The Village of Our Ancestors

On Saturday Werner drove us just down the road from Lenzburg to the town where our ancestors lived... Othmarsingen.  The area has long been inhabited.  Prehistoric grave site and the remains of a Roman theater have been found nearby.  The first recorded mention of the village goes back to around 1190.  Today Othmarsingen has a population of around 2700 people.

Our first stop was the town church, a structure which has been declared a Swiss heritage site.  It was built in 1675 after the Reformation had spread to the region.

Ohio cousin Gail in front of our ancestors' church.

Our Swiss cousin Werner, a native of Othmarsingen, at the gate to the church.

The interior is beautifully maintained.

Our family lived in Othmarsingen for centuries.  It is humbling to imagine that the baptisms, weddings and funerals of generations of our ancestors were held right here in this church.

We drove by this house which was the home of Gail's great grandfather and my great grandmother before the family emigrated to Ohio in 1874.  They probably would not recognize the structure which has been renovated and modernized.  It originally had a thatched roof, and it was divided into two parts... one part for the family, the other for the farm animals.

We had lunch reservations at Maiengruen, a little restaurant in the forest beyond Othmarsingen.  It's an out-of-the-way place that only a local would be able to find.

Joining us were Niklaus Wirz, a former councilman of Othmarsingen (at the front to the left), and his girlfriend (across the table from him).  "Nick" is the person who made the connection with my Swiss family possible.  I had known that my great grandmother, Susanna Marti, was born in Othmarsingen, and, according to family stories, there were still cousins there.  I discovered that this little Swiss town had a website, so on its guestbook I left a message asking if anyone had any information on the Marti family.  Nick saw the message, and sent me records from the archives tracing my family back a couple more generations in Othmarsingen.  He then tracked down a Marti living in town who was related to me.  Werner's father, Andreas Marti knew that one branch of the family had long ago emigrated to Ohio, and he remembered a great aunt of mine who many years ago had visited Switzerland.  Nick gave me the address for Andreas, and I wrote to him.  Sadly, he passed away shortly afterward, but contact had been made.  I now have a Swiss family... Werner, his sisters and brother, and all the other relatives.  They may be distantly related, but they have all welcomed me with open arms as their cousin.

And I have Nick Wirz to thank for this!  I will forever be grateful to him!

    Danke schoen, Nick!

Supper with a View

After our boat ride on Lake Hallwil, we drove to a restaurant called Eichburg (Oak Mountain) where cousin Werner had made reservations for 6:30 in the evening.  

The restaurant is located high above the lake and has a spectacular view.

Can you make out the faint outline of the snow-covered Alps in the background?

If you have been reading the blog, you already recognize most of these people.

Gail's husband Wes took this portrait of a quintet of cousins.

From left to right are yours truly, Brigitta, Gail, Werner, and a new addition to our group, Brigitta's daughter Annatina.

We had a table outside so that we could enjoy the view until nightfall.  The Swiss are all seated to the left and the Ohioans to the right.  By coincidence, the Ohioans all ordered the same entrée... chicken breast with mozzarella and tomatoes in a marsala sauce served with risotto and ratatouille.  It was superb.

Werner ordered dessert.  It was called a "Coup Denmark".  It is basically what we call a hot fudge sundae. 

It looked so good that I had to order one too.

(photo taken by Gail)

I know that I am going to be in trouble.  There is SOOOO much good food, and the trip has just begun!

Cruising on the Lake

Friday afternoon cousin Werner picked us up at our hotel in Lenzburg and drove us south to Lake Hallwil (Hallwilersee in German).  The lake, which is five miles long, is little known to foreign tourists but is popular with the Swiss.

Werner owns a boat there, and he took us out for a relaxing cruise of more than two hours.

Ohio cousin Gail, her husband Wes, and I prepare to board.

Looking to the south from the lake, the Swiss Alps march across the horizon.

This compound of buildings is the lake home of Nick Hayak, the CEO of Swatch, the watch company.

Old boathouses built along the shore...

A small fleet of cruise boats operates on the lake.

More views on the lakeshore...

Thank you, Werner, for a delightful afternoon!

Settling into Lenzburg

On Friday, shortly after Peter and I went to the market in Uster, my cousin Werner arrived at the door.  He packed my luggage into his car, and we went to Lenzburg, located about 35 miles to the west of Uster on the other side of Zurich.  The previous day Werner had driven my Ohio cousin Gail and her husband Wes to Lenzburg at the end of their guided tour of Austria and Switzerland.  Lenzburg is just down the road from our ancestral village of Othmarsingen, and upon Werner's recommendation, we had booked rooms at a hotel there.  
We are staying at the Hotel Krone, which is a part of the European Accor chain of hotels.  The hotel has a modern wing (in which we have rooms), but the old part of the hotel has been a landmark in Lenzburg for more than 200 years.  

Werner said that our ancestors, even if they might not have been able to afford to eat there, would have certainly been familiar with this establishment.

The old-style decoration on the corner of the building clearly shows the meaning of the hotel's name.  "Krone" means "Crown" in German.

The hotel is located on the edge of Lenzburg's "Altstadt", Old Town.  On the hill above the hotel is Schloss Lenzburg, Lenzburg Castle, one of the oldest and most important castles in Switzerland.  The earliest record of the castle goes back to 1077.  

The castle is now a museum.  I had visited the castle on my first trip to Switzerland, but Werner took Gail to see it when they arrived in Lenzburg the previous day.

My hotel room is small, typical of European hotels, but it is clean, comfortable and functional.

I have a small balcony.  I does not look out over the Old Town, but it is a pleasant view.

So, now that we are settled into our Lenzburg accommodations, we will spend the next few days exploring the region of our Swiss ancestors and getting together with even more cousins.

The Market

On Friday morning, before leaving Uster, Peter asked me if I wanted to go with him to the outdoor marketplace.  We drove to downtown Uster, which unlike the downtown districts of many cities in the U.S., is pleasant and thriving and filled with independent shops.  On the plaza in front of the "Stadthaus" (city hall) a daily market is held.

In the background you can see the steeple of the principal church and the tower of the castle.

A couple of stands sell fresh baked goods.

Others offer organic fruits and vegetables.

One stand had exotic fruits imported from Africa.

The flower vendor sold not only cut flowers, but also arrangements and flowers to plant in your garden.

It was small compared to the large "tianguis" (outdoor markets) of Mexico, but, in typical Swiss fashion, it was tidy and organized and everything was of high quality.

Twilight in Uster

A beautiful twilight sky captured from the balcony of Brigitta and Peter's home in Uster, Switzerland...