Day Twenty Three: A Fischborn Thanksgiving

Our day to say goodbye to our family in Thungen, greated us with a very foggy day as though it didn't want us to leave, which I for one could have stayed for more days. Next time. But before leaving, I convinced my traveling companions to start a little later so Caroline could give us a tour of the saw mill and show us her creations. Well worth it. She is such an artist when it comes to seeing what lies within what most people would only see as lumber. She works with new as well as reclaimed timber.

 The fog outside our window.

 Thed saw mill in the fog.

 A reclaimed log from an old wine press.

 These will be joined to become a table.

 A finished desk of two logs.

 Just some of her work.

These logs are actually the limbs of a giant oak.

And then it was on to meet my long lost cousin in Planig Germany. Home of my ancestor who came to America back in the early 1700's and helped settle Pennsylvania.
We found our hotel, got in our rooms, and then went to eat because the ladies were hungry. When we got back I had already had a call from Hans Walter Fischborn. We talked and he picked us up at our hotel and took us to his house which also happens to be where my ancestor Phillip Fischborn was born and lived until he moved to America. The house is too big for Hans Walter, so he now lives next to it in what at one time was the town school house. Here are pictures from the house.

 The street the house is on.

 They also made wine. Hans Walter is now retired and his cousin uses his fields.

 In the houses courtyard. Hans Walter and Mary Ann.

 Hans Walter. The building in background is where he lives now.

 The back porch of my ancestors home/

 The Kitchen and eating area.

 Dinning room.

 Original Couch.

 Plaque stating the date this house was built.

 From the front door.

 The living room and parlor.

 Fischborn Plaque

 Cask of Fischborn Wine.

 In the wine cellar beneath the house.

 Ditto

 One of the last casks of Fischborn wine.

 Hans Walter and me at the back porch.

 Mary Ann and Linda in Hans Walter's house.

At his table.

Hans Walter now pulls out all of the files, books and folders he has collected about the Fischborns over the last 30 or 40 years. Many different families are descendants of the people who once lived in this house.

 One family's history

 The original Fischborns may have come to Germany from Southern England in the 1200's

 A town in Southern England

 Fischborn Crest?

 Another?

The beginning story of the Fischborns in Planig.

We next drive out to the farm of Hans Walter's cousin whose family stills grows grapes and makes wine. Wilma is such a wonderful lady as well as the rest of her family. Though she speaks no English and I no German we communicate very nicely with the help of Hans Walter translation. A quick rest on her porch and she and her husband give us a nice tour of their grounds. but before we can go to the vineyards, we have an appointment back at the family church near Hans Walter's house. A government official will meet us there and record our story for an article he is writing about the Fischborn's of Planig. We meet at the church which was built in 1492. This was where not only Hans Walter and Wilma were baptized, but also where Phillip Fischborn was baptized as well as married oh so long ago.  Across the street is also Wilma's ancestral home. Her sister sold it recently so no tour of that house was available.

 The farm.

 Planig as seen from their farm.

 The grapes have been picked.

 Not all ripen at the right time.

 Wilma's ancestral Home.

 Inside the church.

 Ceiling above the alter.

 Stained glass at the alter. From 1901

 The choir loft.

 Showing the date the church was built.

 Church Entrance.

 Back of church,

So we drive back to the wine farm that Wilma's family still owns and runs.  No sooner are we there, that we head up into the hills to see the vineyards. What you should understand is two things. These hills have been used to grow grapes and make wine since Roman times. These vineyards have been farmed by my family since the 1600's. Oh and also, there are many small plots on every hillside that are owned and passed down through generations. So a hillside full of grapes and vines may be owned by many different families. I just happen to be related to some of the people that work these vines.

Cousin Wilma still picking grapes.

Grapes on the vine. These are left after the harvest. Sooooo good.

 The vineyards above Planig Germany.

 That is Planig in the background.

 Hans Walter, Mary Ann and Wilma's granddaughter Silvia. Silvia spoke very good English.

 Wilma's Husband with his grapes and vines.

 Talking of the grapes.

 Hans Walter in the vineyards.

 As we drove to the top of the vineyards, a small rainbow appeared. You can just see it in the middle of this picture. I wish it would rain for these people. No rain for 3 months.

 Planig from on top of the vineyards.

 Hans Walter, Mary Ann and Wilma on top of the hill.

 People have created a Christian worship area on top of the vineyards. It must be spectacular for Easter morning service.

If you look real hard you can see Wilma's patch of vineyards.Hint. It is just above and to the left of the light patch of newly planted vines.

So here is a video from the top. I tell myself not to do this but I just can't help myself.

So we head back down to Wilma and her husband's winery. They give us a tour of the winery including the tanks where this years harvest is been fermented. They produce a good amount of wine and many different varieties. 

We then went across the street to where some of the more recent Fischborns are buried including Hans Walter's parents.

 Mary Ann and Silvia in the graveyard.

 Hans Walter's Parents and brother who died much too young in an accident.

Then we move to a large room where they do wine tastings. Hans Walter and I pursue our research of my side of the Fischburn/Fishburn family. I believed that Samuel and his son Daniel were the correct branch of the Fischburn family tree. But he asked me for a wife's maiden name and I remembered Muma as a wife's maiden name. We had our match with Elizabeth Muma marrying Samuel who was Daniel's son. Mary Ann and Linda got a big laugh out of someone have the last name of Muma. Don't know why.

And then Wilma and Hans Walter brought out a real German feast. More than I can describe except for the German Quiche that Hans Walter had started and brought with him and then cooked at Wilma's home. So delicious. As well as the Pate, cold cuts and the bottle of Fischborn Riesling to go with it as well as lots of wine from Wilma's winery. And we ate on Wilma's grandmothers's table cloth hand made in 1858. Silvia added much to the conversation with her good understanding of English. And of course everyone was invited to visit us in the United States.

 Nice plants surronding Wilma's patio. Sha also raises beautiful roses of all colors.

 Hans Walter and me on the patio.

 Silvia, Hans Walter and Me.

 Wilma and her husband who still grow grapes and make wine.

 While outside, a formation for swans, geese, or ??? passed over head.

 .

Silvia was the Wine Princess last year. This stands at the entrance to the winery.

 Looking back up the hill towards the vineyards

 The large tasting room.

 Truly a Fischborn Thanksgiving.

The table cloth that we ate on.

We eat and laugh and drink too much. I have truly found new family and have a better understanding of who a Fischborn is and a greater understanding of how we are all one big family. 

Tomorrow we will go with Hans Walter to the state archives to meet with people who work there that my be able to help us compile the Fischborn history. 

Words are not available to describe the welcome we received from people we didn't know but came from a common ancestor. If only we could treat everyone with such respect, the world would truly be a better place.