25-28 Sept; Glesse, DE

We arrived in Glesse Saturday afternoon and were greeted by this display.

Here is Reinhard cooking dinner for us:

Karl-Heinz is sitting at the table with us waiting for Reinhard to finish dinner:

Susanne (Reinhard's girlfriend) speaks very good English and helped translate Walt's convoluted sentences.  She took us shopping in Bad Pyrmont and to the castle there.

Sunday we went to Goslar with relatives which we didn't even know we had:  Burkhard and Jutta.  [They were in Canada (Calgary to Vancouver) in June/July].  We saw the castle in Goslar, Kaiserpfalz, an imperial administrative center.  It was built in the 11th century, neglected, then restored in the 19th century.  The murals in the main hall (throne room) reflect the surge of German nationalism in the 19th century.  They show the history of Germany from Charlemagne to Kaiser Wilhelm II, a mix of facts and fairytales.  No photos inside, so we bought a book.

Monday it was raining.  Marie has a very bad cold and family is giving her lots of medicines.  Her temperature is only between 36 and 36.5 degrees grad.  Normal is 39.  We had to go tothe  Apotheke (pharmacy).  Marie slept much of Monday.  We went to Ottenstein--only 5 km and to the Kuche--the old house where the richest man in town lived--he was so rich because he always complained about his electric bill and never turned the lights on his auto when driving since he thought he had to pay electric bill for that light.  It was originally a small house with 2 rooms downstairs for people and across the hall the cow and horse barn.  Upstairs was the hay storage and 2 bedrooms--grandma, grandpa, mama, papa, and 5 children lived here.

Feeding for the animals.  Marie is washing clothes in old kitchen:

Today it is still raining.  Marie still has cold and is a little better.  Reinhard has decided we will come back in 2013 when Stacie has graduated from vet school and we will have a large party for her in Germany, so be prepared Stacie.