The Kitchen Tour – A Tasty Return to the Homeland (Part 2)

Turning What You Love into What You Do
By Patrick J. O’Connor

The Kitchen Tour: A Unique, Long-lasting Experience
Part II – Lifetime Memories 

Part I detailed plans for Maria and Heidi to return to their homeland for the trip of a lifetime. Memories of the Kitchen Tour follow.

Maria and Heidi’s Kitchen Tour began under the direction of driver and cousin Georg Foisel Jr. Their first stop was Munich, Germany, visiting Heidi’s cousin Helga, her husband Georg, their children, and grandchildren, dining at the famous Hofbrau Haus.

They then traveled to Kirchheim Unter Tech, near Stuttgart, Germany, located near the foothills of a castle (tech is castle in German). This is  the hometown of Maria’s Uncle Georg Foisel and Aunt Rosina. Many family members celebrated Uncle Georg’s 90th birthday party in May 2023. Everyone was thrilled to be together and welcome relatives from America to celebrate this special occasion. 

The next stop was Attersee, Austria, to spend time with Heidi’s cousin Helmut and Hanni, who own a bed-and-breakfast  overlooking the lakes and mountains. They dined at Druckerhof, a mountaintop restaurant/hotel with a beautiful panoramic view of Austria.   

Cousin Georg then escorted them to Vocklamarkt, Austria, to visit the churches where Maria’s and Heidi’s parents were married. They even visited the jewelry store where their parents shopped for their wedding rings! Maria is included in the 1954 wedding photos of Heidi’s parents, Michael and Elisabeth Adam. They also went to Heidi’s grandmother Paulina’s home in Redl-Zipf. Even though Heidi visited her only once, she and her brother John have very fond memories of her. They also met Heidi’s Aunt Anni, her cousin Iris and her daughter Katarina for lunch at Zipfer Brewery, where Heidi’s dad worked as a young man. 

The traveling trio next left for Salzburg, Austria to enjoy breakfast at an elegant outdoor café overlooking the Salzburg Love Lock Bridge  with a view of Salzburg Castle on the Hill.  They then returned to Siegen, Germany to visit their Aunt Rosina,  Uncle Walter and cousins Christine and Uwe.  They enjoyed many delicious meals in their garden. 

Heidi  is fluent in German and was able to converse with older relatives who spoke no English. Cousin Maximillan taught Maria and Heidi to use Google Translate so they could communicate with the older relatives. Technology and traveling (aka “holiday” in Europe) were popular topics of conversation.

Favorite Memories
The Kitchen Tour generated many wonderful memories with a few highlighted in the following three areas…

Family
Heidi and Maria were blessed to stay with family who treated them as if they had never been apart. They were able to connect with their families, as everyone they met was related to one or both of them. It was also the first time they met many of their cousins and their children. It was an experience they will always cherish because they spent so much time together. 

Maria and Heidi could have done this trip individually, but it was better together. They were surprised to learn how similar  their lives are with their relatives even though they are an ocean apart. They were also pleasantly surprised to enjoy the slower, relaxing European lifestyle. Of course, visiting all their cousins and families was the icing on the torte!  

Food
They enjoyed many memorable meals on the Tour, and it was wonderful being together in the kitchen. Breakfasts in Germany and Austria began with fresh rolls from the bakery served with meats, cheeses, soft-boiled eggs, fruit, homemade jellies and pastries. They had many wonderful soups, including Gooseberry Soup with berries from Uncle Georg’s garden. 

Schnitzel was popular at almost every restaurant  along with Weiss Wurst (white sausage) and potato dumplings. Favorite desserts were Strudel, Cremeschnitten (Napoleons) and Palatschniken (crepes).  And there was always homemade wine from Uncle Georg’s grapes, beer and delicious cappuccinos! 

Great food and conversation were abundant everywhere. Everyone wanted to cook for them, and preparation was almost as important as dining. Watching and listening to relatives describe what and how they were preparing delicious meals was a flavorful education. And the aromas will  remain in their memories for life. 

Fluttery
The Fluttery Feeling is when everything goes exactly as it should. Time seems to stand still and there are no worries or concerns about anything. Maria and Heidi report the entire experience gave them the Fluttery Feeling with the following highlights:

• meal preparation and dining on home-cooked food from  kitchen to kitchen
• traveling through the beautiful countryside
• laughter and conversation with relatives they met for the first time

Für immer schließen  – Close Forever
The idea of being in the kitchen turned out to be better than expected, as spending time together was the priority. Everyone has lifetime memories to keep them close together forever. Maria and Heidi now have a deeper and more loving respect for their relatives and ancestry. Goodbyes can be  difficult but when Maria said goodbye to her Uncle Georg, his last words to her were, “The next time we meet it will be in heaven.” See you then, Uncle Georg.

Author’s Note
Maria and Heidi contributed much of the content and photos for this segment. My special thanks to them for their part and for honoring me to chronicle their Kitchen Tour. I’ve enjoyed  the Fluttery Feeling the entire time. Thanks, ladies.

P.S. Heidi is fluent in German so she will be translating this blog piece into German to share with relatives in Austria and Germany. Nice to have an international audience! Feel free to comment in any language below.