Germany Adventure - Visiting Naomi's Childhood Home

     The next day on our trip in Germany, we visited the place where Naomi grew up. Her good friend Diana greeted Naomi with a big hug and tears of happiness in getting to see her. 

They were having a church camp on the property with a huge sand pile, campfire, and tents. 

 We took a walk by a spring-fed creek where Naomi and her brothers and sisters used to play. Naomi was also baptized in that creek.     
     Logan wanted us to eat doeners, a Turkish sandwich made of meat cooked on a rotating rotisserie. We found an outdoor restaurant nearby. Landon loved playing on the little slide there as we waited for the food. The sandwiches were delicious. 

     We drove downtown on narrow cobblestone streets lined with quaint shops. We stopped by a house that had a sign that Linda translated for us which said, “Fresh Paintings” which meant new paintings. She thought Vanita might be interested in seeing them. Linda went to the door first, and a tall, thin, lady came to the door. Vanita and I also got out of the van and went to the house. The artist was ecstatic that we had stopped by to see her art and invited us into her house to see her paintings. She spoke some English, so we were able to communicate. Paintings lined the walls in every room. The artist even insisted we go upstairs to see more of her work. Vanita expressed admiration for the woman's  work.  I said, “Your whole house is an art studio.” The artist responded with big hugs all around.

     When we returned to our guesthouse, Vanita and I took a walk around the village, again admiring the flowers in each yard. It was another good day

Germany Adventure - Benediktbeuern Abbey (Kloster Benediktbeuern)

       
     After leaving the lake, Stan, Vanita, Logan, Naomi, Landon, Gabe, Daniel, Lidia, their two children Lore and Niam and I stopped at a restaurant in Benediktbeuern, Bavaria that Daniel recommended. Benediktbeuern Abbey (Kloster Benediktbeuern) is absolutely beautiful. Founded in the 700’s, it was destroyed in 955 by the Hungarians, then restored in 969. In 1031 it was again rebuilt by Saint Ulrich, Bishop of Augsburg and was resettled by monks. The Abbey has been known for centuries as a place of education and research.

The Abbey with the Alps in the background.

This was an old fountain, or maybe a way to water the flowers.

We wandered through beautiful flower and herb gardens.  From further research, I learned a medicinal garden was established around 1200. 

The buildings wrapped around a courtyard. 

The church had a beautifully carved door.

It also included a cemetery, where we saw a woman taking care of the flowers on a grave. Later, Hans told us that in Germany, it is customary to lease a plot for thirty years. After that time, the family can decide whether to keep it or let it be leased to someone else, so even though the cemetery was centuries old, there were recent burials in it.

Water and watering cans were provided.

The graves are well-maintained with flowers
or a stone covering them.

The food was delicious.
Landon and Lore enjoyed their French Fries.

Naomi, Landon, and Naomi's nephew Niam.

     It was a perfect day made even more special as we celebrated Logan's birthday.

(Photo credits - mostly Vanita Weber. We all shared our pictures, so at this point, I am not sure who took what:).