Ralf, Thank you for sharing your trip. I long for the cool air of the Schwartzwald and the beautiful villages. Sigmaringen is a lovely spot. I am familiar with most of the places you mentioned. We lived just south of Stuttgart in the small village of Mussberg for three years in the 90s. We were back a couple of years ago for a visit. I am homesick just reading your post! Chris in MO

For those interested in learning more about how their ancestors lived, and I believe that was at least part of the purpose of starting this List, the Freilicht (open-air) Museums should not be overlooked on your visits to Germany. Most of these are agriculturally based as that was the way of life for the majority of people. They will vary from area to area as did the culture of the times. I find them all interesting. There is an industrial one at Hagen which we also enjoyed very much. It was built along a stream which was used for power until eventually it was changed to electricity and continued in use up into the 20th century, 1930s I think. I have a sickle which I watched a man make starting with a short round iron bar and moving from station to station for different operations. We came in too late to see the demonstration and were just looking at the machinery when he recognized a foreigner and offered to do a demonstration for the 3 of us. Of course as soon as the machinery started making a noise people flocked in but every time he moved he would motion me to the front to a good viewing area. When finished he wrapped it in newspaper and presented it to me. It was not sharpened only shaped with one end of the original bar for the handle and the curved sickle blade the other. Sharpening was apparently done some place else or perhaps left out for a safety precaution. Up the hill farther where it leveled out there was a bakery. The bread is no longer made there but brought out to be baked in the ovens. We bought a loaf of hot raisin bread and sat and tore it apart in chunks and devoured it with nothing on it. I never tasted anything better. We tried to buy another loaf but by then it was all gone. We waited a short while until another kind came out of the ovens but we'll never forget that hot raisin bread. One of my favorite spots in Wuerttemberg is Blautopf at Blaubeuren. It is a geological oddity, a small flowing spring fed by an underground river. The caves the river runs through have been explored mainly by one man, Jochen Hasenmayer who has been a leading cave explorer in Europe. The water is clear and is chemically colored by copper compounds leached out of the limestone. The beauty and intensity of the color is unbelievable. Do a search for Blaubeuren there is a site with the story and pictures. There is a famous Kloster there as well. I have a neat picture of Blautopf with the spire of the Cloister reflected in the water. I found a site with some pictures but they do not do just to the magnificent color of Blautopf. The ones I took are much better color-wise. One last thing, check out your "home town" to see if they have a Heimatmuseum. Many do and the artifacts displayed there will be those of your ancestors and their neighbors. You may even find them mentioned or pictured. Celia, who won't get there until September ----- Original Message ----- From: Jerry & Chris Thiessen <jthiesen@ipa.net> To: <GERMAN-LIFE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2001 11:34 AM Subject: RE: Re: [GERMAN-LIFE] NO MAIL > > Ralf, > > Thank you for sharing your trip. I long for the cool air of the > Schwartzwald and the beautiful villages. Sigmaringen is a lovely spot. I am > familiar with most of the places you mentioned. We lived just south of > Stuttgart in the small village of Mussberg for three years in the 90s. We > were back a couple of years ago for a visit. I am homesick just reading > your post! > Chris in MO > > > > > > ==== GERMAN-LIFE Mailing List ==== > To UNSUBSCRIBE from this mail list send a message to: > GERMAN-LIFE-L-request@rootsweb.com and in the message add the word UNSUBSCRIBE and send. > > ============================== > Visit Ancestry's Library - The best collection of family history > learning and how-to articles on the Internet. > http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library >

Thanks to all on this list who have had the opportunity to travel in the lands our ancestors hailed from. Keep up with the conversations regarding places/names, for it will be all some of us will be able to learn about our Fatherland. It makes interesting reading, to say the least. I have learned a great deal from this list, and I love it! Kathleen Reed Hollister MI, USA

What wonderful discriptions. They make me homesick, but how can that be? I have never been there....Still it is my dream to walk in the fields of my ancestors. .My great grandfather, Henry Whitmyer, (the americanized spelling )came to America from Wurttemberg in 1834-35 as a small child with his family first to PA, then on to OH and finally to IN where he settled in 1865. Your stories of the people, places and food, are next best to being able to go and see and taste for myself. Please continue Lorna June Whitmyre Thomas ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerry & Chris Thiessen" <jthiesen@ipa.net> To: <GERMAN-LIFE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2001 2:34 PM Subject: RE: Re: [GERMAN-LIFE] NO MAIL > > Ralf, > > Thank you for sharing your trip. I long for the cool air of the > Schwartzwald and the beautiful villages. Sigmaringen is a lovely spot. I am > familiar with most of the places you mentioned. We lived just south of > Stuttgart in the small village of Mussberg for three years in the 90s. We > were back a couple of years ago for a visit. I am homesick just reading > your post! > Chris in MO > > > > > > ==== GERMAN-LIFE Mailing List ==== > To UNSUBSCRIBE from this mail list send a message to: > GERMAN-LIFE-L-request@rootsweb.com and in the message add the word UNSUBSCRIBE and send. > > ============================== > Visit Ancestry's Library - The best collection of family history > learning and how-to articles on the Internet. > http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library >