Wahl. It’s German pronounced /vôl/

A year ago I went on the most amazing adventure. So I figure now it's suiting to put that adventure into words...

Christopher Wahl was born in Angersbach, Germany in 1814 so I decided while I was working in Germany that I would venture over to that town. It was a Wednesday and I had spent the morning talking to the Major about getting orders to come back to work later in the year. After I had taken care of that meeting I was able to take the rest of the day off. So I went to my barracks room, showered, and headed for the bus stop to head for the train station.

Angersbach is about an hour and a half away from Wiesbaden by car but by train it probably took me about three hours or more. I took a train from Wiesbaden to Frankfurt to Fulda to Angersbach. The last train to Angersbach was the tiniest train I had ever seen in my life literally just one little train car but the real surprise came when I got off the train and was dropped off on the side of the train tracks with no station to be seen. As I did a whirl around to look at my surroundings the town was to my right and to my left a cemetery. I had never been so excited in my life to see a grave yard because I figured if anyone in my lineage was still left in town then there would have to be some people in the cemetery or I could at least see my ancestors from the 1800’s grave stones. So I ventured over across the street to the cemetery by this time it was going on 1700.

My first thought when walking into the cemetery was to look for dates in the 1800’s but to my surprise all of the headstones were fairly new spanning all within the lifetime of my parents nothing older than 1980. After a little disappointment I finally realized I should just look for my name and at that moment I looked up and right in front of me was the grave of Elisabeth and Georg Wahl. With a rush of excitement I started running through the small cemetery and took pictures of all the grave sights I could find with my name. Nine is the total of plots I found.

As I was getting to the end of searching through graves I turned around to see an elderly woman walking into the cemetery carrying an umbrella. She looked at me kind of did a double take and kept walking. I thought this was my chance to I walked up to her and said "Hallo sprechen sie Englisch?", but just as I had figured in such a small town she did not. I had tried to convey to her that my name was Megan Wahl and that I came from America and I was tracing my heritage but neither of us could understand the other. It donned on me to open the translate app on my phone so I got to typing and as it automatically translated she was able to read what I was typing. I couldn’t convey to her that she could type as well so that I could read what she was saying but there was something about the interaction where I could still understand her.

She told me that I needed to go into the middle of the town in the morning and that there I would find someone who spoke English, but being that I needed to be back in Wiesbaden that night I would not be able to do that. She asked me where I was sleeping and I had replied Wiesbaden. I then told her danke shon gave her a big hug that I think caught her off guard and turned to head towards town. As I was leaving we both turned to look at each other one last time. Tears swelled up in her eyes as she started talking about something being good and then about a man. For a moment we were just two women standing in a cemetery crying together and sharing that space. We turned and went our separate ways.

So I was off into the town walking the same path that my ancestors did hundreds of years ago. I crossed the train tracks and a small river. I was taken back at how beautiful the German country side was in the middle of February.

I continued walking towards the town center and taking photos of the landscape and houses. As I was taking a panoramic of the scene in front of me this little silver car drove right through "ruining" my picture. The little silver car pulled into the drive way of the house right in front of me. I didn't give it much thought, just letting all of my senses take in the experience I was having, that was until, the woman from the cemetery got out of the vehicle and came walking towards me. Across the street at the same time a man and two children were getting out of a mini van and going into their home. The woman with me called out to the man explaining my situation, from what I could get from their exchange he did not want anything to do with the young American girl the stumbled upon his street. The old woman turned back to me and took me up under the arm. She told me that the woman in the bar speaks English.

So with her arm entangled in mine we headed back the path I just took. We just walked in silence, but it was so comfortable. She felt like a grandmother figure as she rubbed my arm and gave me a look that said "where is your coat young lady?" To be fair I was exploring Germany in only a long sleeve and vest and it was quite chilly. I laughed and gave her sorry eyes. In that silence as the sun started to go down we spoke so many words. Eventually, we got back to the train tracks. We walked down a driveway behind a house and to the barn. It had obviously been converted into a home. Inside I could see a woman reading in her chair. The woman from the cemetery knocked on the door. The woman inside, surprised to see anyone at this house, put down her book and answered the knock. The two women exchanged words in their native tongue, and I just stood there patiently waiting. As their conversation came to an end the woman in the doorway looked at me and I said "Do you speak English?" She responded, "yes, come in".

I had never been so happy to be able to communicate freely again. As the three of us stood there in the living room she offered us coffee and sat me in a seat. I opted for tea and the woman from the cemetery declined. She told me goodbye and I told her thank you once again. I never did get her name, that is a regret of mine. After she left the other woman handed me a cup of tea and introduced herself as Doris. She sat down in her reading chair next to me and we got to me and we got to talking. She asked me where I would be staying that night and I told her I needed to train back to Wiesbaden for work in the morning. Looking at the clock she seemed appalled, she informed me that the next train wouldn't come for another hour and asked me what I would do until then. When I replied that I didn't know and figured I would just wonder around town she flipped on that motherly switch, just as the woman from the cemetery had when she realized I had no coat, and said "oh no you won't you'll stay here".

Doris took great care of me. She asked me if I had already had dinner, I was slightly embarrassed to tell her the last time I ate was before noon. It was well after 1800 at this point so she went straight for the fridge, pulling out bread and meats and cheeses. She told me to come to the table where I would be more comfortable and laid out the whole spread. I didn't realize I was so hungry until that moment. She sat and watched me as I scarfed down the food. I can only imagine what must've been going through her mind. As I finished she offered me more, but I politely declined because I didn't want to seem like too much of a burden. When she offered cookies I just had to accept.

We sat at the table for awhile talking and getting to know each other. I had told her about Christopher and how he immigrated to the United States after being born in Angersbach in 1815. I also had his parents names and their birthday which Doris took down in a notepad. I learned that Doris was a school teacher in her younger years. She taught English and geography to elementary and middle school age students. She was born and raised in that tiny German town and worked only a few train stops away. Hence why Doris was able to speak English. If I can remember correctly her school where she taught closed down. She may have moved schools once or twice after but eventually retired.

The barn house that she lived in was the original barn for the main home in front where her father still lived. The dining furniture he had was all handmade by her father. As we sat there telling each other stories there was a knock at the door. It was the post man delivering a bouquet of flowers. Doris asked herself out loud what they were for while she got a vase of water for them. I inquired if they could have been for Valentine's Day which was just the day before but she didn't think that was it. She read the card that was attached saying that her daughter had send them for her birthday, which just so happened to be that same day that I showed up on her door step! From there I learned that Doris had three daughters, one who lived about an hour away, one who I would later meet who lived in the main house with Doris' father and a third who was disabled and lived upstairs.

I asked tons of questions about Doris' life and the town of Angersbach. I told her how my adventure in the cemetery went and she informed me that they dig up the graves every thirty-five years and that in the cities it was sometimes twenty. I just couldn't imagine doing that at home I don't think that Americans would stand for it. We talked about the people and the different cultures from her country and mine and how once again I didn't think an American would let a random foreigner into their home in the dark. We had a laugh as she said "well you're not a big scary man," as she puffed up her chest and flexed her arms.

It felt like hours had passed as the time went by. We decided to exchange contact information, she didn't have an email though so she called her daughter in the main house to come over. Her name was Eva and when she came over I learned about her children too and all of Doris' grandchildren. I have this notebook I take traveling with me so that the interesting people I meet can sign, date, and write where we met so I got Doris to put her information in there. She took down all of my info and let me know that she was going to help me with my search of finding living relatives in Angersbach. The next day was a Monday so she was going to go into town and speak to the Mayor for me.

As it got closer to the time that the train would come Eva went to the house to grab her coat. Doris and her daughter walked me to the ticket booth and paid for the fair for my way home. I rode the train home listening to Spotify and reflecting on the amazing day I had just had. I went straight to my barracks to tell my friend ED all about it and after he said "That's the sh*t they make movies about" and I said it really is. Now don't get me wrong it's not some blockbuster hit, but I could probably make it big with Hallmark.

Later that week I was flying back to the United States so I didn't get to talk to Doris again while I was there. I did however receive an email from the Mayor who just so happened to be a distant relative and was able to put me in contact with a few more of my family members and give me lineage that went back even further than the 1800's but all the way back to the 1500's. This week I sent Doris a birthday card and I'll be excited to wait for a return letter in the mail. Thank you for reading about my adventure.