9 May: Wedding Anniversary

Three great things happened today.

First, we went to check out the church where my Jury grandmother (Julia Barbara Fischer ) was baptised in 1866. Finding this place was one of the reasons we came to Germany.

The abbey of St Bonifaz is still there, but although the church facade remains, the church behind it was bombed out in WWII.

Mass for the Ascension was ending as we arrived, and the monks made us very welcome, especially when I showed them my grandmother’s baptismal certificate! One of the monks showed us photos of St Bonifaz before and after the bombing. 😫

The new modern church is only half the size of the original, with the other half now a community centre - inside the old back wall.

Both of us found this experience quite emotional. Catching up on family roots is powerful stuff!

The second great part of the day was a visit to Ludwig I’s collection of Greek & Roman sculpture, now in a public gallery called the Glyptothek. Des was in her happy place, especially in the Alexander room. (The front-on dude with the don’t mess with me look.) I didn’t need an audio guide. Good coffee.

The third great thing was our anniversary dinner, shouted us by our four wonderful children.

We were treated like royalty in the hotel biergarten, the best table, complementary Prosecco, and fantastic food. We had white asparagus soup (never heard of white asparagus before), and follow up with exquisitely cooked pork dishes. I haven’t had crackling as good as that I stole from Des’s plate.

And so to bed - another fantastic day!!Read more