(From a visit made to Hoinkhausen on September 12 and 13) When German relatives know you’re coming, the red carpet not only gets rolled out, it gets wrapped around you. Suzanne Pellegrino and her sister Beth Renney not only gave their relatives in tiny Hoinkhausen, Germany advance notice, they gave them nearly a year to […]
Author Archives: jim
St. Pankratius in Hoinkhausen, Germany
September 15, 2012 The Catholic Church of Saint Pankratius is the ancestral church of Suzanne Pellegrino and Elizabeth Renney’s Mollerus ancestors, who settled in this village in the last years of the 18th century. The church was built as early as the 12th century. A stone triptych on the north entrance of the church dates […]
Visiting Relatives in Hoinkhausen, Germany
Coming soon! More about our two days spent visiting relatives in Hoinkhausen.
The Cathedral of Cologne, Germany
September 14, 2012 The immense cathedral of Cologne, Germany was built as a suitable resting place for the remains of the Three Kings who, as the Bible tells the story, visited the newborn Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The relics were brought to Cologne in 1146, having been removed […]
Celebrating a Birthday at Hirschhorn Castle
September 10, 2012 Sometimes while on a trip around Germany one just has to say “why not?” and go to a castle for a dish of ice cream to celebrate a birthday. That’s what we did the other day to celebrate our guest Beth Renney’s birthday. Up, up, up we drove into the hills above […]
The Odenwald’s Silent Sentinal
September 10, 2012 Like a stone sentinal guarding the rolling hills of the Odenwald Forest, Auerbach Castle high above Bensheim-Auerbach has stood tall for more than 800 years. We visited this ruin on a warm September day while exploring ancestral Bensheim and Mannheim nearby. Auerbach Castle was built by Charlamagne and then rebuilt and enlarged […]
Mannheim, Germany
September 9, 2012 What do the world’s first automobile, the first bicycle and the first tractor have in common? Mannheim! All three were invented in this industrial town on the banks of the rivers Rhein and Neckar in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Known as “Grid City” the bustling large town was built on the […]
Postcard from Burgundy
Tending a vineyard the old-fashioned way with real horsepower