Going Back to my Roots in Germany

Today we are going to have a unique experience. We are heading back to the town of my ancestors and meeting up with family that are 5th-8th cousin range. Our common ancestor goes back to the 1700s.

I made contact with this relative about 8 months prior and we have been emailing back and forth ever since. I had told him we were coming to Germany and asked if he would like to meet up for lunch or something. Instead he suggested we stay in the area for a few days so he can show us around.

We get up nice and early and pack our bags out to the car just before breakfast opens up. We have around a 90 minutes drive this morning to get to our Ankenbauer family's home, so we need to eat quickly and get on the road.

This breakfast is not a buffet, instead they serve each table the same thing; yoghurt, orange juice, one hard-boiled egg per person, a platter of sliced meats and cheeses to share, bread bowl, and croissant bowl with butter and jam. I also buy a Schneeball from the bakery which means "snowball". It's made of strips of sweet short crust dough that is formed into a ball and fried until it's crisp. Then it's covered with powdered sugar or other things. I buy one covered in cinnamon and sugar, but we'll eat it later.

The city gate as we are leaving Rothenburg ob der Tauber

The Ankenbauer's asked us to arrive around 10 AM and said they wanted to take us on a special surprise adventure. We get there at 9:45 and are greeted warmly by the family: Rainer, his wife Andrea, their daughter Anna and son Christian plus some of their grandkids.

We spend 10-15 minutes at their house before we head out. Rainer asks if he can ride with us so he can share things with us along the way. This works out well as we get history of towns and information along the way. We pass by a few fancy estates that are actually considered unfortified palaces.

Schloss Burgpreppach, this palace has been owned by the same family line since the 

14th century. This castle was built on the site of the older castle which was demolished

when they built the palace as it is today in the early 1700s.

Schloss Gereuth. This building is from the early 1700s. It used to have a moat around it, but that is all dried up. This castle recently changed hands just last year, and the family who bought it hopes to restore it as a private residence.

Known as Banz Abbey or Banz Castle, this building was used as a monastery for hundreds of years until 1803. Now it is used as a conference center and also houses a collection of fossils and other things such as Egyptian mummies. The church part of this castle you can see sticking above the trees is very beautiful inside.

The only thing we know is that we are heading to a church. Turns out every year for the last 27 years people from Mechenried do a pilgrimage to this church. They start around 9 PM and walk through the night to arrive before noon the next day. The pilgrimage is 60 km, which is almost 1-1/2 marathons and there are lots of hills along the way. We park along the route and wait for the pilgrims to arrive. We walk the last 1/3 of a mile with them, climbing 107 steps up through the forest on a pathway to reach the town. Then the church bells ring and we all walk into the church.

Playing on a log pile as we wait

The guy in the gray shirt I learn is an 8th cousin, and the lady pushing the stroller is Rainer's daughter Anna, a 5th cousin.

This church is called the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and it's one of the most beautiful churches I've been into. It took my breath away as I walk in. I've been into many cathedrals in Europe, and they are all beautiful in their own way, but this one was WOW!

The pilgrims have their own little band that walks with them and they play songs at different stops and in the church. Then the priest gives a 15 minute devotional and then we go outside for a picture. They insist we go up front in the photo even though we only walked the last 1%.

Everyone is very welcoming although not everyone speaks English. Rainer translates and is so happy to tell them I am an Ankenbauer from America related to him.

Rainer’s daughter Anna and grandson Mateo had walked through much of the night, although they didn't go the whole way. We all went to a restaurant across from the church for lunch.

Rainer insists we try Sauerbraten, his favorite meal. He says it's very traditional in their area. It tastes similar to roast beef with a gravy with a slightly sour note to it. It comes with purple sauerkraut and potato dumplings. The dumpling have a very interesting texture, pillowy soft but very sticky, not my favorite part of the meal.

The kids had schnitzel with fries. Despite the look on Lanon's face here, they ate well.

Google translate was a great thing to have. I was able to use it to translate the menu, and also when there were English words that Rainer wasn't familiar with. Little Luna was so tired and teething, but she let me hold her for a few minutes.

The kids find a playground to enjoy for a few minutes

We walk back to our car and head back towards Rainer's home. We do a couple short detours so he can show us where his wife was born. Then we also stop by his daughter Anna's house, but they are all taking naps after being awake half the night walking.

Kapelle Neuhof is a field chapel that was build in 1883/4

The local power here is made at least in part with Biogas. They convert manure, food waste, and crop waste into electricity by fermenting the waste into gas and then burning the gas to make the electricity.

We also drive by his daughter Katrin's house and they are busy working outside on their yard. We say a quick hello then drive the one minute further to Rainer's house.

We go in for a little visit before walking across town to a celebration for his son Christian’s 40th birthday party.

Because of the milestone it was a bigger than normal celebration, so they are using the local football (soccer) clubhouse, where Christian also coaches. They have lots of food and drinks. We get to meet all of Rainer's siblings except his youngest brother. We also meet many nieces and nephews, in-laws and grandchildren.

Christian's two sisters interview him in front of the crowd. We were able to use live translate on our phones to get the idea of what they were asking him and his responses.

Billiards with soccer balls

Rainer with his siblings and their spouses. Missing one brother.

Rainer's family with children and grandchildren, but missing one son-in-law

They are all very welcoming and make sure to not leave us out. Kailey plays well with Sophia, as she speaks English very well. She said she loves English and it's her favorite subject in school. She likes to watch movies and TV shows in English as well as read English books for better grammar.

Landon plays well with Mateo as well as other boys. When he tells them he only speaks English, they all try their best to speak in English to include him which is nice. Mateo told us earlier he could understand us, but didn't feel comfortable speaking, but felt more comfortable around the kids.

Every time I see Christian he is in a new soccer jersey, every 30 minutes I think he said he was going to change jerseys.

In Germany you plan your own birthday party, so it's all a person's preference about how they want to celebrate. Christian and his wife spent most the day setting up for the party.

Our hotel only has someone at reception until 10 PM, so we leave the party around 9 PM to walk back to our car at Rainer's house. We have a 25 minute drive to our hotel. Thankfully my hotel reservation email told me they don't have their own on site parking, but they tell us which parking garage to use. This parking garage says you're only supposed to park here for 1 hour max, but if you stay at the hotel you can park as long as you want for only 10 euros a day.

We notice a door with our hotel name on it and they have an easy entrance to the hotel if you have already checked in, but since we don't we have to walk around the building to the entrance.

There is no one at reception but this hotel has kiosks that you check in with your information and they tell you a room number and entry code.

Each room door has a keypad on it to get in, so no keycards are required.

The city of Schweinfurt where we are staying used to be a fortified city. The archway you can see past the top of the stairs is a part of the original fortified wall. Much of the wall has been removed over the past couple of centuries due to the city expanding. The wall was heavily damaged in WWII, only a 250m stretch remains.

Our room is a family room with a queen bed and bunk beds, which the kids both want the top bunk. We tell them they can each have the top bed one night as we are staying two nights.

We try our schneeball before bed. We don't want it to go stale sitting overnight. It's very crumbly, and tastes about how you would expect a cinnamon and sugar dough ball to taste. Not amazing, but something different to try.