THE HALLS AND HUNTS VISIT EUROPE

Our Southern California friends Pat and Dave Hall came to Frankfurt last Monday as part of their Europe family history search tour.  We bonded with  Pat and Dave on our Israel trip a couple years ago.  Here we are at the Frankfurt temple where they stayed at patron housing. We shared a  tasty dinner and enjoyable evening together during their quick visit.

 Joan and Hollis Hunt arrived Wednesday evening from Prague.  We arose early Thursday for a quick trip through Western Germany and over to The Netherlands. We traveled down the Mosel River Valley to see well restored castles in Cochem and Eltz (Burg Eltz).  This is the Cochem castle.

 View from the castle parapets down onto the Mosel Valley below.  While I always say its good to be king, the Cochem castle took 10 years to restore in the 1800's but while the owner was overseeing the work his wife back home being unfaithful.  He died 2 years after the restoration was completed.  I'll pass on being king.

 These Delf tiles (300-400 Euro a piece) illustrate stories from the New Testament and were used to teach the Bible stories.

 

 Took a 45 minute each way hike through the forest to reach Burg Eltz and afterward enjoyed a picnic lunch roadside.  Found out afterward there was a parking lot much much closer :)

 We stayed our first night in a sports arena basement hotel -a lovely facility in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. (That's what you get when ordering from a small picture off the internet.)  Here is the old town in the foreground with modern Luxembourg behind.  The clean modern city impressed us as being progressive.

 Hollis' dad served under General Patton who is buried here just outside Luxembourg in the American Cemetery.  An emotional visit to see those who sacrificed their lives in World War II.

 The Frederik Steenblik store in Velp, Netherlands has been converted into a home which is being refurbished.

With our second cousin once removed, Jan Steenblik, age 73, who showed us the original homestead just outside Geersteren.  The barn is attached to the house with green fields full of contented cows across the herringbone brick road out front.

 Jan introduced us to pflannkuchen - a huge pancake covered with yummy vegetables.  He spent the entire day with us showing us the land of our forefathers.
A widower, he keeps an immaculate house and raises singing canaries who have won awards.

Near Holten where Grandma Janna
Templeman Steenblik was born is a town that makes wooden shoes. We found one here that would fit Gordon Springer.

Jan treated us to delicious creamy Dutch ice cream.  We were so grateful to learn he could speak German.  His mother died when he was 3 days old and his father's second wife was German, so he chatted away with us going between Dutch, German and English at will and within each sentence.

Our Sunday dinner guests included friends of Joan and Hollis,  Jack and Joan Pferdner who work in the Frankfurt mission office and Marilyn and David Kidderman our new Church History missionaries.

Goodbye dear Hunts who fly home in the morning.  Thanks for coming and see you in a few months!!