Durbach

Page 1 | Page 2

After the organized tour was over, my parents and I stayed an extra week in Germany to visit with relatives in the towns where their parents were from. The first of these we visited was Durbach, the home town of my maternal grandmother. We were fortunate in that my Uncle Reinhard (actually he's my mom's cousin, but I've always called him that for as long as I can remember), who grew up here before coming to the U.S., and who has numerous friends from childhood in the area, was able to meet us and play tour guide.

Durbach is really a really beautiful little town. The whole town isn't more than a few miles from end to end, but it's surrounded by some of the loveliest countryside I've ever seen. It's in a big wine making region so all the hills surrounding the town are covered with grape vineyards literally as far as the eye can see. This coupled with the quaint old style half-timbered buildings in the center of town give it a very picturesque look. In fact, its surroundings and wine industry have in recent years made it a popular spot for sightseers and hikers. Arriving in late September with less than ideal weather, there weren't many out-of-towners when we were there. But Uncle Reinhard said that in the summer months in good weather there are hikers all over the surrounding hills. And my great aunt Renate, whom we met on our second day there, said to me that if it weren't for the wine industry, Durbach would be as "pure as a church mouse".

I have a lot of pictures from Durbach so I split them among two pages. Don't forget to check out page 2 at the link above!

Welcome to Durbach!	Mom & Uncle Reinhard	Recognize this name?	Durbach Church
Church Dedication	Altar	pulpit	pulpit stair
me @ Franco-Prussian War Monument	Franco-Prussian Monument side	a fallen ancestor	Monument Dates
Obelisk closeup	WW1 & WW2 memorials	more family names	Mom & me & Lauinger House
Lauinger House other side	Durbach Town Hall	Town Partnership	Mountain Bomb Shelter