Day #15 Bell Choir, Sushi, and Thinking about Germany

Thursday was exceptional... writing, reading, swimming, napping, chatting on the phone with NY friends, and planning excursions for upcoming adventures.

First stop for the evening was Bell Choir practice for Tom at the First United Methodist Church. (Matt, on left, is also the director of this group.) These are not hand bells they are ringing with tonight! They are tone chimes. (See better picture below.) They are being used as the real bells are off being refurbished. Their real bells are 50+ years old, made by the same bell maker that made Big Ben, etc. They have only been refurbished one other time that anyone can recollect.

The tone chimes frustrate Tom as there is no volume control and, therefore, no building to a big, climatic (or chimatic) finish. Note: An English teacher told me that once you have your Master's Degree it is permissible to make up words. (Thanks, Pete!) Chimatic is mine, but I doubt it would make it past the "Words with Friends" dictionary.

These are real hand bells. We are saying prayers that the church's set gets back on time for the concert commemorating the 150th anniversary of the church.

A visit to Osaka Sushi is now an established tradition when I visit Modesto.

One more dish was still on the way. Culinary delight tonight. So pretty. So tasty. (Wishing Lissa were here to enjoy it, too!) And, yes, the company was extraordinary as well. Tom was best man in Bryan and Alison's wedding in June.

En route home Tom and I stopped at a wine bar so he could catch up with a friend. I found an old friend, too, a Riesling Auslese from the Mosel region in Germany. Courtesy of Wikipedia:

Auslese (literal meaning: "selected harvest"; plural form is Auslesen) is a German language wine term for a late harvest wine and is a riper category than Spätlese in the Prädikatswein category of the Austrian and German wine classification.^[1] The grapes are picked from selected very ripe bunches in the autumn (late November-early December), and have to be hand picked. Generally Auslese wine can be made in only the best harvest years that have been sufficiently warm. A small proportion of the grapes may be affected by noble rot in some regions although this never dominates the character of the wine. Rheingau winemaker Schloss Johannisberg is generally credited with discovering Auslese wine in 1787.^[2]
Auslesen are sometimes considered a German dessert wine, especially the wines made from botrytis infected bunches, though it is not as sweet as Eiswein, Beerenauslese (BA), or Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) dessert wines.
Auslesen can be enjoyed by themselves (aperitif - an “afternoon wine“) but are usually best accompanied with food, particularly those that exhibit the hearty characteristics of German cuisine.
The term in Alsace most closely corresponding to Auslese in terms of must weight requirements is Vendange tardive, even though this French term is linguistically equivalent to the German term Spätlese.

From 1983-85 we lived in Germany. I loved it. We were there because my husband was in the military stationed in Mainz. I had family there the whole time as my sister, Karen, her first husband and children were at Spangdahlem Air Force Base, just two hours from us. Nate was born in Bitburg on September 30, pay day in military life.

I started thinking about all of this because of the Mosel wine I so enjoyed! One Sunday afternoon, during the time we lived in Germany, we were en route back to our home from a visit to join my sister's family for a Volks March. Courtesy of Wikipedia:

Volksmarching (from German Volksmarsch meaning "peoples' march") is a form of non-competitive fitness walking that developed in Europe. Participants typically walk 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) on an outdoor path. Volksmarching associations offer incentive awards (usually pins and patches) for collecting a certain number of events. Volksmarching participants enjoy recording distances and event participation in international record books. More of a social event than a healthy outing. Less frequently used terms are Volkswanderung and Volkswalk. A volksmarching is one of several possible Volkssports that can include skiing, cycling, or swimming.

We were stopped to make a left hand turn to go across the Mosel River when another American, driving a BIG Chevy Blazer, hydroplaned on the wet roads and rear ended our small Plymouth Horizon with our two young sons in car seats in the back. Bud, my ex, realized we were going to get hit and, thankfully, hit the gas pedal at the moment of impact or it would have been catastrophic. The car was totaled. Tom unhurt. Nate had a tiny cut from glass on his little thumb.

Although I loved living in Germany, I didn't take many pictures. I was too busy with two little ones, for awhile both under two years old. (They are 17 1/2 months apart.) It is on my "to do" list to find the pictures I do have, scan them and get them into a picture book. 

The first year base housing was unavailable, so the military gave us funds to live on the economy. (The exchange rate was outstanding at the time, 4 marcs to the dollar.) Bud found a place for us 10 kilometers south of Mainz, along the Rhine River in the village of Oppenheim. The internet has given me pictures to share!

We only had one car and it was needed to get Bud to work every day, so I was on my own with the boys. But not for long! I had seen another car with American plates parked out front and literally went knocking, door to door, with my two little ones looking for someone who could speak English. I will never forget the day I knocked on Christine Schei's door. When I asked if she spoke English she said, "Yahhhhh." We have been friends ever since and this two month journey will end with her and her family near Albuquerque.

The Rhine River as it flows past Oppenheim

St. Katharinen Kirche, just around the corner from where we lived.

And behind the church....

The Beinhaus - walls of stacked human bones in a communal grave from the 100 year war era.

Located around the rear of  Katharinenkirche is found the St. Michaelskapelle, home of Germany’s largest Beinhaus (ossuary).Burial space at the small cemetery on the church grounds is at a premium. From 1400 to 1750, after a ten year rest period, the dead were exhumed to make room for the newly deceased and their bones were placed in the St. Michaelskapelle. It was said that a ten year period in the consecrated ground was enough. In the 350 year period, over 20,000 people were buried and exhumed, their bones interred in the ossuary. (Taken from http://blog.naturesimages.net/?cat=29)

Lush vineyards surrounded the village

 And even...

Castle ruins on the hill overlooking the valley

 And we lived just around the corner...

I was thrilled to find this picture as we lived just up the street from here. The then 750 year old building had a gated courtyard that we entered from the street. The apartment was furnished and the government supplied a washer. Clothes were dried on racks or up in the attic on clotheslines with the ceiling windows open. I dried many-a-cloth diaper up there; no disposable diapers then!

I never liked history much until I lived history. In the basement of our building, and in most in the village, were passageways and tunnels underground that villagers would use to escape up into the castle courtyard, behind the protective walls on the hill when they were under attack.

 And finally....

When we were given base housing nearer to Mainz-Finthen Army Airfield, I asked our landlord if I could buy some of the furnishings. Over the years I have sold or given most things away, but I kept this old trunk. I always look at it and wish it could tell stories of its travels. For now, it is residing in Nate and Jess's living room in Wellsville, NY ~ no attic storage for this gem!

Family joined us in Mainz, too. Mickey, my brother-in-law, was stationed there as well. My parents, brother, aunt and uncle visited us in the summer of 1984. With my sister and her family already there, how many people are so fortunate to have the whole family travel together in Germany? We have wonderful stories.

I was sad when I left one year before the three year tour was over. I loved Germany. I will go back one day and I hope my sons and their families will share it with me!

Guten tag!