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:).

Logan's Birthday

Naomi surprised Logan with an Apple iWatch.

          What an amazing day! August 1^st was Logan’s 27^th birthday. His wish was to show us the German Alps.After breakfast and birthday gifts, we were off on our next adventure. We picked up Naomi’s brother Gabe at the train station and drove to the Alps. Daniel, Lidia and their children met us there.

Logan, Naomi and Landon

This is the gondola.

This is the zig-zag trail to the top of the mountain. (Photo credit Stan Weber)

          The mountains were just breathtaking! There was an upper lake that was turquoise. Logan found out later it is 600 feet deep. There was also a lower lake that was not as blue, but still very pretty. We rode up higher on a mountain in a glass gondola. Then we walked on a path to a restaurant, and those who wanted to could climb the zig-zagging path to the top. 

Vanita, Stan and Gabe made it all the way to the top! (Photo credit to Gabriel Scheib)

I was ducking down to show the mountain behind me.

          I went up until I had to climb on a narrow path of rocks. I found myself short of breath in that altitude and my heart was working overtime, so I decided to go back down. 

The cows wandered the mountainsides.

          There were gorgeous views in all directions. Cows wearing clanging cowbells wandered along the mountainside. The air was crisp and clean. It was just a magical experience. I almost had to pinch myself to believe that I was actually there.


 

Photo Credit Vanita Weber.

          We celebrated with a birthday lunch of a variety of German foods in an outdoor restaurant. Then, we walked back to the gondola and rode back down.  We walked a few blocks to a grassy area by the upper lake. In spite of the cold water, people were swimming, kite sailing and sailing in boats. 

          Logan wanted to rent a canoe, so off he and Gabe went to do so. Always thoughtful, Logan also bought a little metal rooster as a keepsake for me. They rowed across the choppy waters to where we were. Linda brought cakes and coffee in honor of Logan’s birthday. We sang “Happy Birthday” to him and enjoyed the delicious cakes. The little cousins ran and played on the grass. 

Logan and Gabriel navigate through rough water in the rowboat.

What a wonderful day! There is more to this day, as we continued on to an old monastery for dinner, but it deserves its own blog.