Wow! Now that I am home again I want to share with you the amazing trip we had. It started out with one mishap after another.
We were recommended to get a PCR test prior to our flight. After calling around, the options for the test were rather limited in our area. My sister who was to join us was also having trouble locating a test in her area. So she changed her flight to fly to Seattle a day early to get the test. To make a long story short the three of us paid an outrageous amount at SeaTac for a test that no one looked at. Basically all the documents that we filed and carried with us were never asked for.
The morning of our flight was filled with anxiety and trepidation.
We dropped the dog off at the pet sitter, and then caught the ferry to Seattle with our luggage in tow. We had a walk up the hill from the ferry to the light rail that goes to SeaTac. About half way we came to a section where the homeless of Seattle had their tents and sleeping bags spread out on the sidewalk and the little open space at one corner, that forced us to walk on the street over very uneven cobblestones that caused me to fall. I picked myself up and trudged on. A rather ominous start. The homeless situation in Seattle is at a critical tipping point. My recommendation is do not visit Seattle, no matter what.

Once at the airport it was just a matter of patience getting through check-in and TSA. Our flight was Seattle to Amsterdam on Delta and then changing to KLM for our flight to Zurich. Another mishap upon arrive in Amsterdam. In the rush to deplane a passenger dropped her carry-on bag out of the overhead bin onto my sisters head. OMG! My sister let out a cry of alarm and pain. The attention of the Delta team was courteous and helpful in taking care of my sister and getting her to our connecting flight. She had a goose egg for a few days but no other effects, thank goodness. Armed with more paperwork we made a trolley tour of the Amsterdam airport in getting to our connecting flight. My husband had decided to walk and arrived at the same time to our gate as the trolley.

Arrived in Zurich. After customs, which we were waved through, we learned that my sister-in-law (Liz) and her friend had flight connection problems in Chicago. Her flight to Chicago was canceled and she had to fly to Denver, then Munich and arrived about fifteen minutes after us in Zurich. Her friend was delayed on her flight to Chicago due to weather had missed her connecting flight in Chicago and had to stay over in Chicago. She would not be arriving until the following day. We had a rental car, well it was actually a large Mercedes van. My husband was the designated driver. Loaded up and ready to roll.

Off to Radolfzell.

Our border crossing from Switzerland into Germany was a traffic jam. It took an hour to travel about a quarter mile. Once at the crossing the guard took one look at one passport, ”Americans?” With our affirmative response he waved us through. Again no papers were checked.
Our hotel for the first part of our trip was in Radolfzell am Bodensee, a charming boutique hotel at the edge of the old town center where cobbled streets lined with shopping and outdoor restaurants invited one to leisurely enjoy the charming town on Lake Constance in Baden Wϋrttemberg, Germany.

The next morning my husband and his sister got back in the van and drove back to the Zurich airport to pickup the last of our group who had spent the night in Chicago. While i had my meeting with the Local archivist in Radolfzell.

My next posting will be about all the genealogy information that I was gifted with in Radolfzell and Böhringen.
Til next time.