Goslar in the Harz Mountains is a world-class small city with a wealth of well-preserved half-timbered and stone buildings dating back to the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Once the seat of the emperor, the “Kaiserpfalz” still stands today as strong as it did when it was built in 1050. Emperors from Friedrich Barbarossa to […]
Eppingen, Germany is a Half-timbered Town with "Pfiff!"
We spent a couple of nights in Paula’s ancestral town of Eppingen, not far from Heilbronn and Sinsheim in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Eppingen is well-known in this area for its wealth of beautifully-preserved half-timbered houses. Some are huge, such as the “Baummisches Haus,” dating from 1562 and now a lovely small hotel and cellar restaurant with extensive […]
Making Hay While the Sun Shines in Heidiland
We had the good luck to catch several farmers way, way up high on the mountainside above the Walensee in the St. Galen district of Switzerland the other day. The sun was shining and the farmers were rushing to bring in the hay before a storm arrived later that day. Shown are guests Bob and […]
Just for Fun in Switzerland
James Derheim has created Ammon USA LLC to wholesale these handcrafted wooden figures in the United States. The figures come from Bavaria and the Czech Republic. We’ve been selling them in our retail shop in Sarasota, FL the past year and they are among our top selling items. Starting in September, we’ll be marketing these […]
Lunch in Cheb
We scooted across the border on Sunday for lunch in Cheb, the Czech Republic. I’ve driven by this town many times but never had a reason to stop until this time, when things just worked out for us to have lunch in the colorful square of this delightful old town.
Genealogy is impossible without people like this
Where would genealogists be without people who can read the old German script like Erich Scherer? We met Herr Scherer today in the church office of Arzberg, in the Bavarian Forest near the border with the Czech Republic. His name had been given to guide James Derheim by a contact developed by Paula Leitzell, current […]
Praise for Genealogist Georg Grüneberg Specializing in Brandenburg
From Dena Ward, who hired Georg Grüneberg to do research for her in Brandenburg, Germany. Herr Grüneberg did work for Dena and her sister Grace in advance of our visit to the area in October, 2008. He has since done much more work, and Dena’s comments of August 23 are: I just wanted to let […]
Schwerin's Magnificent Castle
The castle of Schwerin is something out of a kid’s coloring book. And, it’s gotten more colorful as the years have passed since the reunification of Germany in 1990. When I first saw this castle, it was gray and crumbling. Now it’s shining and beautiful from the outside, although a visit reveals that the interior […]