Around Gersfeld

My mom's hometown, Gersfeld, was our home base in Germany. We were able to stay in my cousin's apartment, and it was so nice to have a kitchen and separate living space for that week. My mom, sister and Aunt Ulli were in town until the 5th, after which point we rented a car and did a few trips (more on those later). But while the whole gang was around, we took Charlie to do a few of the things my Omi did with Niki and me when we were little.

On a walk in the Schlosspark


The Schloss and pond (filled with enormous goldfish)


The Protestant church (where my Omi and Great-Aunt went - in Germany, kids follow their father's religion, so mom and the sibs went to Catholic church with my Opa)


Out for schnitzel - this restaurant used to house the Post Office


Gersfeld is in the Rhon Mountains, pretty close to the Bavarian border with Hessen, so it's a particularly beautiful landscape (more so in the summer, which we heard non-stop. March is not really an ideal time to visit Germany). We took a drive through the Rhon one day, to show Evan where my dad used to work (Wildflecken) and to head up to the Kreuzberg for some beer. The monks there have been brewing and raising St. Bernards since 1731.

The entrance to Kloster Kreuzberg - you can see the gang is huddled against the chill


Warming up with the Kreuzberg's brew (13% ABV)


Not surprisingly, Charlie wanted in on the action




Back outside, we were greeted by snow!


The most ginormous St. Bernard I've ever seen


Once the weather improved, we took off for the duck pond, a favorite of mine as a kid. Unfortunately, the ducks found us and our bread only mildly interesting, so after a short time we headed on to the wild animal park (Wildpark).





Since the ducks were so uninterested, Charlie at a good bit of bread himself


Feeding the mountain goats


Taking a break with Daddy on the walk home