In September 2010, Fred joined Sheila and me during a vacation in Berlin. Fred and I took a day trip from Berlin to Fürstenhagen, the tiny village where my mother and I had sheltered during the last two years of World War II. You can read more about that in her memoirs here, and there’s more about our visit here.
In the restaurant car on the train to Goettingen
In the restaurant car on the train to Goettingen
On the local train to Ofensen
The local train to Ofensen
The local train leaves Offensen station
Map of the local train to Ofensen
We arrive in Offensen; we tried to rent bikes there but no such thing available in town.
The first road sign confirming we were on the road to Fuerstenhagen; up to then we weren't really sure.
Slaughter festival, from Sept. 20, with "10" pasted over past year
First signs of autumn on road to Fuerstenhagen
Along the road to Fuerstenhagen
Along the road to Fuerstenhagen
Fuerstenhagen - Vacation Location
A drawing by A. Goerer
Looking down the street of the village
On the side street in Fuerstenhagen
View of village from Heerbertstrasse
The creek that runs through the center of town
Another view of the creek
View of the center of the village
Another view of the Pfarrhaus
Side view of the Pfarrhaus.
The Pfarrhaus, southern side
Another view of the church
The church; said to have been built originally as a watch tower
Inside the church. Services only happen once a month; a traveling pastor has six parishes in her charge.
Memorial to the local men killed in the wars.
Neighboring house next to Pfarrhaus
Fred in front of another house in F
Stop press: Kids harvest their potatoes
The museum, in the former schoolhouse
The school was closed in the 90s for lack of attendance
Exhibits in the village museum
Carpentry tools in the village museum
Photo of men of the village at sawmill, historical
Mr. Heinrich Thiele, president of the Heimatsverein (Historical society), showed us around
Mr. Voss lived on the ground floor of the Pfarrhaus at some time during the war, according to Herr Thiele
The Inn
In the Inn
Fred in the Inn with his beer
Photo taken by innkeeper Jens
Fred's lunch; the sausages are all home-made (Jens' brother is a butcher)
We chill at the inn waiting for the bus back to Offensen
We had no complaints about the food at the inn in Fuerstenhagen
Chilling at the inn
With an hour to kill, we ventured into Offensen
Apples on the ground next to Hermann Mueller's house
Fred at the gates of Offensen
The creek in Offensen
A farm courtyard in Offensen
Awesome piece of farm machinery
Windows in Offensen
We ventured a bit into the country hoping for apples ...
Scenery around Offensen
Apples galore
It was definitely apple season in the area
the low-hanging fruit were gone
Reaching for a high one (staged picture!)
Hunting apples
A harvest of happiness
She's so pretty!
We got bored waiting for the train
Back in Berlin at the Hauptbahnhof
Back at Berlin Hauptbahnhof the same evening
On the S-Bahn back to Alexanderplatz
On our last evening in Berlin, Fred made a galette with the apples from Fürstenhagen
Fred's galette emerges from the oven
Fred's galette meets with an enthusiastic reception!
