Metz, Monday, May 17

Our driver encountered a traffic accident on the way to pick us up and arrived a half hour late. Fortunately, he had the hotel contact information and was able to call ahead and warn us.

Our first stop was Braunshausen, where Pat and Kathleen were looking for the Biel family. We found a headstone with a Biel woman married to a Wagner in the small, immaculately kept cemetery. This was a recent headstone, so it was not an ancestor, but may be a relative that could lead to further discoveries. In fact, there was an older gentleman at the cemetery who knew this family. Through our driver, he told us that her Biel family only came to this town in the 1970s from nearby Trier. Furthermore, his daughter had a Familienbuch for the town. With the help of the granddaughter, who spoke some English, we were able to get a quick look at the book and exchange email addresses to allow follow up.


We next went on to Trier where we had a bus tour booked. The guide rode with us as she explained some of the Roman history of the town. The Porta Nigra gate and the audience hall of Emperor Constantine are still standing and there are many ruins of Roman baths and buildings all over town. Someone with an interest in Roman history could easily spend a week or two here. We finished off with a short walk to the centre of the historical area and a quick trip to the souvenir shop.

From Trier, it was a short 20 minute trip to Kimmlingen for Lee. Her Kimmlinger family had come from an estate by that name and took the name as their surname. The hamlet consisted of only about a dozen dwellings with no church or cemetery, but we learned that locals were buried in Kordel, 2 km away. There we found several headstones with the name Kimmlingen. So, although the stones were again too new to be ancestors, they show that the family is still in the area and it may be possible to follow up further. We also found a Biehl, indicating that they may be spread more widely around this area.

We then proceeded on to Metz for the night. Most of us ate in the hotel restaurant and retired early.

We started the day with a clear sky and bright sun, but it did not last. As we drove west it gradually became overcast, then dark overcast, then occasional light rain, and even one short moderate rain shower at Braunshausen, but it cleared to a thin overcast with occasional sunny breaks soon after. Temperature reached the mid teens C.

Our hotel rooms were pretty tiny with two very narrow single beds. With a couple of suitcases sitting around, it was hard to find a place to set foot. We just have to keep telling ourselves that we're not at home any more and it doesn't matter when you are sleeping.