A big impetus of joining Chrissy on her work trip was to show Sophia and Josie some of their family history. My grandparents on my Fathers side emigrated to Canada from the Eifel area of Germany in 1926. In 1993 I was fortunate to join my parents and two older brothers to see first hand some of our family history and in many ways I planned to re-trace my previous trip with my kids to Mayen, Luxen, Weiler and the town of Kehrig.
Mayen
As the largest town within the area Grandpa would often refer to Mayen as a beautiful town that his family would sometime visit. Through my youth we had a commemorative metal plate of Mayen that was displayed in the house showing the Rathaus and I have vivid memories of a postcard of a church with a twisted steeple. Seeing the steeple in 1993 has always stayed with me so I was excited to once again visit the town.
We arrived around the town square and just started walking eventually finding a cool recreated medieval wall to walk on.
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| Herz Jesu Kirche |
With no real destination in mind we wandered until one of the girls complained that they needed to pee. This is a pretty common occurrence for us so our spidey senses instinctively knew where to find facilities. However, we didn't expect the facilities we found to lead us to a museum and mine that could be toured: Genovevaburg & Eifel Museum. Each floor of the museum presented a different aspect of the area
Sixteen metres below the museum is a 340-metre-long labyrinth of tunnels providing vivid information about the work and everyday life of the slate miners. Super cool!
After the museum and mine tour we were off to find lunch. We wandered into the main square admiring the beautifully reconstructed Altes Rathaus.
You may have noticed I have already used the term recreated and reconstructed. That is because during World War II approximately 90% of Mayen was destroyed. After the war and following a special referendum the people voted to rebuild the town.
Special shout out to Emils Bistro where we stopped for lunch. The staff were wonderful and seemingly smitten with our girls. They brought them both complimentary desserts and even a shot of amaretto for myself and Chrissy. They also didn't bat an eyelid when Josie locked herself in a bathroom and I had to go into the damentoilette to rescue her.
Full from lunch we did some toy shopping and then arrived at St. Clemens Church and its famous twisted steeple. Legend says that the devil himself twisted the steeple like a corkscrew into its current shape. The theory for why it really happened is that the wood used was not properly cured and the carpenters did the installation with it anyways. With the amount of reconstruction in Germany after the war that seems to make sense but I kind of like the legend and am choosing to believe that.
Luxem
Grandpa and his brothers served in World War I for the German army. Although Grandpa sustained injuries he and his brothers survived the war. In thanksgiving for surviving the war the family erected a large stone cross at the entry to the town of Luxem where they lived. Affectionately known as the Kehrig Cross our family stopped to visit the shrine.
Weiler
In 1920 my Grandparents were married, the first wedding celebration in the town after World War I, in St. Kastor Church in Weiler. Considering how small the town is the church is surprisingly large and well maintained.
While in the church we had our Josephine stand where her Great Grandmother Josephine would have stood over 100 years ago on that fateful wedding day.
Town of Kehrig
While the girls were excited to visit a town with their own last name I was probably more excited to once again visit. I mean it has been my own last name for more than 40 years! It was fun following the road signs and counting down the kilometres on the signs as we got closer...and finally we arrived.
I wouldn't qualify 'our town' as a tourist mecca with many sights to take in but it was cool to see. The town and the houses within are well kept. While posing for pictures with the town sign we even had a big tractor come racing by. Well kept and farm equipment is pretty much how I envision every visit to my uncles and aunts so I feel that the name Kehrig is mutually well suited.
We walked the streets looking tough to shake down some residents to pay their toll to the returning princesses. Lucky for them we didn't find any other pedestrians.
After walking by the library and school we found ourselves at the Church of St. Kastor and Katharina. Once again a well maintained and picturesque church. I especially liked seeing the old banners with our name on them.
Finally it was time to leave and as Chrissy would caption it - The town wasn't big enough to hold all us Kehrigs.
Cousin Günter
Like many of my aunts, uncles and cousins before me I was welcomed warmly by my cousin Günter when visiting the area. It had been maybe 30 years since I had last seen Gunter and Martina but they amazingly have not seem to have aged. They were so gracious in inviting us to visit their home and treated us to an authentic Eifel area lunch.
We were so wrapped up in visiting I regretfully forgot to take a picture of our two families together. Thankfully, Chrissy thought to grab a picture of myself and Günter while the kids played at an indoor play area.
I hope that our families can visit once again soon whether it be back in Germany or here in Canada.
