With the Munich Roschys

In front of Bayer (not Boyer) statue

Members of Sue’s ancestral family came to America in the 1870’s from a small village in SW Germany, Waldfischbach.  

Castle at Landshut

Twenty years ago, her brother, John, found the village and re-united with cousins who hadn’t heard from anyone from America since after WWII.  

They were delighted to find American cousins, and we were delighted to find them.  

Since then we have visited back and forth and gotten to know one another well.  Returning is like a wonderful homecoming.

View from the castle

One part of the family lives in Munich, and that was our first stop.  Ilsa and Manfred Roschy have two children, Sabina (married to Korbinian) and Helmut (maried to Reiko) and four delightful grand children, Valentin, Miriam/”Mimi”, Anna and Karolina.  

Tallest all brick steeple in the world in Landshut

They are Bavarians and very proud of it. Manfred and Ilsa are extraordinarily kind and attentive hosts.  

Ilsa, no matter what the time, how many hours we have ridden around sight seeing, or how tired she or we might be, always manages to serve delicious and nutritious meals.  

German breakfasts are always good and hearty, but Ilsa's, with its varieties of breads, jams, and cold cuts, are a wonderful way to start the day. 

Manfred delights in showing us the beautiful, green countryside and sharing some of Bavarian's hidden treasures, and this trip was no exception.  

John, Manfred and Sue

Bad Toelz

We were taken to an old castle in the medieval town of Landshut, to several typically Bavarian restaurants, on a driving tour that included a beautiful lake (Tagernsee), and to a picturesque village (Bad Toelz) that hasn’t seemed to change much as time moves on. (Apologies for mangling the German place names.)

Town Hall

Bavaria is so prosperous these days and the cities, like Munich, are studded with modern architectural marvels, but the Bavarians also take great pride in their land and history.  Visiting many of the villages and towns is like walking back in history, hundreds and hundreds of years.

Garden near Lake Tagernsee

In the company of all the family we had such a good time.  Our last day with them coincided with Father's day in Germany, so the entire family gathered at yet another wonderful Bavarian restaurant, along with some two or three hundred other Bavarians, many in traditional dress.  The schnitzel, wurst, kertoffle, salad, beef and pork dishes were all sumptuously good.

The lake from "artist's corner"

In the course of the three hour meal, we got to visit quite a bit and to get to know these German cousins just a little bit better, and what a treat. We are not the best of correspondents, so having the time to catch up and really visit was lots of fun.

Sue, who really delights in being with young children, made a contract with Valentin (9 years old) to come back in two years when he promised to speak English to her.  

The Bavarian Roschys with Reiko holding the important contract

Sue’s side of the contract was promising to listen.  Kind of one-sided, but Valentin loved it. We definitely plan on returning.

Valentin, Mimi, Anna & Karolina