Alice Molitor went to Agnes Schuster's home hair salon to get her hair done in the early morning hours of Tuesday, July 2, 1991. Carl Freese drove Ray and me over to pick Alice up, when she called to say that she was finished there. Our car would not have to remain in a St. Louis Lambert Airport parking lot for two weeks that way. Alice, Ray and I were dropped off at the passenger unloading area. Then Carl drove our car back home. We went immediately to a locker area to store our luggage for a while. Then we looked for the flight information screens for the incoming TWA flight from Omaha, Nebraska. We were early enough to meet Bernice Hunt's plane.

We went on through the gate area from which Bernice Becker-Hunt was to arrive from her early morning flight from Omaha. Bernice happened to be the last passenger to leave the plane and to appear in the lobby. She had only carry-on luggage with her, which is a most convenient way to travel with a German rail pass. We all had made FREESE signs to identify ourselves. Then we headed for the Delta Airline counter to check in with our tickets and luggage that was to be loaded on the plane.

Carl Brakensiek appeared with his sister, Lucile Kidd. Soon Rev. Jones and his wife, Marilyn appeared. Then Dera and Layton Rehmeier came in followed by a son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. There were introductions all around, when the tickets and luggage needs were met.

It was time for Bernice and Alice to sit in a waiting area to eat their brown bag lunches. Ray and I headed for the cafeteria line for a bite to eat. A photo session evolved as we gathered together once again. At last, we all said good bye to the Rehmeier's son's family. The three of us (Alice, Ray and I) went back to pick up our stored luggage from the locker. Then we headed for our gate to get ready to board the plane to Atlanta, Georgia, where we were to transfer to an international flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

In the air we were given a cold drink break and a bit later a lunch tray. The two hour flight was to seem brief, compared to the next leg of the journey from Atlanta, Georgia, to Frankfurt, Germany. Weather delays from Omaha, Nebraska, and weather conditions in St. Louis, Missouri, had caused our flight out to be somewhat delayed. As we arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, we were late for our flight connections to Frankfurt. But we rushed as fast as we were able through the terminal and a subway system to the international area of the airport. In our haste, Ray left his camera at the security check station.

Since there were ten of us late for boarding the flight to Frankfurt, Germany, the plane sat waiting for our group to board. We were all ten of us seated on the right by the windows in two seats side by side. Each flight found us seated in this same manner.

In the air once again for a much longer flight, the plane headed north east along the coast. The plane arched up through Canada, Newfoundland, Greenland and then on across the ocean. The billowing cloud clusters prevented any window gazing down below as we reached the northern most stretches. As we cruised along the northern reaches drinks were served. A sales pitch for duty-free gifts appeared on the screen for on board purchasing. Earphones were passed out for tuning into music channels. Small bags of peanuts were passed out as well and then more drinks.

Finally, an evening meal was served, after which we were promised an on-board movie. It turned out to be Robin Williams in The Awakening. The setting for the movie took place in a hospital ward with patients who were in a deplorable zombie like state. The doctor was able to bring a spark of life into some of these patients. One of his biggest successes was the awakening that took place in a middle aged man named Leonard. But the side effects and the passage of time put many back into their trancelike former existence. During the show I began fiddling around to adjust the volume and ended up hearing German instead of English. So I fiddled a bit longer before finding the English dialogue back again. After the movie was an opportunity to listen to the music channel once more. I noticed after a while that I was recognizing the same musical scores again. So I took out the ear plugs. With hours left of flight, we finally found ourselves over Ireland and then entering the continent of Europe. For a while yet we cruised along coming down through layers of clouds to a lower altitude. Then as we neared our destination we had to circle around Frankfurt, Germany, for some 45 minutes due to ground delays. We were all rather restless and more than ready to get our land legs working again.

Going through the airport to look for our scheduled train connections was a much more relaxed pace. Everything seemed to be falling into place. Some of us became preoccupied with trying to keeping an eye on our group of ten. Helping one another to board and leave the trains was going to be our next lesson in togetherness. We were beginning to recognize the less familiar members of our group. We were beginning to sort out particular needs. We were pretty much still traveling mentally in pairs with familiar partners. So getting together as a group of ten to proceed on our way to Bingen, Germany, where our tour was to begin seemed yet a distant piece of work. The dry heat began to lurk around us and activate an annoying and unaccustomed need to drink lots of liquids. It was much warmer than all the well meaning advisors had lead us to anticipate. It had been so cold in Germany for several weeks before we left. Sweat shirts, sweaters, raincoats and umbrellas were recommended suitcase packing. I kept telling these folks that we would have cool mornings and warm to hot afternoons. And indeed we did!

We moved through the Frankfurt Airport in Germany to find the S Bahnhof. We made our connections by boarding a train for Bingen, which was to be our place of lodging for our first night. On the train to Bingen some of our group discovered a grandmother vacationing with her teenaged granddaughter from Chicago, Illinois. The grandmother spoke with a thick German accent. She was taking her granddaughter around Germany to see the sights and visit relatives. The teenager had become homesick even before their flight from the states had reached Frankfurt. She had no appetite and had cried on the plane. The teenager perked up, when she noticed our group of English speaking folks. The grandmother watched for our stop at Bingen, as she knew the area well. She was stopping there herself. We walked several blocks to the Hotel Rheingau. It was before noon. The Grandmother and the teenager walked with us and found that they themselves weren't registered at the Hotel Rheingau. So the teenager stayed in our hotel room with me, while her grandmother went back to the train station with Ray to check on the various train schedules out of Bingen that would work out the best. The girl kept taking a piece of notebook paper out of her purse and reading it over and over, as if it had been written by someone very dear to her heart. We chatted a bit and she did not seem too sad. By the time Ray and the Grandmother returned, it was discovered that she and her teenaged granddaughter were actually registered at the next hotel down the street owned by the same family as the one where we were staying.

It was time for our group to gather and check on our situation. Dera had broken her purse strap early on. A plastic nose bridge support piece had dropped off of one side of my eye glasses. Marilyn was breaking out with poison ivy on her hands and Lucile had an allergic reaction to some perfume she had applied before she left home. We got Dera's purse strap repaired at a shoe repair stall in a department store. We got my glasses fixed in just a few minutes by having both nose bridge supports replaced at an optical shop. Rev. Jones and Marilyn were not having any luck at drug stores asking for ointment for her poison ivy. So Alice and Dera shared their ointments with Marilyn and Lucile, which seemed to work in both cases fairly well.

Dera wanted a wash cloth, as it was discovered that only different sized towels are provided in the Hotel rooms through out Germany. So she ended up finding and buying a washcloth mitt like the ones that youngsters use in the United States.

Our point of interest scheduled for our first day was up a steep hill to Burg Klopp. We walked up a hill to a stairway with its many stone steps. Along the dirt path and between sets of stone stairwells were beautifully manicured flower beds with bright huge blossoming flowers. At the top of the hill one could look out over the Rhine River with its awesome slopes. Vast expanses of vineyard growth was visible as far as the eye could see. Castle towers were visible further down the river. The top of this hill provided a spectacular view of the surrounding area. The group toured the old fortress tower on the hilltop, which had been turned into a museum for tourists to browse in. Several tall heavy decorated ancient Roman slabs, dating as far back as 400 A.D., leaned against a stone wall that surrounded part of the hilltop residence. The several floor and very large main edifice had seemed to be a residence for elderly folks two years earlier, when Ray and I had made our way up the hill for the first time. The outdoor patio restaurant became a likely luncheon stop.

Most in our group weren't able to fully comprehend the meaning of items on the menu. So we had to quiz a waiter a bit before attempting an order. Few ended up getting what they actually thought they had ordered. But this is typical of the fancy eating places and their elaborate menus. Our group of ten gathered around two tables under the shade of two very large umbrellas. Layton's request for a ham and cheese sandwich turned out to look more like a special order salad with six skimpy strips of ham surrounded by a quartered hard boiled egg, underneath which there was lettuce and cheese varieties on top of sliced bread.

Descending the hill we went back to our hotel rooms. At 6:00 p. m. we gathered in front of the Hotel Rheingau. We bumped into the grandmother and the teenager, who had by then decided to cross the river on the ferryboat and explore the sights at Rudesheim.

Since the daylight hours were rather lengthy at our 52 degrees north latitude in northwestern Germany, day break happened before 5 a. m. Nightfall was to happen after 10 p. m. We decided that we had enough time yet on this, our first evening in Germany, to catch a ferryboat across the Rhine River to Rudesheim.

The ferry's dock was located in the river front parkway right across the street from the Hotel Rheingau. So we walked back toward our hotel and over to the river front park. Once we arrived at the park we soon boarded the docked ferryboat. It was a very brief river crossing. The boat made a regularly scheduled crossings every 20 minutes or so. We had to check the schedule for the last crossing of the day. We all looked forward to getting ourselves back to Hotel Rheingau without finding ourselves stranded across the river for the night.

The streets were mainly cobblestone at Rudesheim. The side streets sloped upward as did the vineyards around and beyond the village. It was a tourist's dream. Members of our group were looking for postage stamps and postcards. A colorful fold-out map/brochure (its commentary written in English of the Rhine River points of interest) was a recommended purchase to explain the scenic points of interest we were to see the next day. After browsing in numerous gift shops and finding ourselves spreading out in different directions, we gathered in a side street cafe featuring one man musical entertainment. We ordered various drinks. Ray and I even each ordered banana splits. Most were not very hungry because of our late lunch on the hilltop at Burg Klopp. There was music and space to dance. A good sized table full of folks from Wisconsin sat down at a table next to us. So we exchanged a bit of conversation. It was enjoyable to hear a bit of English now and then. I also was able to chat in English with a man, his wife and small son from Norway at this cafe. The Johanson family from Norway heard about my great-grandparents, Engebret and Augusta Mysen, emigrating from Norway in the 1800's. They had emigrated from Oslo after growing up in the surrounding communities of Eidsberg, Ashim and Mysen, Norway. The Johanson's even got to see a photo of our grandson, Thor Michael.

It was nearing the time of the last scheduled ferry across the Rhine River to Bingen. It was after 10:00 p. m. So nightfall was approaching. We all then wandered back to the ferry dock landing and waited on some park benches for our ride back to Bingen and the Hotel Rheingau.

Through the night now and then several of us were awakened by the almost thunderous rumbling of the trains. The trains roared through Bingen at regular intervals throughout the night. The tracks were across the street running beside it through Bingen. The tracks followed along beside Bingen's riverfront park across from the Hotel Rheingau.

One of the memories our group will long remember is the roughness of the gray colored recycled toilet tissue. We encountered it for the first time at the Hotel Rheingau in Bingen, Germany. But the same paper was used in most all of the hotels we were scheduled to stay in for our trip. Also, the room which Ray and I ended up staying in at the Hotel Rheingau had a broken toilet seat. So it managed to pinch me a few times too many!

With our German Rail Passes and lunch items bought the previous day at Bingen grocery stores or food markets, we boarded the cruise ship for the Rhine River tour. The fold-out map and its brief commentary helped those who brought them along learn about the many points of interests along the river route. There were some thirty-two different sights along the route between Bingen and Koblenz.

It was a fine day for our trip. The sun was out with partly cloudy skies. The breeze on the river was deliciously comforting. The boat was far from crowded. Most of us remained on the open deck. Some had brought caps, hats and/or sun glasses to ward off the sun. Ray and I had been packed in tightly by a mass of humanity on our first trip two years earlier. We had been barely to move from our seats until it was time to get off the boat and we had been lucky to have two chairs passed head over head to us two years ago so as to sit down. So it was a more relaxed and comfortable trip by far.

The vineyard slopes were truly an awesome sight. It's a marvel that some of the slopes can be worked at all. Rocky crags jut out at intervals here and there along the river. Castles in various stages of ruin, repair or neglect provide an interesting distraction along the uppermost heights. The immaculately tidy villages, that tuck into the lower level nooks and crannies along the river banks, seem so inviting. The sight of feather beds airing out on window ledges of homes and hotels along the way lent a special meaning, as we would be sleeping with feather bed accommodations throughout our trip.

Buildings built in and along the river's edge were sites from which centuries ago landlords demanded river use taxes be paid for those boaters on their section of the river. It's made so much more abundantly clear to me just looking at the landscape with its high peaks (for the noble few) and low valleys (for the poor peasants). That this life style could have flourished for so long a time through history is understandable.

The boat made stops along the way. But there were no overflow crowds on the boat that day. After several hours we had reached Koblenz, where we would leave the tour. We walked along the Koblenz river parkway. There were a cluster of three small souvenir stands. Postcards were bought. We all signed a card that Lucile was going to send to Sam Freese. I found an X-large-sized T-shirt I had promised to get for Tim. Carl and Layton struck up a conversation with one of the men inside of a souvenir stand with 'platt' Deutsch talk. So more relaxed conversational German was beginning to bud within a larger section of our group.

Some of us walked to the tourist information building. We got a map which helped the ones in charge determine how the group would spend their time and which way to go to get back to the train station in time to return to Bingen. It was decided to walk over a few hundred feet to the Deutches Eck, where the Mosel River joins with the Rhine River. It was fascinating to see the two rivers and their totally different water coloration at the joining point. We followed the Mosel River walk way a short distance and turned left along the streets which seemed to be teeming with shops. We walked through a town square and beyond along other streets with more specialty shops. The sun was beating down on us something fierce. Some of us were getting noticeably sunburned and all of us were getting thirsty. We finally reached the railroad station and got on the train to ride back to Bingen for a last night's stay.

We headed for a fast food grill located in the town square. A quick order meal with more recognizable choices seemed to suit most of the group. Others had spotted it the day before. We settled down there for our supper. We ate at small round white metal patio tables with their matching white metal chairs outside of the grill. It was way too uncomfortably hot like a sauna inside the place. Pigeons around our tables were waiting for handouts. They became a prominent distraction.

After supper we all walked over to a park located along the Rhine River's edge and sat soaking in the awesome view of the vineyard slopes across the river. After a time Dera and Layton headed back to the hotel. They had left for the ice cream shop for a cool drink. Layton meanwhile chanced to strike up a conversation with a farmer who lived some 7 kilometers from Bingen. This man wanted Layton to come visit him at his home that very evening. This warm invitation from a total stranger was amazing.

The rest of us sat admiring the expansive view from some benches in the park. Daylight persisted until around 10:00 p. m. The hot weather and the long hours of our first day in Germany, finally drew Pastor Jones, Marilyn, Ray and me back to the hotel. Marilyn went to do some ironing. But our parched throats drew the rest of us to go over to the Italian 'Eis' Shop for a bit of refreshment. While there Ray ordered 9 mini scoops of 'apricose eis', apricot ice cream, the gigantic order. I ordered 3 mini scoops of the same. It was so mild and delicious. Pastor Jones, Layton and Dera decided to try a cup of cappuccino, which is a strong and popular Italian small cup of coffee. It had a heaping scoop of whipped cream topped with mint flakes. Pastor Jones ordered a dish of vanilla ice cream with kiwi sauce.

Carl, Lucile, Bernice and Alice remained in the park much longer before returning to their hotel rooms. The trains rumbled past now and then through the night just across the street from the Rheingau Hotel again.

Our anticipated point of interest for our next day activity was the Cologne Cathedral at Cologne, Germany. We anticipated possibly fitting in a tour of the cathedral and maybe even shopping around for souvenirs. The Rhine River flows in a mostly north, but northwesterly direction. Our next morning's train ride would take us to Cologne, Germany.

After another breakfast at the Hotel Rheingau we settled our accounts for two days stay. We walked back the several blocks to the train station and boarded our train that was to take us to Cologne, Germany. Going along the Rhine River on the train provided us with another peek at some of those points of interest on the river. But the train often sped by buildings and trees occasionally blocking some of the view. It was obvious that more industry and commercial build up was evident north of Koblenz. So it's not as quaint a scene to tour the Rhine River north of Koblenz. But many travel that route on the Rhine River all the way from Mainz to Koblenz, in order to arrive at Cologne. The ten of us were learning the ropes of getting on and off the trains. Sometimes a boost or tug with luggage or a helping hand was needed to get up or down the train car steps, upon boarding or leaving the train cars. Things generally went smoothly.

The Brandenburger Hof Hotel was just a block and a half from the train station. But Ray took the time to walk to the hotel, while we waited at the train station for him to return. After he returned and we followed his lead, we checked into our hotel, But the rooms were not ready. So the luggage was put into our room until such time that the rooms were ready. By the time we gathered in front of the hotel to go to lunch together, Carl and Lucile's luggage was the only extra stuff left in our room. We decided to eat lunch at the train station restaurant. Alice and Bernice bought and carried their lunch from Bingen. So they ate their lunch in the station's main lobby. The rest of us climbed a lot of metal steps to get to the restaurant level. The menu was a bit more familiar. So there weren't as many surprises set before us as the waiter served our lunch.

After lunch we all moved to the square close by to buy tickets for the Cathedral tour. We ended up buying the tickets instead that allowed us to climb the many steps of an old stone spiral stairway that led up to the steeple area where the bells were housed. Dera and Lucile didn't opt to go on the stairwell climb. When the rest of us got to the steeple, Marilyn and I sat down in the huge room that housed another long set of steps on an open metal-framed stairwell. The rest of the group continued to the top of the metal stairwell to take pictures from the steeple. The many steps, much climbing and the closed in stairwell were beginning to wear on some of us. A German-speaking tour of the cathedral was available to us. Some stuck with it. Some of us merely tagged along. Others sat in pews in areas that were parts of the tour. It was rather lengthy. So more of us sat down as the tour progressed. It was a huge, old and beautiful structure. The edifice has been in continued stages of decoration, remodeling and repair, since it was first built. Gold leaf was being restored on some old wall paintings in an area behind the main altar. A handful of artists were retouching the ancient murals.

After the tour we headed for supper at the McDonald's restaurant someone spotted on the way into the cathedral's square. The food choices were familiar to our palates. It was hard to get enough to drink on the several hot days we had been facing in a row. Some of us were fairly worn out. We decided to split up into small groups after supper and went in various directions.

As Ray and I walked back into the train station to get back to our hotel, I spotted a transvestite with a Klinger (M.A.S.H.)-like red tailored dress and shiny red spiked heels cavorting with another, who more closely resembled a strutting rooster. The other fellow was dressed in a shiny black skin-tight (without a shirt) leather vest. He had on a matching skin-tight shiny black pair of knee length leather knickers. His accessories were shiny dangling chains crossing over his hairy exposed chest from vest pocket to vest pocket. There was one hip pocket chain anchored to a waist band loop and a matching dangling chain style set of ear rings! It was this fellow's tall stiff lavender mohawk which really caught my fancy. Ray bought some fruit and drink to take back to our hotel. We'd found a farm produce market in the train station. I sat in a waiting room area. Needless to say, I was about worn out.

As we walked out of the other side of the train station we passed a couple of young men who were snuggling up. One sat on the other's lap on top a low concrete post. I guessed that evening crowds had gathered in their usual haunts. We rested in our hotel a while before Carl and Lucile came for their stored luggage around 9 p. m. The hotel manager stood in his hotel lobby's doorway, talking to someone. I could hear his conversations into the late night hours. The walls seemed paper thin. He discussed Yugoslavia with someone on the street. A musical group had been setting up in the street a few doors down as we got to our hotel. It serenaded for at least an hour. People in pairs and in cluster groups walked by our street side main floor window chattering into the night. Guns and/or fire crackers went off at intervals into the night. Cars, motorcycles and chattering people walked by outside throughout the night and into the wee small hours. Since daylight came before 5 a. m., I didn't get much rest. The hotel manager was up early watering the window box outside of our window. It all sounded like everything was happening next to my bed all through the night.

We had arranged to meet for breakfast around 8 a. m. Our hotel breakfast offered apples, oranges and apple juice in addition to the usual orange juice, breads and butter, jams, jellies, marmalades, boiled eggs and cheese along with morning coffee, tea, cocoa or hot water.

Our train connections and ride to Wittenberg, Germany, promised to be a much more longer day of travel. Boarding the train was becoming routine. Finding available seating in the 6-seat compartments of the train cars was no longer a big task. Getting the luggage up on the racks above the seats was old stuff by now. Alice, Carl, Lucile, Layton, Devin, Marilyn and Ray were much more at ease chatting with the folks in their particular compartments on the train. Conversing in German was a lot more relaxed and readily attempted during this longer day's journey. As folks got on and off the train at their different stops, new opportunities to talk developed with those who took seats in compartments with the Americans. Some of our group were worn out from the strain of trying to communicate for long stretches. Others were pleased with the results of their conversational efforts to speak German on the train that very long day.

Out the window of the train as we approached the eastern reaches of a new unified Germany, we began to notice a sharp contrast. At one point the train turned south at Magdeburg, Germany. Our group of ten were split up into small clusters in the different compartments of one train car. Each group was learning through their conversations about the east German boundary, border stations and the border guards. There was talk of The Wall; sentry stands at intervals along the rail routes; restrictions on all travelers on the trains; demands of the passengers aboard the train cars. The run down condition and disrepair of the existing rail system and the train station facilities was depressing. The train stations along the way appeared unkempt and abandoned. The tracks gave a rickety ride. The windows wouldn't stay down. There was no air conditioning at all. The town signs were often missing.

In the western part of Germany even the back yards nestled right up against the railroad tracks were neat and tidy and beautifully groomed. In the eastern regions the lack of time and attention was a real difference. Buildings had been abandoned. No remodeling had not happened since World War II. Broken windmills stood as monuments to destruction. The majority of plaster exteriors had large patches which had fallen away and showing the bared inner layers of the structures. The stress on the economy of the eastern region had depressed its people. The folks in our compartment who got on at one stop had to take the train, because their usual way home on the subway system was broken down. In contrast the fields of grain looked lush and prosperous to the eye. But one realizes that these rural expanses were not privately owned nor managed.

We had to get off the train at Halle, Germany, and take another train on into Wittenberg, Germany. The train station where we awaited the next train reminded us more of a ghost town of our old western tales. Folks on the train had suggested before we got off at Halle that a worker's strike would stop the rail system at any time.

A lady also waiting there to go to Wittenberg noticed our group of Americans and introduced herself to Ray. She was a children's art specialist from Austria. She was traveling to Wittenberg and said she would help us get to the Goldener Adler Hotel. She was familiar with the area. We decided to walk from the train station to the hotel. It would be a more like a 45 minute trek. We were tired, hot and thirsty by the time we located our hotel.

The ten of us had rooms on different floors. The three couples on the top floor had the option of two toilets located down the hall. There were two side by side broom closets near the stairwell in which toilets were installed. The pipes were an amazing maze of numerous fittings. The flush button was located at the end of a vertical pipe. These closets were complete with brooms, etc. A sink was in each of our rooms on the third floor. The showers were to be shared by many at the first floor level. Oh, boy!

We gathered for supper outside the hotel at a couple of the round cafe tables. We were all more thirsty than hungry by then. Our plates were the size of huge platters. The menu was again hard to read. Our waitress knew a bit more English than we had yet encountered. So the surprises were fewer as our meals were delivered to us. It was not surprising that most of the group was still quite thirsty even after our meal with several refills in the drinking glasses.

Bernice went to catch up on writing in her diary. Some of us walked a distance down the street to the church where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses. It was too dark to determine which door was the one we sought. So we walked back to the hotel. Most of us turned in, as it had been a very long day. We were becoming so dehydrated. In fact, it was during our two very hot days at Wittenburg, Germany, we had apparently bought out all the Sprite in town.

Our whole group agreed that we needed some long awaited rest. Breakfast the next morning was scheduled for around 9 a. m., giving some of our group a bit more time to recuperate. With most of us still together we planned to attend church the next morning where Luther had preached for 30 years.

It was an uncomfortable night for sleeping. There was little one wanted a feather bed for on a hot night. But I had rolled the feather bed up like a bedroll and use it for a pillow since the very first night in Germany. My sinus discomfort behaves better through the night, when my head is raised up with the help of pillows. Trails of sooty smoke from an old chimney across the inner courtyard seemed to want to float directly into our open window. Cigarette smoking was beginning to get the best of me. So I got my Sine-Off medication out for the first time on the trip. Alice even ended up borrowing some herself during this part of our trip.

As we expected there were few early risers on this morning we had scheduled to go to church at the actual place where Martin Luther had preached for 30 years. The breakfast was quite adequate. Some had chosen to eat in an inner courtyard. Others of us ate breakfast in the front dining room. After breakfast those of us who gathered in the courtyard discussed meeting in front of the hotel to walk over to the church. Alice and Bernice were already out and about by then.

So after meeting in front of the hotel, we walked in the direction of the church. We walked down a side street in a rather run-down neighborhood. Then we turned to the right. As we approached the church a few of us took quick snapshots. Upon entering the sanctuary, we noted a group of people were rehearsing parts before the service began. We were to attend a lay Sunday service. Sunday school and confirmation aged youngsters, teenagers, young adults, mature adults and a couple of elderly folks representing three generations took part in the worship. A designated song leader began by leading us into a simple melody. He expanded it into a two part and then a third part round. It would be used in the service later. The song was simple enough. So some of us sang along lending our voices. During the service those who spoke represented the generations of the faithful. The song which all of us had practiced with the song leader was sung. Offering was taken with an old time traditional 'klingelbeutel', a long pole with a cloth sack attached to its far end. It was extended into each row by a tall adult male. We repeated the Lord's prayer in German that Sunday in Wittenberg, Germany. We opened a hymnal and sang an unfamiliar German hymn. I heard a lady behind us utter in muffled disbelief, "they knew it much better than we did!" She was referring to the Cappelners involving themselves the best they knew how. Alice and Bernice had made their way into three churches that morning. They joined us in our pew a bit later. Our service ended with everyone's participation. We walked children's cut and color cutouts, resting on the hymnal rests in front of our pews, up to the front. We were beckoned to a large white sheet of paper on which we pressed the cut outs on the glue swabbed sheet. A large pillar on which the white sheet was attacked gave an ample view of the diorama. Afterwards, I noticed two pillars up front. So another diorama had been created by the folks on the other side of the middle aisle. There was a pillar on either side below the step up to the front altar.

We stayed afterwards to inspect the church more closely. There were a few pictures taken after the service. A side room was set up after the service so a visitor might buy postcards and literature pertaining to this historic church. It was not until after the service, that we fully realized that Bernice was herself a Lutheran. She was obviously thrilled to be in this historic place. If one could mentally remove brand new choir pews from the choir loft, if one could mentally remove the large set of organ pipes from the choir loft, if one could mentally remove the four strikingly brightly oil paintings from above the altar (depicting John the Baptist's baptism, the Lord's Supper at a table in the round, a depiction of Martin Luther preaching to a gathered crowd, and one of Christ's crucifixion), one could perceive more realistically how simple the sanctuary had actually been in the days of Martin Luther. The historic churches we visited in Wittenberg gave me the impression of having been museums rather than worship centers for a time. If one can ignore the museum quality atmosphere, the sense of simplicity in the lives of the people in Martin Luther's time can come across. During the war the twin steeples of this church were removed in order to place cannons for strategic firing. They were replaced after the conflict.

We found a cafe down the street several blocks past our hotel. We were famished from all of our traipsing around. We had no trouble ordering familiar foods for lunch. Everyone understood the advertised foods.

This place where we were spending our two days was very hot. We could not get enough to drink to quench our thirst. The area was a rather depressed area and not a pleasant neighborhood. It was a rather deserted and a lackluster part of town. We were on our way at last to visit the church down the block at which Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses. The church had been a Catholic Church for many years and during the time that Martin Luther had nailed his 95 theses to its doors.

It had the same well-kept museum style quality appearance. It had changed into a Protestant Church through the years since. We looked around at its fascinating interior. We purchased information about both of the churches we visited.

We walked further on down the long main street to an animal museum and the current display rooms depicting the cultures of man. The animal exhibit had in many cases seen better days. The cultural exhibit was more inspiring. A rather down and out east German elder citizen in the museum expressed amazement to me that anyone could have the money for traveling anywhere. He could not imagine the ten of us being there!

There was one other walk that was important to work into our last day in Wittenberg, Germany. We wanted to find the university Luther attended, his office and his living quarters. They were located down the street in the opposite direction. We passed it up. But just before closing time we were able to slip in the doorway to the university campus where Luther had studied as a scholar and where he had taught as well. It was such an unimpressive street entrance, that we had walked right by this historic site without realizing the significance of the ordinary looking plaque on the building's outer wall.

Our feet were tired, our heads were full and our throats were dry. So we bought some ice cream at a small ice cream stand on the way back to our hotel.

After freshening up we met for supper in the front dining room inside of the hotel. During our dinner a very loud and somewhat vulgar-talking middle-aged German man came into the dining room. He had heard of the ten Americans at the hotel. He was so amazed to find us. So Lucile got up to greet him. This man in a red shirt gave her a big bear hug; she could hardly understand what had happened. The man began expounding about how little Americans appreciated their wonderful country. He had been to Chicago and other middle western states for U.S. Steel years ago. He was drunk. I was angry enough to say loudly. "We are all here to visit the land of our forefathers." He grabbed my hand and kissed it saying,"I understand, madame. I understand". We drifted away from the table as soon as we could finish. A short time later we came down from our rooms to the outside cafe tables in front of the hotel for drinks. They were out of Sprite, because we had already cleaned them out of their supply. After a while the fellow in the red shirt came out and sat next to us. He grabbed Carl. But, just as quickly, Carl returned to our table. Layton rescued us by sitting and talking with this man in the red shirt. Then Layton finally returned to our table. We asked for our checks and were told by the waiter, that our man in the red shirt had paid our bill for the drinks. He was, we were told, a man of wealth. So we thanked him and left in a big hurry for our hotel rooms. Layton and Carl stayed a bit longer and talked with the man in the red shirt.

That next morning we gathered at breakfast around 8:00 a. m. The man in the red shirt was also eating breakfast. Ray asked him if he would mind having his picture taken. The man obliged. I walked over and thanked the man "for being so friendly" before I left the dining room. I figured he might as well hear something positive. I had been quite perturbed by his vulgarities the night before.

After we settled our accounts for the two days lodging, we gathered in front of the hotel. We had by then decided to call three taxis in order to get all of us and our luggage back to the train station. Few of us were interested in a long walk back to the train station to start our day of travel to Berlin, Germany.

We had hotel reservations located not far from an English speaking bus tour of the city. We had planned this tour before leaving on our trip to Germany. We were all looking forward to seeing this historic city, Berlin, for the first time.

We were really doing quite well with the German rail method of travel. We were glad to be leaving the depressed areas of what formerly was East Germany behind us. We boarded the train for the trip to Berlin; we moved rather quickly into different compartments. We settled down for the several hour trip to Berlin. The group was no longer timid about striking up conversations with others in their particular six-passenger compartment. There were those who spoke English quite well with the Americans. There were those who got along quite well speaking 'platt' Deutsch. Some of our group tried their best to communicate in high German as well. Most of the people sharing a compartment with the 'Cappelners' were willing to talk with us. Occasionally, German speaking members of our group would be so caught up in conversational German that they'd explain something in German to their non-German-speaking partners. It even happened that speaking in English became a burden to one as German word order got stuck in his memory.

We could still see from the train contrasts between the former East and West German countrysides. A build up of residential, business and industrial structures clued us into the fact that we were nearing Berlin.

We got off the train at a bahnhof in Berlin. We boarded the S Bahn (an above ground people mover) to the Zoo stop. We stood up holding onto poles to keep our balance. We looked after our luggage. As the people mover went swiftly from stop to stop, quite a few were able to sit down before our stop. We left the S Bahn and walked several blocks along a busy street near midday looking for Marburger Str. and our Hotel Remter. We carried our luggage with a minimum of stops to catch our breath. Some of our group got caught in the tangle of the crowd. The sun was hot. We could not satisfy our thirst. With a bit of help from a passerby, we learned that we were going the right direction. We needed to trudge on further. As we walked we noticed we were along a dual highway with traffic on either side of a tree lined medium. There were street venders with jewelry, T-shirts, hats, necklaces, shoes located along this stretch. A woman was sitting on the sidewalk singing to a young boy whom she was rocking to sleep. She was dressed in gypsy attire. There were two smaller girls asleep beside her. Further along between venders selling art, silver filigree name pins, we saw a grandma sitting on the sidewalk with two little boys. One held a cup out to the passersby. He was rocking back and forth. We finally found Marburger Str. at the end of a high wooden construction fence. Signs announced a Salamander Construction project. Turning right we walked a short distance to the Hotel Remter.

Arriving before the hotel had prepared all the available rooms for new guests, we were allowed to take all of our luggage into one room. It happened to be our room. We had registered last and were given what appeared to the whole group as a bridal suite. The other rooms were not as large. Our room television was not working so perhaps we did have a bridal suite. Anyway, we left our luggage and went to buy tickets for our English-speaking bus tour of Berlin. It was located a few blocks back toward the train station. Some had seen a Burger King as well as a McDonald's restaurant on our way to the hotel. We went to Burger King. Alice and Bernice went off to find a Ka De We department store. In the states Bernice had been encouraged by friends to shop there. There was a food stand open to the street near our hotel. We had to meet at the tour's bus stop by 3:00 p. m. We boarded a waiting double decker bus for our ride complete with German / English commentary. The shaded windows were helpful. But Carl helped a couple across the aisle to pull a sun screen part way down. The air conditioner was not on. So a passenger went downstairs to clue in the driver. The city sights were interesting. The commentary was given by the driver with his thick accent. Some could and others could not follow his commentary. The seats were most comfortably welcome. The buildings had historical, municipal, religious, community and war time significance. The location of The Wall was memorialized by having a few remaining concrete slab sections left standing. There was graffiti on the slabs typical of the longer pieces that had stood for many years. There were whole slabs which had been knocked down in a heap near by. There was a wooden cross erected nearby, memorializing a victim shot by East German border guards trying to escape into the western sector to his freedom.

There was a noticeable difference in the care and keeping of the city of Berlin within the different sectors we were privileged to drive through on our tour. The eastern section was a depressed area. Upkeep of the buildings was decades behind. Structures with historical or truly noteworthy significance weren't really awe inspiring. The statues and monuments throughout Berlin were most strikingly fascinating. The buildings in other sections of Berlin were much more breathtaking and awe inspiring. Some of us feared that we might doze through the tour, because of our comfortable seats. But we all managed to last through the trip without being exhausted. During the tour we had a 15 minute stop at an expansive shopping area. We were lucky to find a rest room and something to drink in those 15 minutes.

After leaving the tour we split up into smaller groups and looked for souvenirs, ate supper and shopped a bit before turning in for the night.

On the sidewalk we walked past a boy holding a cup out to passersby while his gypsy father played a 'hand harmonica'. He was the same boy that a gypsy woman had been trying to rock to sleep earlier in the day. Ray, Carl and Lucile went all the way back to the train station to find out the specific information regarding our time of departure to Osnabrück, Germany, scheduled for the following day. I was too beat to go anywhere. So I relaxed in the hotel room until Alice, Carl, Lucile and Ray reappeared at my open door. I had left instructions for Ray to bring me back a cold drink, which he most kindly remembered to do. There was no good way to satisfy our thirst since the first day of our tour through Germany. We all turned in for the night.

At breakfast the next morning at the Remter Hotel we enjoyed an expanding layout of food choices. We found the usual so-called shepherd bread along with wheat and oats breads, rolls and crackers. The jam, jelly and marmalade packets were in abundance. Slices of Swiss, creamed and sheep's cheese were available as well as some of those small wedge-shaped aluminum foil wrapped varieties like those found in the holiday food baskets. Oranges, apples, pears and plums were selections. Cold cereal choices and even the selection of fruit yogurt was ample. Hot tea, coffee and cocoa were served as well as orange or apple juice.

We paid our bills at the Hotel Remter, which included several telephone calls made to the states. Layton called family members. Ray made one to alert Hermann Rehmeyer in Sunnyvale, California as to how our trip had been. Ray had called Hermann's sister, Erika Jacobsen, in Westerkappeln, Germany, to advise her of our arrival time that next day. We were told by Frau Jacobsen that a group would be meeting us in Osnabrück. Herr Michels got a call, so that we could be sure to have the van and a small car ready for us in Osnabrück. The group used three taxis to take us to the train station.

Our day's journey across Germany would be a long one, as we would not arrive until around 4:00 p. m. at Osnabrück. Some of our group found a compartment to stretch out in and take a long awaited nap by moving the seats forward. Others were relaxed enough and anxious to try their German again with their unsuspecting compartment mates on the train.

A lady and young man with earphones came into our passenger compartment. The young man did not communicate at all, because of the radio earphones. The lady did not appear to care to communicate at all. Though, after leaving the city of Berlin she seemed to be more relaxed. We then discovered that she had severe pain and needed to get up and stretch a bit. Her back had developed pain for several months. She had been forced by her boss to take a six week medical leave of absence from her job as a social worker. The government pays for her treatment at a hospital.

She had to leave her husband and kids in Berlin to go to a hospital on this enforced medical leave. It was hoped that it could be determined what was causing her pain. The outcome would determine whether or not she could return to work. She discussed in English her job as a German-born social worker. She told us of how, during the war years and during The Wall, that even Germans had been kept from one another. The train travel had been stressful. The windows had been painted black on the passenger cars to prevent them from knowing where they were along the tracks. Passengers had been discouraged and sometimes prevented from talking amongst themselves by harsh regulation and railroad security police. Especially in areas like Berlin, where people had to cross through the separated sectors, tension prevailed. The lady said that many who ride the trains even today in and around Berlin had the habit of not talking to anyone, because of old fears. She mentioned that many families through the war years and after had developed the habit of not discussing anything at all in order to assure their own personal survival. Her own family discussed nothing together. National security restrictions had caused a lot of stressful conditions within the German society. Many of societies stressful causes were not unlike our own American culture. The particular stresses caused by the reunification of Germany were enormous and bringing unique strain to their society. Those from the eastern regions had to deal with stress unfamiliar to the rest of the world.

It was more comfortable at times to get up and go into the hallway next to the compartments. It felt good to stretch the legs a bit. One had to hold down the window to keep it open. The cool breeze felt good.

The countryside was beginning to look familiar. Ray and I could recognize it from two years ago. The northwestern region of Germany looks so much like our own western landscape. Of course, a few working windmills awaken the mind to a bit of difference, anyway. As we reached the outskirts of the large city of Hannover, I began to feel an elevation of adrenaline. We had stopped there two summers ago, because of train connections there.

We had found over 120 Pauls in the Hannover telephone directory. The anticipation of being close to our destination, Osnabrück and Westerkappeln, Germany, once again was really getting to me. I saw the Hannover sign. Then I watched for signs that we were passing through Melle, Germany. Soon we were coming into the large city of Osnabrück. It didn't take our group very long to leave the train, after realizing we had arrived at our destination. So we were leaving the initial planned tourist portion of our trip through Germany. We were entering the part in which we had to hand ourselves over to our hosts for a while.

There were three days in Westerkappeln in which the Cappelners needed the time to travel to the towns and visit the churches of the common forefathers. Those days were already planned to include the cousins in pilgrimages to several towns. The Westerkappeln folks had been advised of those three days. We were to begin a part of the trip few in our group ever dreamed they would get to experience within their lifetime. It was obviously now a dream come true.

Leaving the train at Osnabrück, Germany, I chanced to catch sight of the Rev. Sigrid Holtgrave walking toward us with Herr Michels, the rental car man. We had received a newspaper clipping shortly before our trip from Hermann Rehmeyer, in Sunnyvale, California, with news that the Westerkappeln church had a new pastor, which happened to be the first woman pastor in the history of their church. She looked like the newspaper photo, so as to immediately be a familiar face.

Warm and friendly greetings were exchanged all around. We introduced the two of them to the members of our group. Herr Michels immediately took the lead in getting us out of the station and into the parking lot to the church van in order to take us to our red rental van and the smaller red rental car, the 'Golf'.

Alice drove the small red car and followed behind us, who were in the Westerkappeln church van. Herr Michels led us through Osnabrück and on into the suburb of Westerkappeln. Westerkappeln is situated north west of Osnabrück.

It was exciting for Ray and me to see the familiar sights. We had so enjoyed our stay in a hotel in Osnabrück two years earlier. Though we were there but a short time, we were impressed by the friendliness in this marvelous region.

We were informed that we would be meeting our hosts at the church office building across the street from the church, as we were driven to Westerkappeln. Finally, we drove onto the street across from the church. A crowd of eager folks were waiting on the sidewalk in front of a building. I was at first preoccupied with the luggage, but soon realized that we would be leaving it in the vehicles until it was time to go with the host families.

I spotted Günter Freese and trotted over to shake his hand. Ray and I had spent maybe 20 minutes in his farm home two years earlier. He had a nice strong hand shake and a big grin on his face.

We were to learn that Alice, Bernice, Ray and I all would be staying at Günter's home. His mother, Martha Freese, had died just weeks earlier. So there was room in his big stone farmhouse for the four of us. We were all Freeses spending time on a Freese family farm for a week.

We sat in a dimly lit room in comfortable chairs around long tables which were placed to form a big square. We were asked to spread out, so that the Cappelners and the Westerkappelners could mix and visit with one another. We were served cold drinks immediately. Thirst was our most urgent dilemma of the moment. Conversations sprouted up around the table almost immediately. Those 'platt' Deutschers and the high German folks found friendly and receptive folks to chatter with. It put us pretty much at ease about the week ahead. I don't remember who had told me. But I was led to believe that Mrs. Bente had been ill. So that was why we were staying with Günter and his brother, Friedhelm Freese. I had expected that Ray and I would be staying at the Bente's home. It had been implied in a letter they themselves had written earlier in the year. Perhaps, in the process of struggle with two different languages, someone had thought I was talking about Martha Freese, who had passed away June 3, 1991. Maybe we were talking about two different women. We were delighted to be able to stay with Alice and Bernice in Günter and Friedhelm's home. It was a comfort to be hosted in the rural setting.

There are no words that can adequately describe the remainder of our trip. It was as if we had entered the world of our dreams. The warmth and friendliness was overflowing. The brothers' time spent helping us drive to the towns where the forefathers came from was amazingly generous. Their desire to be with us, as we went into churches our forefathers had been baptized in, was so very heartwarming. Traveling with us to points of interest kept us all quite busy. We moved through three whole days of pilgrimages to places where the Pauls, Molitors, Freeses, Giesmanns, Niewegs and Brakensieks had common ancestors even as we stayed with our hosts. This was known to the people before we arrived. We had ancestral places to visit.

Our hosts, Günter and Friedhelm Freese, were a most wonderful treat for the four of us who stayed in their home. Friedhelm had taken a week off from work to be with us each day. They had a neighbor lady named, Louisa, come in to fix our first evening meal and all of our breakfasts. Louisa had been kind of looking after these brothers, since their mother had passed away. Günter was nearing his mid fifties. Friedhelm was some several years younger. Their mother had passed on at the age of 87 years. Their mother had faded in and out of awareness for a number of years. She had been in delicate health.

While we were there, Bernice washed all the dishes. Alice and I would dry them.

Günter was such a teasingly cheerful fellow. He had nearly had a breakdown himself, looking after his mother. He told us that there had not been laughter in their home for many years. Friedhelm was pleasant and thoughtful. He had been ill two years ago, when we had visited their farm briefly. He had not really entered into conversation with us at all two years ago. So we enjoyed getting to know him a lot better. We all were treated like royalty. None of us could recall a time when we had so much fun.

Our first meal was the evening of our arrival. We had set before us in the family dinning room: sliced bologna, salami, sausage; sliced Swiss and sheep's cheese; wheat, oats and shepherd's bread; rolls, jelly, jam and marmalade; coffee, tea or 'bubbly' mineral water. We were still very thirsty guests.

As we congregated back in the kitchen that first evening, Alice brought out a book filled with copies of old photographs, she had researched and collected concerning Freese family history. She had prepared three such copies to bring on the trip. So the reality of common family links started to surface. It was determined that Bernice had ties one generation closer to Günter and Friedhelm than Ray or Alice.

That night Alice brought out photos of earlier generations, which had before our trip not been identified. One such picture (a large family group) found Günter and Friedhelm's father as a teenager. The brothers never had an occasion to see such a young picture of him before. It was these kind of rewarding events and/or revelations, that would wind us all up again into moods of celebration. Bernice brought out recent family photos. I brought out my grandmother brag book with photos of various family members. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Meeting at the church parking lot the next morning at 8:30 a. m., we got into our rental van and the little red Golf and headed for our scheduled point of interest, our stop at Bielefeld, Germany.

This stop was designed to help our group identify with a tie between the Emmaus Home for retarded adults of Marthasville, Missouri, and Bethel, a town in Germany dedicated to the care and concerns for the homeless and retarded folks of Germany.

We had a most enlightening tour of the reception building, a sheltered workshop, where some were involved in creating crafts for sale. We visited a weaving room, which created becoming and attractive products. It has a good catalog business. We walked past a long closed-up bomb shelter and the Church of the Ten Faiths.

We ate at a dining hall of the Deaconess Sisters, who work at Bethel. The Deaconess Sisters are a time-honored religious tradition carried to America and in existence today as a part of our heritage.

We visited a dormitory where 36 men of various ages were housed. These men had various maladies ranging from epilepsy, retardation, schizophrenia, deep or periodic depressions or simply no other place to stay. We were entertained in a waiting room by an elderly pianist with his original works and a young saxophone player and a youth playing a xylophone as accompanists. We heard some four or five selections. It was quite well done. Frau Ursula Langen had a captive audience, while she took us through the tour. We then walked through the cemetery and found it to be as typically lovely and well-tended as all of the cemeteries we had seen throughout Germany.

It was several hours later than we had planned as we got into our vehicles and left for our next scheduled stop, the Molitor ancestral church, St. Pankratius Church near Belecke, Germany. So we finally arrived late. When we drove up to the church we were escorted down the street to the Molitor home. It was no longer occupied by Molitors. Nonetheless we all got to go inside and look around. The changes made to the original house were described and explained by the present residents. It was now a two family dwelling with two generations within. Cameras were busy outside getting the appropriate folks into a group picture. Then we were taken back up a hill to the church. The interior of the baptismal church of Franz Casper Molitor, who was Alice Freese-Molitor's husband's great-grandfather was undergoing a total renovation. There was nothing left to imagine. The floor was strewn with sawdust. Most everything imaginable was wrapped in heavy plastic sheeting so as to offer protection from the activity of a remodeling crew. Boards were laying on the floor. The new floor covering was not yet laid. So the intended appearance of the church's interior was totally out of focus. We were escorted into a back room. The very communion chalice used by the worshippers of this Molitor ancestor's generation was in use today. The priest's ceremonial cloak and other items dated back to the time that Casper had lived were brought out. Cameras clicked away. The priest handed each of the members of our group three or four postal cards, giving us a closer look at the churches actual interior. We went into a building next door to the church. It was a carpenter's workshop, where Molitor ancestors had been at work in the past century. We then followed a car and its occupants to a home in the hills in the rural reaches of Belecke, Germany, where we were all invited for coffee. The folks were actual relatives of the Molitor clan. The afternoon coffee was three enormous fruit filled cakes (strawberry, apple and pineapple) with whipped cream topping. There was also coffee, tea, beer, bubbly mineral water and/or red or white wine. There was another delicious coffee cake.

We drifted out to the backyard with its greenhouse, flower garden areas, fish pond complete with lily pads and rock garden. We admired a productive vegetable garden. Some toured the barn area, which is attached to the main house in the northwestern reaches of Germany. After pictures were taken of the Molitor folks and several other cameras clicked to preserve this moment, we got in our vehicles and spent the evening again with our host families.

Upon our return to the Freese brothers' farmstead we learned from Günter that Fritz and Wilma Bente would be coming over shortly. So we were preparing for an evening in which Alice would be getting help with her genealogy research. Fritz and Wilma Bente came in with hearty handshakes and real bear hugs. They are a delightfully spirited couple with an aura of genuine interest in others. We were in seventh heaven, all eight of us, as some of the unidentified photos became real bits of information. The unfinished Freese family tree became a more finished piece of work in one evenings visit with the Bente couple. Mr. Bente had a Freese family background connection. At Günter and Friedhelm's place that evening after Fritz and Wilma left, we just sat in that kitchen and reveled in the events of the day. A successful episode in her genealogy search was reason for Alice to be rejoicing. Our adrenaline was flying high even after our active hectic day.

We would intend to collapse in their kitchen on an upholstered couch or available chair around a rectangular wooden table with its oil cloth cover. It was the same routine every night. But things would happen and conversations would hold us until we were ready to drop. It was as if no one really wanted to miss a moment of an extraordinary day.

'Are you hungry?' 'Do you want a drink?' 'Here is apple juice'. 'Here's a fruit drink'. The rhubarb drink was the most delicious I had ever tasted. It was very mild. 'Would you like apple juice'. 'Here is orange juice?' ' Do you like wine?' 'Would you like red wine?' After all the well-intended rejections, we'd all be sitting there with something we hadn't really committed ourselves to drink much of the time. One night later a box of chocolate covered filled candies was passed around as well. It was necessary to just sit there and give ourselves a chance to wind down after a long and eventful day. But we would find ourselves winding up instead!

After years of searching for this information, one learns how important it is to come face to face with the German kinfolks. It readily firms information about the common family relationships. There is a language gap persisting through the mail that is more easily resolved face to face.

It was such a delight having so many opportunities for the folks to gather. These chances to be together seemed a natural for all kinds of spirited celebration. Our first night's visit chanced to end around 12:45 a. m. All succeeding nights ended effortlessly after 1:00 a. m. This was a real challenge for me, who is known to fade or fold around 8:30 p. m. But I wasn't going to miss a moment of this fantastic 'happening'. Nobody really wanted to turn in nor lose any magic moments.

We had what I'd be inclined to call a fantastic or fabulous visit. We, the Freeses, most certainly ' had a ball.' I'd never really grasped the full meaning of that expression until this year's trip to Westerkappeln. To be hosted by Ray's third cousins was the treat of our lifetime! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Friedhelm proved a valuable help along the routes we had to take to get from here to there each day. The red van and the little red Golf left Westerkappeln with the ten Cappelners as well as Friedhelm in order to make the long cross country trip to Bleckenstedt, Germany. Our appointment was for 1:00 p. m. which was the baptismal church of Johann Heinrich Christian Paul (the great-grandfather of Dera Mae Paul-Rehmeier, Raymond Freese, Carl Brakensiek, Lucile Brakensiek-Kidd, and the great-great grandfather of Marilyn Paul-Jones). Herr Müller, a researcher, had been looking into this genealogy. He would have the church open and possible relatives to visit.

We drove the long distance beside beautifully manicured rolling hills. It was a spectacular view most of the distance. But as industry peppered the landscape, the view became just another metropolitan area. Passing by the outer reaches of the large city of Brunswick, we turned south and turned east to find the village of Bleckenstedt, Germany. Shortly after arriving we decided to stop for lunch at a restaurant, that appeared to be the only one in town. Most of us got the salad bar. But the Rehmeier's ate heartily and also paid for Friedhelm's meal. It was to be another hot day. We walked on down the road looking for a church. After locating the 'Evangelische' Church, we were met and given a historical talk about the building itself.

This church was a delightful color blend. The interior walls were a dusty rose pink. It was prettily trimmed with a dusty blue with clean white trim around the altar and raised pulpit. The colors were as pretty as the frosting on a young girl's birthday cake. Its simplicity was refreshing.

Then inside the church cameras began clicking with the intent to have photos of the interior of the church. Our fascination turned to glee as we saw a large stained glass church window (right front by the first sanctuary pews) dedicated to the memory of a Wildschuetz. It was fun knowing that the Paul and Wildschuetz families were acquainted with each other so long ago. We were escorted to the home place of the Paul's, which was being rented to an elderly man and his nephew. It was discovered that the iron works industry had closed down, which supported a good many workers in that region long ago. The Pauls had decided to move to points west. The house on the former Paul property looked like a large four story rectangular tan plaster and brown wooden gingerbread trimmed dwelling. As it was referred to as 'the farm', that implies some of the far end of the structure was hayloft, cattle barn, supply and/or grain storage, tool and machine shop. There was evidence outside in the adjoining lot of having had other buildings like stable and stalls. Since the village was one of those tight little clusters of homes and town businesses. The farm fields were likely out beyond its perimeters. We were escorted to a small cemetery area and took pictures of the related cousins around the Paul gravestone.

We will be researching the Paul family migration, as soon as the opportunity presents itself. There are still many Pauls in and around Hannover, as evidenced in its metropolitan phone directory. There possibly are Pauls in Brunswick, who remain unexplored as yet.

Before we had to leave for Westerkappeln, the lady who met us and gave us the talk about the ancestral church, allowed us to enter her home for cold drinks and a rest room stop. The region had been known for its thriving ironworks industry. But as it closed down, it became a somewhat economically depressed area. So we soon went on our way. Friedhelm decided to take us another way since the autobahn occasionally closed down due to too much traffic. So he chose an alternate route. The van had been following the small red car with Friedhelm at the wheel leading the way, since our arrival in Westerkappeln.

Friedhelm, Bernice, Alice, Lucile, Carl, Ray and I ate at the cafe in Westerkappeln, where so much had unfolded for Ray and me two years earlier. This cafe owner had known about the Melle, Germany / New Melle, Missouri, U. S. A. exchange visits and had sent us to the newspaperman's home, whereupon we had been taken to visit three families who had Freese family connections in Westerkappeln that very afternoon!

Back at the Freeses, we took a walk down the road to a neighbors property later that evening. Since the sun didn't set until after 10:00 p. m., that was not hard to do. This neighbor had rented the fields for crop planting, after Martha Freese's condition had required so much more time. So we visited and talked with this neighbor before collapsing back in the Freese farmhouse kitchen.

We found ourselves very tired. We were all very thirsty. Somehow we kept going until after 1:00 a. m., really appreciating our opportunity to be together through that day. Friedhelm felt ill from his long day. He got out his blood pressure kit and took his pulse. His blood pressure was up. I said that I felt like my own blood pressure was up. He took my pulse and found it to be so!

We all were amazed how well everything that we had planned had come to pass. We were all impressed with the day's pilgrimage and its significance to us all. Bernice turned in. Ray went to bed worn out. Günter finally had to order me to go to bed. I could do little more than just sit there.

Our most tightly scheduled day would be traveling not so far south of the town of Westerkappeln the next day. Günter made plans to go along with us along with Friedhelm. We wondered if our schedule and the distances involved would allow us to be on time for our appointments the next day. So far we had managed to arrive late for most all of our scheduled events in Westerkappeln. We didn't want to be remembered as habitually late. We realized the next day, especially, that the German hosts at each point of interest were just as interested in getting their full fair share of our time as we wished to give to them. Each place we went wanted us in their lives for an ample piece of time. There were many unanticipated happenings taking place day by day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

We had breakfast in the family dining room: sliced bologna, salami, sausage; sliced Swiss and sheep's cheese; wheat, oats and shepherd's bread; rolls, jelly, jam and marmalade; coffee, tea or 'bubbly' mineral water. But today there were also fresh strawberries and sliced smoked ham. At the morning meal soft and or hard boiled eggs were served in egg cups. I must have been the only one of the guests who had used one before.

By 10:00 a. m. that same morning our group was scheduled to arrive at the Evangelische Church at Borgholzhausen, Germany. It was the baptismal church of Katherine Wilhelmina Nieweg and Friedrich Wilhelm Nieweg (brother and sister). She is the great-grandmother of Raymond Freese while he is the great-grandfather of Alice Freese-Molitor. The three dimensional sculpted art on the interior of the church above the alter was most fascinating. I hadn't seen the two thieves so boldly displayed in a crucifixion scene above an altar before. Ray and Alice went into the church office building and bought posters, post cards and literature to help as reminders of our visit there, while the rest of us waited outside.

The Welpinghaus family, an elderly couple, that lives on the Nieweg home place did not invite us in their home. It appeared as though Frau Welpinghaus may have had grandmother duties. But Herr Welpinghous rode with us down through a field to a building which had been the residence of the Niewegs generations ago. There were young folks now occupying the building and they were not in. The building's exterior was artistically painted and decorated in a fashion that appeals to the younger generation. We noted an inscription painted above front entry. Marilyn remained up near the house and took some pictures of the farm's hog population. The field crops were tall and lush. It was a most well kept and elegantly scenic neighborhood in which we had been invited to visit their farm. After expressing our thanks, we left to head toward our next stop.

We drove on to our 1:00 p. m. appointment for a visit to the St. Martini Church at Buer. This was the baptismal church of Jost Heinrich Giesmann, who was the great-grandfather of Raymond Freese. It was also the baptismal church of Ernst Heinrich Auf der Masch, who was the great-grandfather of Alice Freese-Molitor. The interior had been renovated within a decade. The sanctuary seemed dominated by candles. High up along the walls on either side of the sanctuary were small wrought iron candle racks. In each rack was a thin white tapered candle. Several chandeliers with arrays of white frosted glass cylindrical bulbs were fastened to a golden frame. It appeared to be an active church community. Looking at its supply shelves with hymnals, Bibles, booklets and brochures, there was evidence of daily, weekly and monthly activities. We purchased a book on the history of St. Martini Church. Of course, one would need to read German in order to pour over its contents. The appropriate cousins were asked to stand together to pose for pictures in front of the alter. So cameras clicked once again. Then at 3:00 p. m. all were invited to the home of the William Backhaus family at Mertmühlen Weg. This was to be at Hoyle. Greetings were brought with us from Emily Brakensiek into the Backhaus home upon our arrival. We were again sitting around a table for coffee, which in truth involved cakes covered with fruit and whipped cream topping. We also had coffee cake. Drinks were served all around. Coffee, tea, bubbly mineral water, beer and wine were offered. We got to look around their barn lot at the animals and machinery. We walked over to the church which was the baptismal church of Anna Marie Elizabeth Brakensiek (known as Katherine) and August Heinrich Brakensiek (sister and brother). She is the grandmother of Alice Freese-Molitor. He is the grandfather of Carl Brakensiek and Lucile (Brakensiek) Kidd and the great-grandfather of Marilyn Paul-Jones. To the right of the altar, Rev. Jones found a thick, tall Pascal candle (symbolizing the lamb of God). The candle stood alone on its own pedestal, usually found only in Catholic churches in the U.S.A. After a flurry of pictures with the Backhaus family, Mrs. Backhaus sent us off with greetings and best wishes to Emily Brakensiek upon our return to our homes in Missouri, U. S. A.

Then on to visit Melle, Germany, where the seal of New Melle and the seal of Melle, Germany both are etched into a concrete fountain in the town square. It represents the sister city linkage of the two locations. We got some refreshments there and had a brief photo session at the 'Partnership' fountain with the help of a local newspaper lady.

After that we left for Westerkappeln where we were to eat quickly and attend an open air theatre for a musical opera performance costing the sponsors 25 marks per person. Neither Günter or Friedhelm had the inclination to spend an evening at the opera. But we all did thoroughly enjoy the show. The theatre was reminiscent more of the Shepherd of the Hills outdoor theatre in the Ozarks of Missouri, U. S. A. rather than the St. Louis Muny Opera Theatre in Forest Park. The roughness of the surrounding grounds where the theatre sits was used as spot lighted stage settings as well during the performance. So this broader range of views created for a fascinating evening. The plot was boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. The language was German. So even someone without much knowledge of the German language would have got an idea of the story line.

We sat around the kitchen table in the Freese farmhouse that evening. Plans were firmed up by Günter for us Freeses to visit the Friedrich Redeker's farm the next afternoon. These folks were introduced to Ray and me two years earlier by the newspaper man Adolph Wiartalla in their home. Their water pipes had burst that day and they still took time to talk with us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Before noon the next day an official welcome at the city hall by a number of Westerkappeln's politicians and officials was scheduled for hosts, Cappelners and other interested visitors. This was followed by a luncheon at the Rieskamp Goedeking restaurant.

The Redekers had many antique items in their home. Frau Redeker had been employed in a linen factory for years. She knew the workings of flax from the planting, to stripping its fibres, to the spinning and weaving and embroidering of the linens. Each of us Freese ladies brought back a small six inch finished square doily she had made. A more than two hundred year old working grandfather clock, a wooden steamer trunk made in 1695 and a paper thin china tea cup were amongst his treasurers to show visitors. We were shown several of her linen table clothes that were home made from start to finish.

That evening after supper Alice walked out of the bedroom wearing a dress. She had only brought one dress for Sunday. Someone had mentioned to her that the 8:00 p. m. program honoring the retiring pastor, Rev. Schneider, was a dress up affair. I had worn slacks for the first time that day. So I went back into my bedroom to put on my dress. I was saving it for the Sunday's service. Bernice put on her travel suit. We sat around round tables at the church hall. There were snacks on the tables. Drinks were for sale through the evening. It was hot, very close and uncomfortable weather. But the evening entertainment by the different church groups was interesting. A dance band played music after the program was finished. A lot of gifts were bestowed on the pastor and his family as the evening unfolded. Rev. Schneider and his wife lead the dance. Rev. Jones and his wife were asked to join them. Then Carl and his sister, Lucile, got up to dance. Layton and Dera danced a couple of dances. Ray and I actually danced a few times to some familiar tunes. Alice found a lady who also wanted to dance, so she took some turns on the dance floor. The music was too loud for some of us. We went outside and sat in the red van. The music sounded better from there. We waited until Alice was finished dancing. Then it was back to the farmhouse. It was rather late. We had enough of a day. So after a brief kitchen get together, the house grew quiet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The next morning would be a memorable church service at which our pastor, the Rev. Devin R. Jones, had been invited to be guest liturgist. It was to be the last sermon delivered by the retiring pastor, Rev. Schneider, and the beginning of the new pastorate for the Rev. Sigrid Holtgrave. Rev. Jones had been instrumental in keeping the continuing contacts between the mother church at Westerkappeln, Germany, and the daughter church at Cappeln, Missouri, U. S. A., going.

Pastor Jones had practiced once after church at St. John's United Church of Christ, Cappeln, Missouri, U. S. A. Ray looked at a copy of his remarks and the scripture reading. Several curious German speaking folks listened in. Rev. Jones had prepared his welcome with the help of a German friend who spoke "Southern" Deutsch. So this next day would be his first opportunity to be involved in a service at the mother church and bring greetings from America.

At 4:00 p. m. our group of Cappelners gathered along with our hosts, some local politicians and the newspaper man to tour Haus Cappeln. It had never been toured in the years it has been owned by the wealthy industrialist who now occupies it. This property had once belonged to a land baron of some consequence in the area. He was known for his dealings. At the end of his influential period he lost his entire estate on a gamble. It is documented that the Nazis occupied the estate for a time. The present owner, an industrialist, has worked to collect art, antiques and ancient treasure, so as to preserve a bit of history within his walls. The estate of Haus Cappeln is surrounded by stone walls. There is a black wrought iron gate. It can close out the public and the property front resembles a large park as you walk in along a wide blacktopped roadway. There is curbing along the road way. A pond and a streamlet runs along not far from the roadway. The grass is very green and well manicured. There are swans and mallard ducks in the pond. Shade trees provide a pleasant atmosphere. A few weeping willows were carefully placed to enhance the beauty of the entrance to the property and its peaceful pond and stream. As one nears the courtyard within which are a main structure and a group of smaller structures, you see a large several story rectangular stone and concrete mansion before your eyes. At second glance you notice a moat, maybe six feet across, running along the base of the rectangular structure. Somehow, the romantic picture of a castle and its protective moat loses its punch.

A large double stairwell with a concrete railing and many steps to climb, on either side of the entrance brought us to the main door. We entered the main lobby, where introductions were made and the owner began by talking about the history of his property as he wished to tell it. We walked into a parlor area and saw some very old relics and heard that Napoleon's brother had owned this property originally. At this point, we asked Layton to give us a summary in English, because there were at least a few of us that were lost to the rapid fire speaking of the German owner. Layton would use a few words, such as: 'Napoleon's brother lived here.' There are relics hundreds of years old. We could see out back into a garden area with lattice work, rocks and a fountain. It was the private area used by the families that owned the property. It was a lovely sight and well tended.

In the owner's study, we saw walls with full shelves with ancient volumes of literary renown books. There was tasteful art created by well known artists around the room, as there happened to be wall space. One oil painting of some nude ladies with their posteriors in the forward view, he mentioned was not one that his wife approved of. It was his own erotic selection.

We entered into a hallway, which had a large guest book on a table in the center of this reception room. The owner rambled on in German. We took turns signing the guest book. After that we were escorted down into the basement level into a tavern like eating area. Its ornamental decorativeness, fixtures, furnishings, utilities and dining room supplies were all antiques. Going into a room next to it we saw a life-sized model of a horse with its full armor on. A small room beyond was filled brim full as a wine cellar. A kitchen was through the wine cellar and out of view.

We returned to the tavern-like eating room for coffee. It was spread with wheat, oats and shepherd's bread; jam, jelly and marmalade; sliced Swiss and sheep's cheese; hard crust rolls; huge (large pizza sized) short cake mold heaped with fruit and topped with an abundance of whipped cream; coffee cake; coffee, wine, beer and for some of us chilled lemonade. After the drinks were lifted together and toasts were exchanged we ate. Before leaving a few brief speeches were made. Ray was asked to say a few words, as happened a number of times to speak for the group. Rev. Jones had a number of occasions to do the same. We then walked out into the courtyard and cameras were clicking once again to preserve the memory of this unique visit. This was the only castle, that we actually toured. It was the one we all wished to see. No one, who had toured Haus Cappeln that day, had ever been invited into this place before. It was not and has not been open to tourists. So we were honored to be the first ever.

At 8:00 p. m. we attended a slide showing of historic Westerkappeln given for the Cappelners, their hosts and other interested persons (mainly those available town politician and representatives of the different political factions in the city). The beer, wine and chilled lemonade were still welcome for the Cappelners to guzzle in the hot and humid weather we continued to experience during all but the tail end of our trip.

Again the Freeses collapsed in the kitchen at the Freese brother's farmhouse. But we began talking about the need to arrange for the return of the car and rental van. Also, the time the group must plan to leave. It was a struggle, because there were those who were pushing for us to stay a half day longer. But we persisted, as we would need to be on our way with time to spare. This was not easy conversation, but essential to the best interest of the group. None of the Freese's were anxious to leave. But we knew the group needed time to come down off of this heavy schedule of fascinating events. The rest of the group had been conversing about the need to leave and get back home with only one more day of scheduled events in the northwestern region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

At breakfast the next morning we could afford to be more leisurely. Günter asked Ray and me if we needed a butler. So I told him I hardly thought so! Our house was the only one I'd ever seen that got smaller the closer you came to it. Friedhelm brought out his compressor workman's manual and showed us the different kinds that he serviced. He has an area that he travels in. Some of his business is in the Netherlands. In fact, the border between the Netherlands and Germany is quite close. The Freese family seemed rather influenced by their closeness to the Netherlands. We had met the pastor of their own church, who was from the Netherlands. He had dropped in briefly to meet us the first evening.

I commented on the picture portrait of Mozart on the dining room wall. Their mother had been organist at their church for over seventy years. Mozart was her favorite composer. So I told the brother's about the classical compact disks that Tim and I shared. I told them I would make it a point to play Mozart from now on. Friedhelm brought out picture portraits for us to choose one from. He had to sign his name on Bernice's, Alice's and ours. I gave Louisa a handmade cotton print garden bonnet typical of what our older generation wore in their more productive days around Cappeln. A lady from the Lutheran Church in New Melle had made it and had given it to the church craft booth for sale at one of their church dinners. Louisa seemed quite pleased with it.

We left for the church service and found it quite packed. But we got there in time to sit half way back. The church was a huge thick stone walled structure with an enormously high ceiling. There were very long pews and many of them. They had talked about having an outdoor service. But the numbers of people and the threatening weather sent them inside. The pulpit was one of those high walk up styles. There were several pastors sitting in the altar area and the retiring pastor's wife. The Sunday bulletin was a three fold legal sized sheet. The microphone system was a good one. I couldn't see too well from my position until the sermon. So I followed the bulletin closely. A lot of written congregation participation was on the bulletin. Rev. Schneider lifted up the ancient and worn copy of a German language Bible that our St. John's Church had sent a couple of years ago for their museum shelves. It represented the same copyright date as would have been used at the time of many of the forefathers coming from Westerkappeln, Germany, to America. When Rev. Jones gave his liturgy everyone was most attentive to it. Later in the service when our pastor was given the opportunity to bring greetings from Cappeln, U.S.A., he compared the courage and strength and faith of the German emigrants of the 1800's who went to the new world with that of a dove sent out by Noah into the unknown after the flood. When Pastor Jones indicated that the visitors from America were a symbol of the Christian faith and love uniting all believers that was returning to them after 150 years, the whole congregation broke out in applause. It was not a thing common to such a church service. But it was quite spontaneous.

This was the baptismal church of two brothers: Johann Friedrich Freese, the great-grandfather of Bernice Becker-Hunt and Heinrich Wilhelm Freese, the great-grandfather of Carl Brakensiek, Lucile Brakensiek-Kidd, Alice Freese-Molitor and Raymond Freese and the great-great-grandfather of Marilyn Paul-Jones.

Following the service was a band performing in the parking lot. Choir medleys were song in the streets by groups from other churches in town in honor of the retiring pastor. Vegetable soup and coffee was served to the folks in the area of the festivities. Bernice and Alice went back to the Freese brother's farmhouse in the small red car with Günter. Friedhelm wanted to show us his family's church. It was a small two story building. The church was a modest structure with tan plastered walls and dark brown wooden trim typical of a gingerbread style of architecture common to Germany. The sanctuary was simply furnished and had a tan walled interior. I told Friedhelm I preferred his church to most of those we had seen. There was a round stained glass window above the altar. It had hues of yellow, red and blue with large red Alpha and Omega letters. The dark brown highly polished thick wooden chairs set side by side were sturdily built. They looked very comfortable. The seats were upholstered uniformly to blend with the tan, yellow and blue decor. The instrument to the right of the altar resembled a cross between a harpsichord and/or a portable piano keyboard. It looked like a close knit church family center. In retrospect, some of the host families had no current day association with the large historic Westerkappeln Evangelische Church itself. But they selected some fine people to host our group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bernice was picked up by a relative from another branch of her family by 9:00 a. m. It had been arranged earlier in the week. This relative spoke English. She would spend the day. Then she would be dropped off at the Bente home that evening, where all the Cappelners were to gather for supper.

At 10:00 a. m. Alice, Louisa, Günter, Friedhelm, Ray and I drove into Westerkappeln and did a bit of souvenir shopping, that we took back to our vehicles. We boarded a charter bus at City Hall which was to take us to Osnabrück, along with the rest of our group, their hosts, some politicians, dignitaries and a young lady, who was to act as our interpreter.

The tour was scheduled as a 90 minute German / English tour. We began in a government building. We gathered around a three dimensional display case of the old walled city of Osnabrück. We heard about the development and changes in the city through the ages. When the wall came down a highway was built in its place. We later walked through and saw and took pictures of one of the old city gates that's still standing today. We walked into a small room and heard about the walled showcase window relics that were secured within. The items were hundreds of years old. We crossed the hall and sat in a large room with a very old ornamental chandelier representing Adam and Eve at the top most point with night and day, plants and animals and the garden of Eden radiating around it. It was a bronze ornamental light fixture. There was one continuous wooden bench style seat built around the entire room. It was a government meeting room. There were several built in wooden wall cabinets, with locks on their doors in this room. Important papers were stored from the very early days of the city in these locked wall cabinets. One was for the valuable hospital supplies. Another was for government documents. A third was for important papers of its citizens.

We went outside and saw more than one civil marriage ceremony group leaving the marriage bureau. The only way I knew who one bride was happened to be because she carried a bouquet. She was dressed in old jeans and a plaid cotton shirt, as if she were dressed up to go biking! Another couple had a baby crawling around on the cobble stones. It wasn't clear if it was theirs or a relative's baby.

We went to a Catholic Church nearby. There was a big iron kettle long ago used both for baptism of the type where the child is dipped down in as well as to help heat up the church in the winter time.

We crossed a street and walked quite a way before we turned into a shopping center stroll way with some historic structures, which had been moved into the shopping zone to display different sorts of buildings, which were typical of the different parts of the region. We got into our bus and headed for the Riesenbeck's restaurant. Our meal was delicious. Toasts were made before the meal began and brief speeches were made at the end of the meal.

Then by 4:00 p. m. we were touring Westerkappeln and many of the places, which we had previewed in a slide showing the night before. We got out and looked around one of the properties of a prominent citizen, who had a horse ranch and his own private Chapel. There was a citizen who built a huge guest house for his relatives and friends. There were the homes of politicians and dignitaries. There were major industries. There were Catholic Churches, Evangelische Churches and Jewish Synagogues. We drove past a Jewish cemetery. We all got out and walked around in a wooded area, where some unusually large stones had been placed in an unusual way. There were stories about the reasons for the stones being there. We stopped at a saw mill, that had gone out of business in the war years and was trying a come back. We sat down to drinks and heard from the co-owners about the mill. We went downstairs to see the operating parts that were moved by the water wheel. They turned it on and showed it working. We were sent upstairs to the second floor and found an elderly man with his artist's display room. The man was delighted with the groups company and talked a rather long time about his life and hard times as an artist. It was getting late and we had to stop at the tractor museum.

So off we went to this last appointment at the tractor museum main office building. We sat down first thing after we arrived at the table with bread, ham and cheese, pickles, beer, wine, lemonade, and bubbly mineral water. We had a two-man German band serenade. Then we all sang some German songs. We were now late for the supper at the Bente's home. We were stuffed with food. We then quickly walked through the two buildings with many old tractors and some other antique farm equipment and implements. One most touching feature was a huge enlargement of a photograph of Günter's mother driving a tractor with Günter's father, and Günter, about eight years old, riding on the implement's seat behind her. We got a pretty good photograph of the enlarged one.

We had to hurry to the Bente's home to eat. Günter took his neighbor Louisa back home and returned. Bernice would have been there a whole hour and she spoke no German. We were absolutely stuffed. We got big bear hugs from both Mr. and Mrs. Bente. They were overcome with joy at having the American cousins in their home. We tried hard to eat. But there was not much room to put anymore food within.

Friedhelm was with us at the Bente's, too. The Freese brothers are close neighbors and also related. Wilma Bente was thrilled to meet Alice and Bernice and was happy to see us again. She showed us ladies the upstairs. She had so wanted one of the American couples to use their new guest room on our next visit. The Bente's told Alice that they would send her money to come and see them again, if she didn't have the money herself. The Bente's had a young couple help with the meal. It was such a pleasant evening. It was, likewise, the last evening we were to spend in Westerkappeln. The guests were shown around the house and barn lot.

Layton and Dera left after the meal to get back to their hosts. Pictures were taken. Carl and Lucile stayed a while longer, as their host, Mr. Hackmann, stayed for dinner, too. It grew quite late before the Freese dinner guests headed home. I told Mrs. Bente, at our parting, that the next time we came in about two years, that we would certainly stay in their home. They were a great couple.

We didn't spend much time around the kitchen table at the Freese brother's farmhouse the last night. We were all quite stuffed with food. We did have to discuss the plan for our morning's departure. We needed to return the vehicles by a certain time. Herr Michels would need them in Osnabrück by the next morning. Friedhelm offered to deliver the Golf himself for us. Günter would drive his own car. They would come with us to the train station at Osnabrück to see us off and have a way to get home. We all turned in for the night. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When Ray and I woke up the next morning we started packing. We had a few things hanging up in a clothes cupboard. A lot was still in our suitcases. But it needed to be reshuffled to fit. At breakfast Günter, Louisa, Alice, Ray, Bernice and I seemed more pensive and less talkative. Shortly after that we all said 'Good bye!' to Louisa.

As we all began to arrived at the train station in Osnabrück, the ten Cappelners and those who brought them soon gathered in the parking lot. Friedhelm got a luggage cart and packed it full. Then we moved to the track to await the train. We stood around chatting. Some looked around for cold drinks. To our surprise, Louisa appeared with her husband to see us off. We hugged and kissed Louisa, Friedhelm and Günter and gave heartfelt glances and handshakes to others. Then we got on the train. Looking out of the window at those gathered to wish us farewell, Friedhelm boldly waved and smiled. Günter would not look our direction until the train began to move away. Several were seen wiping away tears.

There was no attempt of the group to go into separate passenger compartments. It was comfortable just filling up all the seats in a couple of compartments and letting the train move us away from those difficult farewells.

It somehow seemed a short stretch before we noticed that we were backtracking along the Rhine River and seeing some of the same scenic views we had noticed earlier in our trip. Our destination was Frankfurt, Germany. We left our train at the Hauptbahnhof and boarded the S Bahn to go to the Ostbahnhof to get to our hotel. We walked a few blocks to our hotel, which had a difficult entrance to see on a side street. Most of us were on different floors. Most of us asked for showers. The rooms were small. But the beds and showers were welcome.

The main objectives in the late afternoon in Frankfurt were rather simple. Some wanted to get a bite of supper, a shower and a night's sleep. Others wanted to get one last chance for souvenirs. Alice, Bernice, Pastor Jones, Marilyn, Ray and I started down the street looking for a restaurant. Our hotel was bed and breakfast only. The city blocks were long as we walked ahead. We passed some Lebanese, Oriental and Middle Eastern specialty shops. Alice and Bernice speeded up. We lost sight of them The rest of us turned right and walked across a wide street.

After a few blocks we turned left and crossed the street. Soon we saw a stretch of shops which seemed to be built on either side of an elongated parkway. We noticed a McDonald's Restaurant and talked about returning to eat there. We walked further to a department store and then another. By then we returned to McDonald's with a ready appetite. I found a table outside, while the others went in to order supper. We ate at the typical cafe-style tables on the cobblestone street outside of the restaurant. But before we could finish, a street sweeping machine was coming by. We had to leave our table, which was taken out of the path of the sweeper. I still had my drink and Pastor Jones had his ice cream. So we looked for an available bench in the parkway setting. Some benches were occupied. But we found an empty one further on. While we sat and rested the scene changed abruptly. Stores closed immediately at 6:30 p. m.

Security guards and some uniformed policemen suddenly appeared in front of certain stores. We thought about moving on. But before we got up some groups of young men in guardian angel-styled berets, tan long sleeved shirts, tan T- shirts and/or even tan sleeveless muscle shirts, tapered green pants and high top shoes appeared moving across the parkway. One carried a sharpened broom handle. All of a sudden the group of 4, led by the fellow with the broom handle took off at top speed in pursuit of a cluster of dark skinned youths. There had been a group of four boys, who had come together with a couple of others. The young boys scattered in various directions with the older ones in hot pursuit. The fellow with the broom handle hit a concrete railing of an underground stairwell with a loud thud. My stomach turned flip flops. What if that fellow had decked someone surfacing from that stairwell? I could not believe this! We sat stunned for a moment. Again another group of dark skinned boys was scattered by these older gang style toughs.

We couldn't handle this scene. We got up and went back to the hotel. As we got nearer to one of those Lebanese shops again, I could swear that I saw the same boy leaving its doorway, who had been chased down the underground stairway!

Later we learned that a fight had broken out in McDonald's Restaurant, while Alice and Bernice had stopped in there. Chairs were even being thrown. It was quieter back in our hotel. Sleep somehow came easily. But the early morning air became thick with a variety of industrial pollutants, which began to annoy me.

I was happy to get to breakfast. It provided us with a fine selection of food choices. We were even back into an area which was accustomed to serving tea. It was a good feeling to be moving back to the train station and away from this location. We walked back to the train station. I'm sure there were more pleasant places to be in Frankfurt, Germany. We took the S Bahn to the Frankfurt Airport. It was a very large two-level spread. We had some time so we went in different directions before meeting again as a group at the gate, where we were to board our plane.

A flood of humanity poured onto Delta flight 49. It was 1:45 p. m. Carl and Bernice sat in the seats ahead of Ray and me. Devin and Marilyn were behind us. Dera and Layton were seated behind them. Alice and Lucile were behind the Rehmeiers. We were to the right of the right hand aisle going into the plane up forward and near the business class.

The flight was becoming typical. There were cold drinks served. Peanut packets were distributed. Meals were served. Magazines and newspapers were available. Duty free gifts sales were advertised in an on board catalog. A video was also played to drum up sales. Trips were made to mini-sized rest rooms in the back of the plane. Earphones were distributed for those who wished to tune into on board music channels. A movie was shown to those who wished to watch. The earphones tune into channel sections in the English or German languages. Our group seemed to need sleep rather than to be entertained. I find it too difficult to snooze in a sitting position. But it was easy enough to relax and rest up from a very full schedule of daily events over the past two weeks. We all appreciated the comfortable seats and the chance to relax.

It's not difficult to feel the plane shifting direction as it arches over the northern reaches going westward toward the United States. We landed at the Cincinnati Airport in Kentucky, U. S. A. at 5 p. m. A seminary acquaintance of Pastor Jones, who now lives not so terribly far from that airport, was there with his wife to spend time visiting. I browsed through some gift shops and found a few souvenirs appropriate to take back home.

We picked up our luggage. Then going through customs we handed them a questionnaire we had filled out before leaving our plane. We answered a few questions about our visit to farms. We showed our passports and boarded Delta flight 1454 at 6:57 p. m. We arrived in St. Louis at 7:30 p. m. At Lambert Airport the group went to get their luggage together. Before saying good bye, this group of Cappelners, hugged and kissed or shook hands with one another and bid each other farewell.

Bernice Hunt would spend the night at Lucile's home in St. Louis, Missouri. Lucile was to see that Bernice caught her flight the next morning to Omaha, Nebraska. Bernice would be picked her up for the 3 hour drive to her home.

Alice's daughter, Bev came to pick up her mother, Ray and me to drive us home.

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