June 24 - 26, 2015 - Kick-off European Holiday in Michelstadt, Germany

Between having a partner who was willing to be with the boys and a daughter who wanted to travel with me, I had a travel-filled summer. It started with an almost three week trip to Europe with Alle. Sometime in the winter before my daughter turned 16, I remembered my 16^th summer of traveling on my own and suggested she should think about traveling to visit family, see new European haunts, and perhaps travel with a friend. She told me that she would like to travel with me. I do not know whether that is because she likes how good the food is when I am along, she knows we will stay in good places, or she knows that I like to shop while on holiday, but I decided not to question it. I was just happy that my teenager still wanted to travel with me.

She left the week before I and spent a few days in Scotland with her paternal grandparents in Ayr. She flew to Frankfurt and we met in my mother’s family’s hometown of Michelstadt, Germany. It was so fun to see Luisa, who was our exchange student last year and our whole family there. Everyone was in town and although we were there only few days, we got a chance to see everyone in the immediate Schafer family.

Michelstadt is in the middle of the region to the southeast of Frankfurt known as the Odenwald, which is said to have restorative air and water. 

The small city began in 1100 in Roman times. Most of its buildings were built between 1400 and mid-1600. It has not been affected by any of the world wars and so most of the original buildings and some of it outer wall still stand today. It is in remarkably beautiful shape. Here is the city church and parts of the original city wall. 

Here is the city hall and the city church from the center of the town. 

While we visited, I learned that the city intends to put on a play about my grandfather, Fritz Kredel, written by a German playwright which will be based on the article I wrote about him and his work in the Printing Histories journal a few years ago. It's wonderful that there continues to be such an interest in him and his work in his hometown. 

While in Michelstadt, we ate at the city’s best Konditorei 

and tried Luisa’s favorite ice cream. We ate about two gelatos a day while traveling this summer, so finding the “best” became our trip’s challenge. We could have easily stayed with family and enjoyed Michelstadt and the Odenwald for much more time, but from Michelstadt, we traveled to Barcelona.