We’re back! Knitting Daughter and I had a great time visiting Claudia and her family in Germany. What a treat! It is taking me a bit of time to get my head out of the jetlag clouds and back into work, so I figured I had better write this post this morning while it might still make sense.
We left on Tuesday and arrived on Wednesday morning. Claudia picked us up at the airport and took us home to catch breakfast and a few hours of sleep, before heading out to explore. Germany is GREEN all over the place. It is absolutely beautiful. Lots of rain and cool weather while we were there (which you know I like). We saw lots of fields of hops growing in Claudia’s town. Hops are 
used in the making of beer and you don’t see hops around here. They grow up the lines attached to the poles, and are harvested later in the summer. It’s a good industry for their town. The other thing that we saw growing all over was Spargle – which translates to Asparagus. Did you know that when the asparagus turns green, it is over-ripe and bitter? I’ve always liked asparagus, but the white asparagus that you get in Germany (before it turns over-ripe green) is so much better.
We spent the week being shuttled to and fro through the beautiful countryside by Claudia and/or Andreas. They are awesome hosts. We went to Munich a couple of days, to tour the famous Neuschwanstein Castle another day (see the photo? And to think the King lived in that castle for less than 150 days before his death). We also spent an afternoon tracking down my roots in a small village a few hours away. (Zipped down the Autobahn to get there. Not sure I’m a big fan of those fast speeds and crazy highways, but we had good drivers in Claudia and Andreas, and we 
lived to tell about it!) My grandparents came to the U.S. from Germany when they were in their 20’s, and it was fun to be in their town of Schnaitheim (near Heidenheim), see their old stomping grounds, and have coffee in a shop around the corner from their neighborhood. This is the photo of the schoolhouse that they attended. We found my grandpa’s house – or rather, land. The original house has been torn down and a four-family flat built in its place. It’s always sad to see that happen.
Now for the Mini Contest – where do your grandparents come from? I have a set of grandparents from Germany and a set of grandparents from here in the U.S. How about you? Leave a comment and I’ll randomly draw one winner in a week. (That’s what makes it a mini contest – just one winner. You know we usually draw a prize for every 250 or so comments in our regular monthly blog contests, but this time I have just one big skein of Wollmeise Lace to give as a prize!)
On Monday I’ll share photos of our time at the Wollmeise brick and mortar shop, as well as a photo of Claudia’s beautiful garden-filled backyard. It almost made me want to garden! (But not quite. I kept thinking of the heat and humidity that always arrives in St. Louis in July and August….)
Sheri hopingyouhaveagreatweekendandhavetimetoknit
My maternal grandparents were both born in California early in the 20th Century. My grandma was like totally a “Valley Girl” . ;D
Both set of my grandparents were born in the US; my dad’s paternal grandparents came from Ukraine (the family name shows up on the list at Ellis Island), and my mom’s maternal grandfather came from Switzerland. On the last day of a trip to that area of Switzerland, my mom and her brothers put a classified ad in the local paper, and eventually made contact with some cousins. They have visited here and my parents, uncles and aunts also went back and met them and saw where their grandfather lived.
My Grandparents are from Germany but met here in the US on dad’s side and from the US on Mom’s side
Good to have you home all safe and sound.
My grandparents were German and Scotch Irish. All were born in the good old USA. Needless to say, I have a bit of temper and can be a little set in my ways. My mother said stubborn, but she was a little prone to exaggeration…
Grandparents on my mother’s side came from Italy. Grandpa came thru Ellis Island at the age of 12 by himself got a job and saved to bring this 5 siblings here to Ohio. My fathers parents are from northern Kentucky.
Grandparents on both sides born in the US. Have to go back several generations on both sides to get across the pond to England, Ireland, and France for both paternal and maternal ancestors. Everyone was here during the founding of our country!
My grandparents on both sides are US born, but a Great or Great great on my dad’s side were from Germany. My mom’s ancestors were Civil war and Revolutionary war soldiers.
Both of my grandparents were born here in the United States. They have traced our history back to Germany for both sides. About 10 years ago my parents and numerous aunts and uncles were able to take my grandparents to see the parts of Germany that our family is from. They had a fabulous trip ~ I would love to replicate it some day (with an additional stop to the Wollmeise Yarn Shop!!)
My paternal grandparents were also from Germany but unfortunately do not know what area they are from. My maternal grandparents were from Hull, England. My dream is that one day I would be able to see the areas that they all came from!
My paternal grandparents and my father came from a part of Germany that was given to Poland during WWII. So I’d have to go to Poland if I wanted to see where they lived. I’ve traced my maternal side to the early 1800’s, but haven’t crossed the pond yet. It’s fascinating to do genealogy and learn about the lives of my ancestors. I know I missed your deadline for the contest, but thought I’d chime in anyway. Thanks.
Very interesting reading.
My paternal grandparents (lineage from a fishing village on the French coast) were from a little village in Canada called Upper Seigus in New Brunswick and could speak no English when they emmigrated to the US. My grandmother, though unrelated before marriage, had the same last name after. My father and his sister also spoke no English when they entered school in the US. Maternal grandparents were from the States, with lineage from the British Isles.
My maternal Grandmother Sally was from Latvia – when she was 8 years old, she came to the US with her Sisters and Brother; my maternal Grandfather and paternal Grandparents were from Russia.
What a great idea for a contest! Thank you.