Dear Kimmel Cousins: Some of you asked me to write about our October visit to the villages of our ancestors. Much has been written by others but I will attempt to fulfill my promise. Craig and I arrived at Stuttgart three days before the friends we were neeting arrived at Frankfurt. We spent part of that time visiting Gimbsheim, Eich, and Alsheim. Each village is unique. Our perceptions of them follow: Eich is right on the Rhein River. You can catch a ferry to or from the east side of the river there (and we did). It appeared to us to now be a busy, growing suburb of Worms, nearby historical city, which is adding industrial areas and trucking traffic to the ancient attraction created by 4 worthy cathedrals. We visited an interesting old Reformed Church in Eich but the person we talked with there spoke no English and we could gain little information about the old church and grounds. It appeared to have date from our Kimmel ancestor's time, at least in part. From Tim Kimmel's website: "Eich Reformed Church records have the birth and baptism dates for all of the children of Johann Michael's son, Johann Philip and some detail on Johann Michael's brother, Johann Georg. Johann Philip's wife, Anna Elizabeth Volz was born in Eich and both her birth and death records are here." It would have been ideally suited to be a port of departure for agricultural products of the area. Next, we went up the road about 4 miles to Gimbsheim. Gimbsheim appears to be smaller and quieter, more agricultural now, in the present day, than Eich - perhaps because it is located a bit further from commercial areas. There is a lovely old Reformed Church there. Though we found it locked when we tried to go on two occasions, the third time a lady on a bicycle, married to the pastor, offered to open it for us. She spoke English but had to leave almost immediately, so we could only learn that it was 150 years old. I now wonder if she was referring to a restoration. Perhaps someone on the list knows the answer or the Gimbsheim historical book would say. It has obviously been recently painted inside in the old decorative manner and is very beautiful. If the present building is not old (by European standards), we thought the site may have once been the home of an older church. It was surrounded by a stone wall with large buttresses. We walked through the unlocked wooden gate in the stone wall and up several steps to the church, which was seated high above the surrounding neighborhood. There was an old Catholic Church in town, as well. We didn't visit it because of parking problems. The streets are narrow and houses are right next to the street, so bicycles work better than cars there. We drove from the church to the Rhein (about 1 mile east) -- saw fields of sugar beets, which had just been harvested and were piled beside the road. On one trip there, we saw a group of seniors on bicycles on an outing, perhaps a picnic beside the river or just enjoying the fall colors which were spectacular. There were 25 or 30 happy bicyclers in the group. We walked through the cemetery and found only recent gravesites, as described by previous visitors. On our third visit we found the City Hall open. The administrator was there and I was able to communicate that I wanted to buy a copy of the Gimbsheim history book, which I did. She said the Mayor (?) was on holiday so there was no one to show us around. From the Kimmel Record website: "Gimbsheim Reformed Church records include references to Hans Conrad Kimmel and his children, Johann Michael, Johann Georg and Anna Catharina. The 1732 marriage of Johann Michael to Anna Elizabeth Hartmann is here. So is the record of Johann Michael's death in Gimbsheim in 1734." We took some pictures, imagined we could identify Frau Helwig's Gustehaus and the city history cellars, and headed west across a the valley to a lovely little village on the hillside, Alsheim. "Alsheim Reformed Church records include references to Hans Conrad Kimmel and his children, Johann Michael, Johann Georg and Anna Catharina. The 1732 marriage of Johann Michael to Anna Elizabetha Hartmann is here, So is record of Johann Michael"s death in Gimbsheim in 1734." The hills around the village of Alsheim are covered with grapevines and the town is especially charming, with wineries throughout and a couple of interesting restaurants. We found the city hall locked and didn't really try to talk to anyone there but just enjoyed the area. There were almost always people waiting for the trains that run though the wine country, low on the hillside of villages. The grapevines continue south for many miles and we received information at the visitor center in Worms which designated this as a main wine-producing area. We noticed that there is a rooster on the top of the steeple of each Reformed Church and assumed that has to do with the awakening of the reformation. The only other reference I can think of is Peter's denial of Christ "three times before the cock crowed". Perhaps someone can tell me the meaning of this symbolism for sure. My thanks to all who so kindly sent me maps and instructions to help us find our way, interesting places to visit and things to do. You pointed the way and greatly benefited our vacation time in Germany. Janet Christie Janet Christie