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When I was in elementary school, I vaguely remember being at my grandmothers house and the adults looking at a book. I also remember going to school and braggin that we had a castle in Germany, but I couldn't remember where it was or how we were connected to it. Since we are here, I figured I should at least find out if those memories were true or if I had made them up in my head. I emailed my Grandma in Florida and she told me that her ancestor's last name was Dietz (also spelled Diez) and that yes, there was a castle in our line.
Ben looked up the town on the internet and found out it was only and hour and a half away. So, that next Saturday we decided to make a trip to visit the town of my ancestors. Diez is a small town and most of the businesses were closed. The first thing we did was find the castle, which wasn't hard because it stood on a hill high above the rest of the buildings. We made our way up the steps and wandered around in the center. There was a restaurant, which was having a birthday party, and a museum, which was closed. We couldn't find anyone to give us information about it. We had hoped to get a tour, but had no such luck.
We made our way down to the river where Maddox had fun throwing sticks in the river. Soon, a flock of ducks landed in the water right in front of us. I remembered that I had packed some crackers as snack for the boys, so I got them out and we started feeding them. There were three swans swimming around downstream from us, and as soon as they realized what was going on they started swimming towards us. They were huge and quite intimidating. They had no reservations about coming right up to us and waiting for crackers. Ben even fed one out of his hand!
While wandering in the deserted pedestrian zone, we found a small grocery/produce store that was open in the pedestrian zone and talked to the owner. She did not seem impressed when Ben told her my story. She did tell us that the castle has been turned into a hostel for young people and it is quite popular. If you want to stay there you probably have to book 60 days in advance. I told Ben he needed to buy wine or something while he was in there (I waited outside with the boys). Apparently it was a bad year for the wine, so he came out with Apple Brandy. I don't know what we will mix with it to drink, but at least we have a souvanier.
I think this would be a nice little town to visit in the summer time and attend a town festival or relax by the river. I still don't know the exact details of how exactly we are connected to it. Some day I will have to find out.
- comments
Beth I have to admit I'm so excited you did this!! I've always wondered if maybe I imagine that, too! The castle is beautiful!