( Photos from Bochum and Hattingen, German cities in the Ruhr Valley )

Been a while since I posted more photos from my trip to Europe. See the lowdown on the first batch here. This time I'm reminiscing about my first two (of three) days in Germany. The best photos are in the 3rd day, hands down, so wait patiently for them!

I'd forgotten what cool place names they have in Germany. I wasn't really anywhere "on the map" so to speak, so I had to have someone write down the names of all the places we went so I could add them to my photo galleries.

I stayed in Bochum, a mid-sized industrial town in the Ruhr Valley. My gracious hosts were Gerhard and Gertrud, an older couple who are friends of my grandparents. Not-so-coincedentally, they are also relatives. Gerd & Gertrud are not immediately related to the American Ortlands, but we do share a last name and a common ancestor. My grandparents have been investigating our family history and discovered Gerd & Gertrud's son in a Berlin phonebook on a choir trip. He put them in touch with Gerd, who is an avid geneology hobbyist, and managed to find our link.

They were amazing hosts and a lot of fun to be around. I saw a lot of very beautiful, historic villages and castles... just what I needed to balance out the hubub of Amsterdam. I was in bed by 12, up by 8, and relished whatever mid-afternoon nap I could take.

The Ortlands have a lovely house near Bochum University and keep a beautiful garden. We ate most days in the back yard, even though it was still quite hot while I was there. Two meals a day we had bread and cheese or bread and jam and for lunch we had a variety of delicious cooked dishes. I think I tried turnips for the first time! Gertrud made the most delicious cherry tart for their family get-together on Wednesday and I really have to have her send me the recipe. Mmm.

( All righty, keep reading for the full details...)
Tuesday I took the ICE from Amsterdam to Duisburg station, then transfered to Bochum, where they met me on the platform. After a quick lunch and rest, we headed out to the surrounding towns... most specifically Hattingen and the surrounding Ruhr Valley.

Our first stop was Dorfkirche Stiepel a beautiful and VERY old church built in 1100 AD. This church is where Gerd and Gertrud met many years ago at a wedding. Cute! The inside of the church is covered with delicate, aging paintings. Outside is cemetary speckled with extremely old gravestones from the 30-years war in the 1600s. Unfortunately, I cannot really share with you my most unforgettable experience in Germany, which happened at this, the first place I visited:

The inside of the church, except the vestibule, is off limits to visitors until services. After taking photos inside, we were wandering the grounds when someone entered the church and didn't come out. A few minutes later, incredible organ music EXPLODED from the chapel. It was the organist, practicing for the next service. We returned to the vestibule where we couldn't see him (the organ is upstairs at the back of the church) but could hear the music in its full acoustic glory. So. Incredible. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

After that, we went to a small Castle, Haus Kemnade and looked at some of the oddities in an adjacent museum, which had an exhibit of coin banks & coins.

Next, we went to Burg Blankenstein where we climbed Blankenstein tower and ate Italian Eis. OMG!

Finally, we drove to Hattingen, the cutest old town ever, where we wandered about looking at the great houses and shops.

At the end of the day, there's nothing like a cold beer , or three!

(Be sure to look at the rest of the photos in the Tuesday Album)

Wednesday was really relaxed. I though this was going to be our busy day, since it was my only full day in Bochum, but some of Gerd & Gertrud's relatives planned a lunch with them a few days before I scheduled my arrival. Oh well! That morning, I took photos in the garden and then walked with Gerd to Bochum University and the university Arboretum, through the Chinese garden and the greenhouses.

When the family came to visit, I went downtown to explore the Bochum Mining Museum and look at the city hall and surrounding buildings. I even found one named after me! There was also some spiffy graffiti under the bridge. Woo.

That's about it for Weds (see all the photos here) but Thursday we went to Munster and saw lots of castles. It was awesome, so I'll try and get those pics edited soon.