We concluded our last full day in Germany by driving back to the vicinity of the Frankfurt airport. Our attempts at finding a room were frustrating. We were close enough to Frankfurt that guest houses are not so common. Hotels, which have higher prices, replace the guest houses in this situation. So we tried driving away from the high population densities toward a more rural area. Very quickly we found ourselves in the more typical village environment. But still we didn't find any guest houses. Then we asked someone on the street and their answer didn't help us (they tried to help). Somehow, while we were lost, we came across a restaurant and we remembered that they had been helpful once. So we asked and he said, "Across the street." Now one would think with an instruction that simple, we could find a room. All I could find was an office, another restaurant, and an auto repair shop. Finally, I tried an unmarked door and, behold, I was in a place that took people for the night. It is true that on the roof, about three stories up, there was a little sign saying, "Hotel." There is a moral to this story. Sometimes you have to be patient and sometimes you have to ask. (I prefer the frustrations of finding a place to having the environment cluttered with signs.)
With the exception of gasoline, we found prices to be more economical for food and housing than in the U.S. If we had been touring around in the States for three weeks, we would have spent more money. The cost of our car rental was respectable. But it does make a big difference whether you are in the larger cities or in a village. And it makes a difference whether the particular spot is a Mecca for German tourists.
Is it difficult to navigate around especially if one is visiting small villages? It is helpful to have a navigator and a very detailed map. And you have to hope that you do not encounter any detours. Though we were never sure what we find over the next hill, there really were not any serious surprises. The map was misleading in that the villages and towns were built up more than the map indicated. Klings, on the map, seemed like a few houses buried in the middle of a nature preserve. It actually has 550 inhabitants and the roads to it are appropriate for carrying that number of people.
There are a lot of research projects suggested by the trip. Can the Gaars be carried back to an earlier time than Hans Gahr of Kolmbach? Can some of the history of Cyriacus Fleshman be found?
We had a lot of fun visiting our cousins, even if they weren't very close. They were a very nice bunch of people.
Unfortunately, my strategy of wearing a coat and tie did not get us elevated to the business class on the airplane. But in coming home one can tolerate more unpleasantness than in starting a trip. We are now busy sorting and labeling our 1800(?) pictures (53 rolls of film).
(20 Jun 02)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.