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Haguenau, France
June 10th, Thursday - In search of the Dibling ancestors,
by TD
After breakfast, we went into Haguenau to
do laundry, get haircuts and complete our internet transfer.
DW sat at the laundry mat while AD & I got our haircuts. We
had found the laundry while walking around the city center. We
really could have done without wash this week, but a laundry
is so rare that we wanted to use it. One street was lined with
salons, cutting hair at a reasonable prices. We picked one in
need of customers. AD went back to the laundry while I went to
the internet location.
 It
was afternoon before, we went to the hypermarket to buy our
picnic lunch. Our ultimate destination was Aschbach, a village
north of Haguenau. After driving through the "holy forest", we
reached the rolling farmlands of northern Alsace. Manned with
a detailed map, it was easy to find our way to Hatten. It was
in the center of a fierce battle during WWII that was fought
as Germany's last stand against the Allied Forces in the
winter of 1945. 85% of the structures were destroyed during
the battle. Both locals, and the troops suffered heavy losses.
The Allies had to retreat, but a few months later the region
was abandoned by the Germans without a fight.
Aschbach was the home village of my Dibling ancestors. It was
noticeably lacking any old homes. Many of the towns on our
drive had been full of old timbered homes. The St. Joseph's
Catholic Church sits on a hill and was constructed in 1872. We
found no old graves in the cemetery next door, and no Diblings.
 We
returned to Hatten a few kilometers away to visit the Musee De
L'Abri. The museum is set around an underground bunker that
was part of the Maginot Line. The bunker was a section of the
defense system that was captured by the Nazis and used against
the Allied troops. Rooms are set up to look as if the many
troops still occupied the underground barracks. Numerous
Allied and German vehicles are on display on the grounds. Most
telling in the exhibit are the photos showing before and after
scenes from the battle in January 1945. It was in the museum
that we learned why there are no old graves in the cemetery.
One story board told us that "the dead are also casualties of
war". The cemeteries were destroyed beyond repair as well as
the buildings. No wonder there was no trace of the Diblings
who lived in this area. We also noticed that almost every
village had new churches, instead of 300 years old edifices.
 The
thermometer was reading 33C (91F). Swimming sounded like a
good idea, so we headed toward Seltz, a nearby village. The
map showed a beach there. We wondered where there would be a
beach since the ocean is not near by and no lakes appear on
the map, but we drove there anyway. A stop at the tourist info
office gave us directions. As expected the lake was a manmade
sand pit. It was packed with Germans, so said the license
plates. We learned that the Rhine which runs across the road
from the swimming hole separates the two counties. Admission
was free, which made us happy. AD & I changed in the car. DW
decided to wade rather than swim. The water along the edge was
warm but, as expected, the deep water was very cold. The swim
was refreshing and enjoyable.
DW had a nap before dinner. I talked for a long time with the
hotel complex manager. He spoke of the problems Europe has
after 20 years of left leaning governments and the social
systems in place. No one wants to work and if they do, not
very hard. A recent survey of 18-25 year old showed that 75%
of them wanted to work for the government. 35 hour work weeks,
with 6 weeks vacation have created a generation of complacent
workers. How many of us wouldn't grab at those hours? He feels
the companies are so tired of the costs of programs that a
collapse is near. I wonder why the dollar is so weak and the
Euro so strong?
Dinner was at Flunch. AD and I walked there, while DW drove.
Thunder clouds had been building in the west and the
temperatures dropping. A cold front will be a good relief from
this unseasonable hot weather. Food was good but AD bit his
tongue hard enough to make it bleed for quite a while. He was
beside himself at the bleeding. Same thing happened last night
and we wondered how it could happen two nights in a row? DW
thinks it is related to the recent loss of teeth and another
on the way, but who knows.
June 11th, Friday - Two new countries for the list, by TD
The fields were nice and wet as we left
Haguenau. I hadn't realize that it rained as much as it did. A
few days of 33C had made the corn look stressed. We feel right
at home with wheat, corn and beans growing in the fields.
There isn't any rapeseed planted like in northern Germany.
Soil conditions change rapidly in this region with huge sand
veins, areas of clay and rich black dirt.
It was nice that there was no rain this morning. No one likes
to drive unfamiliar roads in the rain. Our route north to
Luxembourg and Aachen crosses Belgium. So this will be a "two
new country" day. The highway in France turned out to be a
toll road. You know my opinion of using toll roads from
previous days. We had to take it at least as far as Merlebach
where the 8 Euro toll confirmed a new route through "toll
free" Germany to Luxembourg. Road construction closed our exit
and put us off right in the city. It wasn't too bad but I felt
sorry for the local residents who had to deal with all the
extra traffic.
In Saarbrucken (Sarrbruck in France) we followed the Saar
River and a steel valley like the Mahonning in Eastern Ohio.
Hulks of rusting steel mills lined sections of the river.
There was still some active industry but I'm sure this was
quite a target for bombers during WWII. The border of
Luxembourg marked the end of the highway but it started up
again shortly. We stopped for fuel at the first rest station
and were surprised to find lines of cars. The cheapest fuel
prices in Europe were the answer. It reminded me of the lines
to buy booze on the ferry from Denmark. The weary Europeans
clambering for relief from the high tax burdens wherever
possible.
Luxembourg city is a modern capital, built in the valleys of
this rugged part of the continent. It is surrounded by
forested peaks (foothill sized) not the farmlands that I
expected. The highways ended but construction marked their
future path. We followed a valley north that developed into a
city suburb. Traffic made the travel slow. We knew this route
was going to be two lanes for the next 100 km before reaching
a highway in Belgium. Unfortunately, the correct route
disappeared in Ettelbach and became "back roads", taking us
through some wonderful forestland on twisting, turning roads.
Averaging speeds of 30 Km (20 mph), we became irritated at
being lost again, even if we were headed in the right
direction. What looked like a three hour trip was about to end
up being 7 because of the road conditions.
Belgium didn't bring us the highway relief we expected, just
some rain. None of the roads head in a straight direction in
this area. They travel the route that farmers would have taken
to reach the neighboring villages, so we zigzagged our way
north. We found constructed highways eventually and easy
directions to Aachen, Germany for the tonight's Etap. The
rains continued which eliminated outdoor activity. Neither DW
or AD cared to go to the city center to visit the Cathedral
which is Aachen's only site. We did some supply shopping
before having dinner. AD had the best lasagna, "he'd ever
eaten".
Deb Arrives in Holland...»
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