European Focus likes to end our Germany trips in the medieval hamlet of Bacharach. Jenean Derheim says, “If Pinocchio had been German, then Bacharach would be his hometown.” This charming village is full of half-timbered houses, a grand church and quaint corners just waiting for the photographer. The best and in our opinion only place […]
Mad King Ludwig’s Gigantic Cash Cow Neuschwanstein Castle Germany
When the Bavarian ministers decided to drag crazy King Ludwig II out of his still unfinished fantasy castle in 1886 and throw away the key (he was found dead a short time later, “mysteriously drowned” in about three feet of water. Note that the Krazy King was more than six feet tall) they should have […]
Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund, Allendorf, Germany
Twenty one years after East and West Germany became one and the museum on the former border near Allendorf has never been busier, according to the man who took our money for the entry and who grew up here, on the Eastern side of the border. ‘People want to come and see what they could […]
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 […]
Leifeste Family History in Broistedt, Germany
The preparations for this part of Jane and Rachel’s ancestral tour in Germany started in July, 2010 with a visit to Broistedt by James and Jenean Derheim during an extensive scouting trip they undertook between tours with other clients. A chance stop at the local newspaper stand and a helpful clerk led James to local […]
The Unique Lippische Farmhouse
We had some time to kill before our meeting on September 7th with the Grote cousins who live on the old farmstead, so we drove up to the hamlet of Evenhausen to see if we could locate the former farm Number One. All farm numbers have been changed with the advent of the modern postal […]
Alexander Church in Oerlinghausen, Lippe Detmold, Germany
The Alexander Church was built in the 1200s as a Gothic chapel, later enlarged in the 1500s to a large hall church with thick stone pillars supporting the roof. The church is relatively plain inside, in keeping with traditions of the Evangelical Lutheran (Reformed) Churches in this part of Germany. The organ at the rear […]
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 […]