Day 3 - Memory Lane

Our visits with extended family in Braunsbach are complete so today is spent exploring Braunsbach with Wolfgang and visiting Schwabisch Hall where my dad, his sister and Alexandra were born and where my grandparents lived when they retired. Wolfgang has agreed to walk the town with us, partly so we can see the damage from the storm, and partly to hear stories about my dad and his family.

The damage from the storm really is indescribable. The water coming down the hill brought cars, trees and debris which all smashed into

homes and businesses creating massive devastation. They have rebuilt bridges, culverts, roads and buildings and still have probably another year of work ahead of them. We walk down the hill where the water and debris came flowing, looking at both the damage and the areas that have been rebuilt. There were several houses and buildings here that were completely destroyed and there is no sign that they were ever there. An old barn is still standing but when we look inside you can see it still has a lot of damage.

Wolfgang shows us the building where his parents had their bakery and the apartment above it where he grew up, it is right in the middle of town. The first floor was significantly damaged but is in the process of being completely restored. He shows us where the work area once was and where the customers would come in. We walk past the community center which was the location of the Jewish

synagogue prior to WWII. It's ironic that a community center now stands on this property. Gary and I once went to a country music concert at the community center where a German band called the Confederates was playing American style country music. There is a long narrow bar underneath the community center that was once a cellar for storing potatoes and other food through the winter. My dad's grandparents used this cellar, and towards the end of the war even hid their teenage son Werner here from the Nazi's so he wouldn't be sent to battle. His is the grave we visited at the cemetery the day before, he was the father to Erika and Briggite.

We walk up the street that goes past the Lowen to the castle and see the building where Wolfgang, my dad and Aunt Doris all went to school. There are kids taking a summer music class today, practicing their instruments outside in the sunshine. Sharing a courtyard with the school is the Lutheran church, closed today so we can't peak in.

A short walk ahead is the small castle. I believe the brother and sister of my Uncle Werner's wife Lore still live here. I am told she grew up here in the apartments that are in the castle. As we continue up and around town we pass houses that still have Hebrew characters over the doors, and all the doors are marked in chalk with a Christmas blessing, showing that a church group sang songs and blessed your house in the last few years. A cold drink on the patio of the Lowen sounds good and the kids order orange Fanta which is my favorite here as well. The wasps are persistent so we keep the drinks covered with paper coasters. An old school friend of my dad's stops by with his Romanian wife and Wolfgang introduces us. He remembers my dad and Alexandra's mom.

We are grateful to have Wolfgang, Sabine and Ina be our tour guides for the rest of the afternoon and our first stop is the bottom side of

the Kocher Valley Bridge. As of 2004, it is no longer the tallest bridge in Europe (that honor goes to the Millau Viaduct in France) but it is absolutely spectacular from the bottom and the top. Our car winds its way up a narrow road (one of many) until we reach the underside of one end of the bridge. There are photos and descriptions of how the bridge was built, along with crosses and monuments in memorial of people who have sadly taken their lives on this bridge. This bridge is truly an engineering modern marvel.

Our next stop is the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. I have never been here and am thankful to have the opportunity to see their graves before they are relocated to make room for new tenants. My dad and his sister were able to extend the lease on their graves to longer than 20 years, and it has been 19 since they passed, hopefully they will continue to be here for some time. It takes us

fifteen minutes of wandering through the cemetery before we find their location. For future reference, take the first right, then the second right and they are on the left, just one or two graves in. Their graves are lovely and the headstone is a classy black granite with white writing, made by my dad’s cousin Robert or his son Norbert. It’s a little strange to walk through a cemetery where everyone was buried in the last twenty years.

A cold drink is in order on this hot sunny day and thankfully Wolfgang knows the perfect place, located in an old brewery building with a stunning view of Schwabisch Hall. The small rooftop patio serves a delicious ice cream coffee drink/dessert, and it tastes as good as it looks, and it looks great! Garret has decided he likes coffee-milk drinks and as this one is served over vanilla ice cream with a generous portion of whipped cream on top, he gives it two thumbs up!

As we wander into town we come across the park along the Kocher River and the beer garden that has been here for more than twenty years. The white bratwurst on the grill smell good so we find a table in the shade and wait for our number to be called. I remember eating

here as a kid, recalling that the wursts were longer than the rolls they came on. We were visiting in August back then when there was a historical festival at this park. At dusk the pathways were all lit with tea-light candles in small paper bags and people wore colorful uniforms and costumes, probably from military days long ago. Today the bratwurst is as good as I remember and it’s fun to watch my kids enjoy them as much as I do.

Across the Kocher over a covered bridge and up a narrow cobblestone road lies the town square with the Rathaus on one side, St. Michael’s Lutheran Church with its huge staircase opposite, the oldest buildings in town on one side and the main fountain and café on the other. Black plastic chairs fill the square and the lighting on each side of the massive staircase leads me to believe a theatrical production might be playing tonight. In recent years concerts and

theatrical performances have become a popular way to enjoy this medieval town center, with the beautiful sandstone church as the background. I am looking forward to showing my kids two favorite parts of this church. We walk slowly through and pause to light our first church candle of this trip, each saying a prayer for someone. At the back of the church is one of the more unusual things I have ever seen, a hole in the floor about three feet by six surrounded by a wrought iron fence with bones from an ancient mass grave below. It looked about the same as twenty years ago, with the skulls and femur bones organized in straight lines (I can’t imagine having that job), but with a glass cover now. My other favorite feature of this church is the bell tower with the spiral stone wooden staircase that takes you to the top. I am disappointed to learn that you can no longer go outside once you reach the top, but they have created a tiny museum in the upper room where a family lived until the 1920’s. This family was in charge of ringing the bells in case of fire or enemy

invasion. There are at least six different bells ranging in size from five feet wide to one, and if you are lucky enough (or quite unfortunate depending on your outlook), they might start ringing when you are in the tower. About five seconds after I said to Anna, as we were standing next to the bells, “good thing these bells aren’t ringing, can you imagine how loud they would be?”… they rang! I laughed and she cried and that was the end of her time in the tower.

We finished our afternoon in Schwabisch Hall with a gelato, a drink from the fountain and two bags of the tiny Wieble cookies that we used to buy at a neighboring town called Langenburg when I was a child. Little peanut shaped cookies made from egg whites, sugar, vanilla and flour that melt in your mouth… as good as I remember. It made me smile when my cousin Alexandra said, "Weible!" when she saw them.

It’s a special treat to dine at the Lowen tonight. The first floor of this gasthaus was completely destroyed in the May 2016 storm. All the guests dining there the night of the storm were forced upstairs as water from the hillside brought cars, trees and house debris crashing through the restaurant. They have rebuilt and opened two months ago and the new restaurant is even prettier than the old. They were able to restore the beautiful wood paneling on the ceiling but

everything else was replaced. The food here is superb and everyone seems to have ordered a dish that includes spatzle. I have decided that Kasespatzle is the perfect comfort food for tonight (noodles and cheese with carmelized onions on top). During dinner we look through multiple books showing storm damage and rebuilding. The funny moment of the evening was when Anna came back from the bathroom with a piece of unicorn toilet paper in hand and asked Wolfgang, “where can we buy this?”. Since Wolfgang has a great sense of humor he asks the owner where the toilet paper came from, as the American granddaughter of Hans Ebke wants to know. Turns out it isn’t widely available for purchase so he gives Anna a gift of her very own roll.