'25 Week 19: Visiting the Fatherland (Deutschland/Bodensee Trip) & a Quilt Finish

I'm pretty late but happy May!

It's a contradiction for a homebody like me but I've been enjoying

lots of travel lately.  When I'm home, I feel like I'm trying to catch up

on the yard, garden, house and sewing (way behind there!) so it has

taken me weeks to write up just this one post.

I have a big post today with lots of pics and yes, there will be

be some quilty progress so grab your cuppa and here we go...

For our latest excursion, we hit the land of my ancestors.

Hubs has always traveled extensively for work and now that

we're empty-nesters, I'm starting to tag along more often.

Early April found us in Friedrichshafen, a town on the coast

of the beautiful Lake Constance (the Bodensee) which borders

Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 

This wasn't my first view of the Alps, but it was definitely the prettiest.

It's really hard to capture in pics unless you take a panorama and

that still doesn't pick up the intense beauty, let alone the crisp air,

the sounds of the seagulls...  Ach!  One day I will actually get up IN

those Alps--before I'm too old to do it.  I'm past being able to do any

serious hiking, but I could at least hit some easier areas...maybe?

As the day progresses the haze begins to clear and by evening,

not only can you see the green along the other coast toward

Austria, the mountains themselves appear even closer and

more defined.

Lake Constance is so clear and calm!

While hubs was off at the air show, I spent the first full day

checking out the town, starting with a lovely cappuccino,

doing a little reading and enjoying that amazing view.

(Charcoal = vest; variegated = socks; cottons = dish cloths)

I had to hit the yarn shop (twice as it turned out) and here is my

little stash of Bavarian goodies.  Some for a vest, one for socks

and the other 2 for dishcloths...just because?  I've always heard

fabric is pricey over there but I found the yarn to be very

reasonably priced, though I'm not very knowledgeable there.

I never did find a fabric shop but it wasn't really on my radar.

Clothes weren't on my radar either but I picked up a few fun things.

On day 2, when I was more comfortable with my surroundings,

I took the ferry across Lake Constance to the town of Konstance.

Huge thanks to the guy in the ticket office for this suggestion!

Right on the border of Switzerland, the Allies left Konstance alone

during the war so the ancient medieval buildings remained intact.

Walking through the streets, you frequently see such dates as

1237 on the cornerstones; in the churches, I found dates as

far back as 800.

St. Conrad (d.975); altar 1300 AD.

St. Pelagius (d. 283)

(not Pelagius, the known heretic)

I also stumbled across the tombs of a couple saints.

I'm pretty traditional.

I love to see paintings, statues and stained glass

filling a church full of divine inspiration, not

to mention the amazing architecture.  

There's a whole theology (using art to lift the soul upward)

that I fully subscribe to it and I always wonder where is

this inspiration today?  (Rhetorical question.)

If you zoom, note the ancient artwork.

I visited Geneva years ago but I wanted to walk into

Switzerland for a cappuccino...just to say I was there again.

Without much in walking distance, I didn't go farther in though.

Back on the German side, I splurged and had a Belgian

waffle with champagne at a French restaurant, al fresco.

Because I could!

When hubs' work was done we headed back to Munich,

stopping first for a tour of Dachau.

Pondering the many feet that walked on these cobblestones

as they entered Dachau--to their death.  (Quilt inspiration?)

In the beginning, Dachau was for political prisoners

but it quickly grew to so much more.  

Built to house 6,000 but eventually had 32,000 crammed in....

and this was just one of many prison camps.

 I'm always so relieved that my ancestors left many years before.

Foundations of some of the many the cell blocks.

 I'm not sure why I'm fascinated with this time in history but I've

read countless (literally--I've lost count but maybe 30? 40?)

books on the Holocaust so this was a highlight for sure.

I think it's the resilience that fascinates me so much.

The ones with the strength to survive and tell their story.

So, so many without a grave.   As we walked around

this area, the birds were singing and it was a beautiful day.

Their remains are there, under the trees, grass and flowers.

One must find solace in that they are now at peace.

Just beyond the far perimeter wall, there is a convent of wonderful

nuns who pray for the crimes committed there.  Certainly their

prayers reach back in time to give them strength to survive.

And for others, the strength to die.

Back in Munich we hit a beer garden for a late lunch

and my first taste of German beer.

Turns out there is actually a beer out there that I like.

None of that bitter hops stuff.  It has like a spice to it.

 On Saturday, it was game-day and Munich's Old Town was packed.

We walked through the Marienplatz just in time to catch the

famous Glockenspiel its the life-size figurines emerged

from the Town Hall’s bell tower.

For the full German experience, we enjoyed the the Hofbräuhaus

most of all.  This huge--and I mean huge--beer hall dates back

to the 16th century.   Live polka music, random bursts of singing,

beer maidens carrying huge mugs and fresh, hot pretzels,

 amazing sauerkraut!  It was like a blast into the past.

We also visited more beautiful churches and did just a bit

of shopping--had to bring home mustards and sauerkraut!

I'm still amazed at how packed full of people the entire city center

was, and as much fun as we had that day, I was ready to be

back in our quiet hotel room that night.  Game days!
Gotta file that one away for next time.

On the food front:   I liked their aperol cocktails, the schnitzel is

yummy and not as heavy/greasy as I thought it would be, their

sauerkraut is killer and I now have extra cabbage planted in my

garden after having pickled cabbage as garnish and on salad.
I would have loved to bring back a ton of pretzels but wow,

I think I had more bread on this trip than I've had all year

so far back here at home.

Germany was sunny and beautiful for our entire visit:

the mornings were crisp-cold with the highs in the 70's

(though still kinda crisp) so dressing in layers is the rule.

A stylish scarf is a good idea, along with good walking shoes.

And boy did I put in the miles!  Even with all that heavy eating,

I came home a pound lighter--that's how much I walked!

And the rain held off until the day we left--thank goodness!

I'm always more emotional when tired, and worse with jet-lag,

but the one thing that affected me more than I expected was

simply being where my family came from.   Both of my parents

were fully German but because the heritage was held onto a little

more on my dad's side (where even the language was spoken),

I found myself really missing him and wishing he'd been with us.

I plan on going back yearly for as long as hubs continues to go.

I don't know the language but, somewhat ironically, hubs is the

one with a minor in German so while he brushes up on it,

I plan on trying to learn at least a little bit of it.   

Speaking of goals!  After all of that trip talk and pics,

we're finally down to the quilty stuff!

Previous progress and goals for next week:

1) Finish last house blocks--DONE!

I also have it into a finished top.

2) Cut out and make top of baby quilt--DONE

After quilting, 49x49.

Actually, I got the entire quilt done.  The pattern is

Heart to Heart by Maple Cottage Designs.

Most of the fabrics are Edyta Sitar and while pink is

not really for me, I do love, love the "Thistle" print.

I find the "blocky" hearts to be just okay but I needed the project

to be fast/simple.  I think the quilting helps soften them up a bit.

I really like "Greenwood" by My Creative Stitches; it's not quite

traditional but it's also not modern which makes it pretty versatile.

This quilt was gifted to my niece who had her first baby in January.

3) Get caught up on the 2025 Unity QAL

With our travel plans, I knew I'd fall way behind here but I'm still

doing my best to get caught up.   I'm going to be visiting

Lisa Bongean's Primitve Gatherings later this year and I'd love

to be all caught up at that point.  For now I need to focus on

finishing all 3000+ HST's and then dive into the piecing.

4) Quilt sales:

I have requests for 3 quilts (a West Point and 2 pumpkins).

There isn't a time crunch for any of these but I want to get

on them as soon as possible.

5) Knitting:

I'm still getting a row or two done here or there but I'm really,

really behind!  Thankfully our next trip is a road trip so that

might be chance to make some real progress finally.

5) Finish planting garden for all spring crops--DONE

Hubs set 5 more raised beds.  Filling them was hard work and

 left me hurting but I enjoyed it.  I just have to work in short

sessions these days and be content with whatever I accomplish.

Working around the construction, here is this year's showing:

Acorn Squash

Asparagus--harvesting

Broccoli (6)

Brussels Sprouts (9)

Butternut squash

Cabbage (7 green; 9 purple)

Carrots (all colors)

Eggplant (3)

Grapes (Concord, green, red)

Green beans

Herbs* (all kinds)--harvesting

Lettuces (all kinds)--harvesting

Onions (red, yellow, white, scallion)

Potatoes

Peppers (all kinds)

Radishes (white, red)--harvesting

Rhubarb

Shallots

Strawberries

Tomatillos

Tomatoes (4 Roma, 1 red & 1 yellow cherry, 2 Gold)

Yellow squash

Zucchini

*Herbs: lavender, rosemary, tarragon, parsleys, oregano,

mint, lemon balm, thymes, cilantro, basils, sage, chives

To be planted (late-June/early-July): pumpkins & gourds.

With more travelling and two golf tournaments to prepare

for, it'll be tricky trying to meet these goals but that's part

of the fun and the sense of accomplishment, right?

Hopefully it doesn't take me another 5 or 6 weeks to share

my progress this next time!

Happy traveling, golfing, gardening, knitting and quilting!

Linking to:

Monday Musings

Sew & Tell
Tuesday To Do