Germany - Part 2

Castles

We did a day trip to visit a couple of King Ludwig's castles.

Linderhof, his weekend retreat

The grotto at Linderhof

the interior of the Grotto - I've never seen anything like it

Neuschwanstein Castle - King Ludwig built this and then lived in it 172 days before he was "dethroned"

It is said that this castle inspired Walt Disney for his castles at his theme parks

Ulm

Ulm is on the Danube and was a major departure point for travel down the Danube to the Black Sea. Some of our relatives may have boarded boats here to travel to their new homes in Russia.

Ulmer Münster - the world's tallest steeple

Apple strudel

Asparagus was in season and was everywhere in all the markets and restaurants.

"Ulmer Schachtel" - a model of the boats used to travel down the Danube. Can you imagine moving your whole family to a new country on one of these?

Stuttgart

Stuttgart was part of our original itinerary. It's home to a couple German Russian organizations

Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland - We received such a warm welcome from this group. But unfortunately they only spoke German, and our tour leader was the only one who could translate.

Heimatmuseum der Deutschen aus Bessarabian - this was a small museum full of artifacts from the Germans who settled in the Bessarabian district of Ukraine (my Sackman ancestors settled there). We enjoyed viewing the artifacts, and then they provided a wonderful schnitzel lunch for us.

overlooking Stuttgart

Dad and I enjoyed walking around the market hall

Dad buying Halva, a tahini-based confection he remembers having as a child

our bounty from the market

Seltz, Alsace, France

The Alsace region has changed hands between France and Germany many times over the years. Our tour guide told us his grandmother changed nationalities 4 or 5 times in her life. But they don't seem to really care because they consider themselves Alsatian more than any nationality. The recently-elected mayor Seltz even came out to meet us.

We were all fascinated by the stork's nest. Storks are symbolic of Alsace

This church was bombed during WWII, so they kept the part that survived and rebuilt the rest by modern standards.

Apple flamkuchen - this was a delicious dessert. Our lunch was a savory flamkuchen, which is essentially a flatbread with white sauce, onions and a little ham. It was another one of my favorite meals.