Getting in Touch With My Roots (June 20th)

It is about time on this trip that I really get deeper into my roots. Throughout this entire trip I could feel my inner German coming out. My German-American heritage began with two people, my Oma and Opa. They came to America after WWII about 6 weeks before my mother was born. As of January, my mother, my sister, and myself have dual American and German citizenship.  And to understand where I come from, I have to go back to where my grandparents grew up. 

Left to Right: Opa (Gottfried Gold), me, Oma (Irma Baum)

Today I went to Bad Hersfeld. This town was where my Opa grew up. As I walked the streets, I tried to imagine a younger Opa running around and playing in the streets. Opa has told me on several occasions of his memories of Bad Hersfeld. It is very emotional for him to talk about his old home. It has been many many years since he saw his old home town. He was very happy to hear that my mother was bringing my sister and I to where he grew up. 

Bad Hersfeld is a small, quaint little town. The first thing we saw where the castle ruins. At the time when we were there, there was a musical going on within the ruins. The people of Bad Hersfeld have preserved the ruins quite well. I was impressed with what lengths they went to to achieve this goal. Above the ruins they throw up a large tent, but the anchors and ropes for the tent rest just above the ruins and just outside the grounds. 

My mom wanted to show me where my Opa had lived while he lived in the town.

Opa's grade school

Before we left Bad Hersfeld, we went to the grave of my Opa's mother, Anna Rennolet-Gold. I have heard stories about my great Oma. She was quite the lady. She definitely loved to have fun and loved my Opa. It was an emotional experience for my mother. This is the first time she has seen her grave.

We drove from Bad Hersfeld, through a storm, to reach Beilstein. It is a small town on the Mosel River. This town is very touristy, but still less touristy than the other towns around it. My sister and I were in a comfortable room with a small balcony. After we got settled we walked around the very small town, and went to dinner. Being as we are in Riesling Wine county, it seemed only proper to drink the wine. Let me add that this wine was great. 

Our Hotel

Riesling Wine

We are getting ready to be home. We are nearing the end of our trip. But today was a nice relaxing day which was nice to get at this point in the trip. I think we all just needed some time to sit down, read, journal, and relax. Cheers to another great day in Europe in beautiful wine country.