Amish Community in Ethridge, TN

 We had a opportunity to go to Ethridge, TN and visit an Amish community for a field trip. It is about an hour and twenty minutes from us, southwest of Nashville.

 We rode horse drawn buggies from farm to farm within the community. Out of respect we were unable to take photos. Each home puts a sign at the road listing what they have for sale. The would either have a small building like a concession stand or it would be on their porch. Each had jams, salsas, pickled okra, peanut brittle, fudge, baskets, pumpkins, vegetables, and some had wooden toys. The prices were great. I got three small pumpkins for $.50 each. At Walmart they were around $2. I got a butternut squash to try for $.50, some peanut butter fudge, green peppers 3/$1, tomatoes $.79 a lb. The peppers smell amazing, and the tomatoes were vine ripened and juicy looking.

 We covertly took these photos going down the highway on the way home.

We giggled at this! She is drinking a McDonalds drink. We tried to guess whether they went through the drive through with their buggy or parked in the parking lot. Both are just funny.

Things we learned:
Amish are from the Switzerland area and of German decent... a lot of photos depict them from Holland since they are Dutch. The Germans were called Deutch, and it does not mean they are from Holland.

No photos. They will get mad and run you off if you try to take a photo. (Didn't have to learn that personally, our guide made it very clear not to do it and how offensive it was)

They start school at age 6 and go through 8th grade or their 14th birthday. No one goes further than that, they then work... the boys with their father and the girls with their mother.

No one can join the Amish order, you have to be born into it. If you leave the home you are shunned and your parents may never speak to you again. You cannot marry outside of the Amish either.

They go to the doctor and chiropractor in town, they do not have an Amish doctor. They do practice home treatment and remedies when they can.

The only rubber tired vehicle they are permitted to ride in is a bus. So, if they need to travel they take their horse carriage to Nashville and catch the bus there.

They bathe once a week.

They speak Pennsylvania Dutch in the home until they go to school. In school they learn English. They speak German (Pennsylvania Dutch) to each other, but know English to converse with us.

Everyone who is not Amish is English because of the language we speak. If a French person moved or lived near them they would still be English. Not sure how true or far that one goes.

Many English people live within the community. They will never be a part of the Amish community.

There are 300  Amish families in Etheridge, TN. They are broken into 12 church groups.

They do not have a church building. They take turns hosting services at each other's farm. The host feeds the church that day and they go get benches for everyone to sit on.

When we would drive up to a farm and get out to shop their wares Amish children would come to look at us. I think we all were as much a "show" to them as they are to us. All were barefoot, the boys in hats and little dark suits and the girls in their dark dresses and bonnets. The little boys looked like little men.

Boys start going with their father each day to work around age 2. They are given jobs to do and quickly learn how to work.

At age 14 a boy/girl can be hired out... sometimes to English people to help build fences or preserve the garden. All money goes to the parents until the child is 18 or 21 I forget which.

Horses can pull a cart and poop while walking at the same time!

Horse poop really really stinks... pee-you.

Two weeks in Germany: Fussen, Germany

 We drove down to Fussen, Germany, which is on the Austrian border. As you get close you begin to see the Alps come into view and they are so gorgeous. We did the Romantic Road for the lower part driving through countryside seeing barns and cows and villages with painted murals on all the buildings. Fussen is the highest point in Bovaria.

 Neuschwanstein Castle is the castle used as inspiration for Cinderella's Castle at Disney World. This is the side from the parking area at the base of the castles. We didn't see this one since there was a 3 hour wait for the English speaking tour.

 It was built by King Ludwig II. It is located on a hill above his childhood summer home, Hohenschwangau Castle. The castle is in view of his childhood home.

 This is Hohenschwangau Castle. We did tour it and I honestly wondered if it would be worth it. Since we had driven all that way we did, and I am so glad we did. It was amazing inside. Rick Steves tour book said it was the more elaborately decorated casle of the two. Every ceiling had intricate woodwork with beautiful murals. The craftsmanship of all the woodwork and attention to details is awe inspiring. I wish it could have been photographed.

 We took the carriage up to the castle and then walked back down.

 View from the castle terrace. The grounds had fountains and breath taking views.

The  Forggensee is a man-made lake which was built to prevent flooding. It is the catchment area for all the melting snow in the spring. After the middle of October the lake is drained ready for the next spring melt.

 Right down the road there is a luge park. We were expecting an elevated track and this was really more of a kid ride but it was a lot of fun. It was only 10 euro for 6 rides and you could share the pass, so we each took 3 rides.

We didn't have a lot of time, as we had to drive back to Landstuhl which was 3.5 hours away, but we wanted to say we went to Austria so we drove over the border to a small town. It was about 7 miles from Fussen to the town in Austria. Not long IF there isn't a festival going on.

Two Weeks in Germany: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg was one of my favorite cities we visited. It is a must see place if you are in Germany. It is the oldest Medieval walled city in Germany. The castle was destroyed in an earthquake in 1356 and the stones were used to build the city wall to fortify the city. It is filled with shops, restaurants, museums, hotels and is so fun to walk and get a real feel for life in Medieval times.

You can climb stairs and walk along the city wall and see the city from there.

We paid to climb stairs up into the tower. I thought I would die it was such a climb, but once up there you have panoramic views of the city and it is gorgeous.

This is the spot called the fork in the road.

Rothenburg is known for it's Christmas Market. Christmas items all year round. We have a coo-coo clock from another trip, but I would have loved to get another one!

I think the alleyways are so charming. Flowers on balconies. The patina of the old paint. The colorful doors and shutters. All the fun details like unique shutter holders, or wood carvings over the doors, the beautiful stained glass or bottle glass windows.

It rained a lot in Germany. Do not leave home without an umbrella or raincoat.

I wasn't crazy about my gluten free meal in Rothenburg. It was chicken and vegetables cooked in a sauce that had a very strong red pepper taste. It was okay, but not my favorite.

The church is supposed to have a drop of Jesus' blood on the altar inside, so it was a place of pilgrimage.

Along the inside of the city wall they have espalliered fruit trees.

Two Weeks in Germany: Worms, Germany

The Bridge Tower going into Worms, Germany
Legend of the dragon:
A beautiful girl was captured by a dragon and everyone that tried to rescue her was yummy dragon food. A young blacksmith made a steel jacket covered with sharp knives and went to say hello to the dragon. The dragon ate him at once, but choked from all the knives and puffed out his last smoke filled breath. The brave blacksmith married the girl and they named the place after the greusome dragon, or wurm. Since it is pronounced worm in German the place began to be called Worms.

City wall

Dragons are used throughout the city in statues and many other places. It was fun to find them.

relics in the museum. There were many dating waaay back.

The St Peters Cathedral dates back to the 600s AD. That blows my mind how intricate and ornate the carvings are. It is filled with beautiful murals, stained glass, sculptures and so much for the eye to see.

Martin Luther Memorial

This memorial was unveiled in 1868. Isn't that just crazy to think about? It tells the story of The Reformation. The Diet of Worms was held in 1521. Martin Luther was brought to Worms to recant his thesis. He refused. An edict was issued calling him a heretic making it a crime to read or possess his writings. They planned to arrest him. He hid out at Wurtburg Castle. While there he translated the Bible into German.