee, we all walk into town.

We walk past the Jewish memorial and museum which is located in the house the rabbi lived in prior to WWII, as the Jewish Synagog was destroyed during the war. The museum was closed but at the front there are three glass panels with the names of all the Jewish people who lived in Braunsbach prior to the war. Wolfgang said his grandfather was mayor of Braunsbach during WWII and had tried to stop Nazi soldiers from destroying the synagog. He was able to persuade them not to do anything the first time they came, but eventually they returned and he had no way of stopping them. They smashed the windows and destroyed everything they could. In looking

at the photos of the glass panels with my dad once we returned home, he remembered some of the families who were listed there.

From the museum we walked to the Lutheran cemetery where various family members have been buried, including my dad's grandparents and many aunts and uncles. Since German cemeteries allow people to be buried there for only 20 years, there is no indication my great-grandparents were ever here even though their remains are still on this land (the bones go back into the land and the headstone is sent back to the maker). I visited the graves for my Uncle Werner and Aunt Lore, and those of Wolfgang's parents. The cemetery is on the shore of the Kocher River and it floods whenever the river is high. The grave of Wolfgang's parents is closest to the street on higher ground and is bordered with a short stone wall so when the cemetery is underwater, their grave is the only one not

flooded. Seems that was smart planning on their part. When my dad was young he lived on the top floor of a small red-roofed house across the street from the cemetery. We peaked into the drive for this house and glanced around, it was neat and well kept.

My second cousin Iris saw us at the cemetery and let us know we were all meeting in the next town over for lunch with her family. Geislingen is a tiny little town with a wonderful restaurant. Nearly everyone in their family joined us for lunch: my Uncle Robert and Aunt Ruth, Iris and her two boys David and Tizian, Renate's two daughters Jule and Lara and Wolfgang's family. My kids enjoyed their first schnitzel, and they managed to hang in there with very little English being spoken. Garret and Jan were invited to join the other older kids for a trip to a beach volleyball competition in Crailsheim. Five kids piled into Iris's white Audi sedan and were on their way. Garret returned with a funny story about when he tried to buy a bottle

of water but the cashier didn't speak English. Turns out you had to buy some special card first that would then allow you to purchase drinks. The cashier explained this to Garret in German and Garret stared at him long enough that he finally took the money and handed him a bottle of water and change. Phew!

While the older kids were away, Alexandra, Anna and I visited with Robert and Ruth at their home. They live in a lovely house right on the river and have a bunny and a cocker spaniel named Katja. Anna spent all her time with the animals while we visited inside with my second cousin Renate (of course the conversation was in German only). Once we could convince Anna to leave the animals, we arrived down the street at my dad's cousin Brigitte's home. We were greeted warmly by Brigitte, her sister Erika and Erika's husband Bernd, Erika's granddaughter Chantal and one of Brigitte's granddaughters. They had prepared the most beautiful table with floral dishes and four plates full of desserts, at least 10 types to choose from! Brigitte made delicious cappuccinos and we all enjoyed the desserts that were almost too pretty to eat. We talked about their families (Erika has 6 children and many grandchildren which all come to visit her

often), about the damage to Braunsbach and the rebuilding (including the grocery/cafe/bakery that Brigitte's daughter Katja owns), and looked through old Klenk family photos. They were both delightful and Katja joined us later when she was home from the shop. Brigitte gave the kids Auto Hollmann wallets and pens as souvenirs from Braunsbach. After leaving their home we had spent six straight hours of eating, drinking and visiting in German.

I promised Anna I would reward her patience during these 6 hours with some time at the soccer fields. Garret, Jan and Ina joined us and we chased the ball across the big field in the hot sun until everyone was laying down in the shade. The field is surrounded by banners from sponsors, including ones from Haas Grabmale and Auto Hollmann.

We had a simple but tasty dinner at Wolfgang's, enjoyed some good German Riesling wine, and had fun talking and looking at various pictures until late that night. I appreciated the American flag and the Swiss flag that Wolfgang had hung on his house in honor of our arrival. Apparently he has many flags that he hangs when someone from another country is visiting. That is very thoughtful.