Regensburg Cathedral and the Judensau

Some who visit Germany for the first time assume that the persecution of the Jews in Europe began with Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. Not so. The Jews have been chased out of Europe, murdered and punished with huge taxation rates for more than 1,000 years in Europe. In Regensburg there is a visible […]

Grote Ancestral Farm in Mackenbruch, Lippe Detmold, Germany

An unforgettable visit to the Grote ancestral farmstead on September 7th resulted in new connections with cousins in Germany and a wealth of new information for family historian Jane Williamson of Waco, Texas. Jane and her daughter Rachel Hernandez visited Mackenbruch after a long planning process begun in July, 2010 when Jane discovered European Focus […]

From Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Heidelberg

We traveled today by a combination of the back roads through farmland, hamlets and along the Neckar River to Heidelberg where we’re spending the night. Along the way, we made a stop in Bad Wimpfen for special roasted chicken in a tiny Gasthaus near the “Blue Tower,” a remnant of the medieval fortifications of Bad […]

Welcome New Arrivals

Jane Williamson and her daughter Rachel Hernandez arrived on September 2 in Frankfurt to start their two-week journey around Germany. This has been a dream of Jane’s for a long time. She is on her first ever European trip, and just had her first ever trans-Atlantic flight. There will be many more “firsts” for Jane […]

The World’s Highest Church Spire

Ulm Minster (German: Ulmer Münster, literally: minster) is a Lutheran church located in Ulm, Germany. Although sometimes referred to as Ulm Cathedral because of its great size, the church is not a cathedral as it has never been the seat of a bishop. (Cathedral = chair = bishop’s seat) Ulm Minster is a famous example […]

Weissenburg im Bayern, Germany

A charming fortified town definitely not on the usual tourist agenda was our stopover for a leg stretch today between Munich and Dinkelsbuehl. This is a town that I had photographed for a family historian nearly a decade ago. Weissenburg im Bayern features grand sections of wall built in the 1300s and 1400s and a […]

The Quietness of the Erzgebirge

We loved our three nights in the heart of Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. But afterwards, we loved the rural beauty of the Erzgebirge, where we stopped for a night at a favorite Landhotel near Seiffen. On the way, we took in the rolling greenery of the “Ore Mountains,” where silver mines enriched the Saxon rulers for […]

Oldest Bratwurst Kitchen in Germany

We stopped in the medieval bratwurst kitchen near the massive town walls of Nurnberg for lunch the other day, another highlight among many as Greg and I make a lazy romp through Germany. The brats at the “Zum Guldenen Stern” have been roasted over a wood fire for their hungry guests since 1419. This places […]