Baalborn, Germany

April 25, 2008

The well in Baalborn.

We are now on the search for the Reed ancestors. We had some records of them being in Baalborn, Germany so this was our first stop.

The little city of Baalborn.
We found a few cemeteries in Baalborn but didn't have any luck and were directed to the cemetery in Otterberg, and just like ducklings they are all following in line to try to find it.

Once we found it there was a nice man and his wife working in the garden who were very helpful, and spoke a little English. They went inside the small church and brought out these huge books of names. We searched the books but could not find any Reiths. They told us of some other cemeteries that were older that we could check out.

This church was across the street from the cemetery and were told that it housed all the records of the old cemeteries. It closed at noon (of course) and we were there just a little after.
The door was open and so we went inside to see if anyone was around that could help us. The church was empty-not a soul around, sometimes that can be a little eerie in these big churches.
The kids began to get nervous that we were not going to be able to get out.
The door was still open so we could all get out. The church square had a fun water fountain that the kids found very entertaining.
Of course the playing would not be complete without at least one scraped knee. Logan was the lucky one today-thought he could make the jump, but his legs just aren't as long as he would like them to be.

We bought our lunch of roasted chicken in this small deli/bakery on the side of the church. It also had the most delicious pastries, we could have eaten 10 of their giant cream puffs.
We were led to another small cemetery where we found Harald and Heidi Meyland. They were busy at work on her grandmothers grave. In Germany their small plots are gardens and they plant bushes and flowers that will bloom all through the year, it's really nice-I am so sad I didn't take a picture of it.
We started a conversation with them, they both spoke English because they learned it in grade school, and they knew of some older cemeteries and said they would show us where they were. We followed them to a very small Jewish cemetery up in the hills, but they felt like we wouldn't find what we needed there. She had a friend who had done a lot of ancestral research and they drove us to his home. It so happened he was home that day and spent a good half hour with Mark and looking over t the names and dates. He told Mark when he found anything he would send it our way.
We were sad that we didn't get to see any names on headstones, but were thrilled about the wonderful people we met along the way.



There was a Lutheran church in Romerburg way up on the hill. We are pretty sure that this is a church they would have attended. It was very old and had a small cemetery in the back. Many of the tombstones were old enough you couldn't read the writing on them anymore.
We felt like we found some real treasures. Just knowing you have been in the same places that they once were was an emotional experience.
Mark and I think when we are retired this would be a very fun hobby, driving through beautiful countries looking for your heritage.

The fields were so green and lush throughout the countryside.
We were now on our way to meet up with our third cousins awaiting our arrival in Switzerland.
Kirsten is the daughter of my mother's first cousin Terry; Our grandparents were brother and sister.

They are here for work and loving it. They were kind enough to open their home and adventures with us for a few days.
When we finally arrived Kirsten had a beautiful meal waiting for us.
Her husband Keyne was out of town with their oldest son Taylor, but were excited to spend the weekend with her other children Brayden, McKay and Sabrina.