Friday, 1 June 2018: Schmidmühlen, Germany

The Hotel Garni Kleindienst breakfast offered a change from the usual "Frühstück" (Breakfast) of rolls, cold cuts, and cheese, by serving waffles as well.  Afterwards, we drove to Schmidmühlen, and visited the Rathaus (where we got cemetery information, and also hiking maps)

The Upper Castle in Schmidmühlen, now the Rathaus (Town Hall)

The Golden Lamb Restaurant, which was closed for two weeks at the time

Then we went to the Parish Church, St. Ägidius, where two helpful ladies located baptismal and marriage records for Dan.

Dan outside St. Ägidius Church, where his great-grandparents were married

St. Ägidius Church Bells - and a bit of a bumpy walk around the church

My elementary German got a real workout, but between their English (about the same level as my German) and my German, we somehow got Dan the records he needed.  We felt like we really struck gold when the ladies were able to locate the Buchner house, where Dan's great-grandfather probably lived.  We went to see it, and sure enough, it looked the right age, and appeared to have a workshop space, perfect for a saddler (one who makes harnesses and saddles for horses).

The old Büchner house -- It's for sale even!

The old Büchner House from the bridge over the Lauterach. It is on the left.

They advised us to return to the townhall for cemetery information, and the gentleman there gave us directions to the cemetery, and also alerted us to the fact that the barber in town was a Buchner also.

Salon Büchner in Schmidmühlen

We stopped in to see Johann Büchner on the way to the cemetery, but it wasn't clear how closely he and Dan were related.  We really regret not getting a picture of him and Dan together; there were certain resemblances, I thought.  And too bad Dan didn't need a haircut -- that would have been the perfect excuse for a longer conversation.

Dan found a Büchner and a Söllner grave in the Schidmühlen Cemetery.  Büchner was Dan's mother's maiden name, and Söllner was his great-grandmother's maiden name.

Schidmühlen Cemetery

Gasthof Erlhof

When we finished in town, we returned to our hotel for a swim and a nap.  Later in the evening we went to Gasthof Erlhof in Erlheim, about 5 minutes from our Hotel, and had a relaxing dinner on the patio.  It was so comfortable in the shade, near the fountain, after the heat of the day.