Emmenthal Region

WARNING:  This post has A LOT of pictures of me.  Rick insisted that I was in EVERY picture!

 

 

On Sunday, after our afternoon nap,  Rick and I took a drive into the Emmenthal Region.  Located just outside of Bern it is filled with little villages.  Many of my ancestors from my dad's side came from these little towns.  These towns have been around at least from the 1600's.

 

 Walkingren

This is where Madlena Wegmueller (the person who I've been looking for) is from.

 

 

Biglen

I know someone from my family came from here but do you think I could find them for my post:(

 

 

Signau

(pronounced Sig-now)

The hometown of Samuel Stucki who listened to the missionaries and moved to America to be with the Saints.  He helped to settle the Santa Clara area.

 

 

Langnau

(pronounced Long-now)

The birthplace of 

Elizabeth Schenk (Samuel's mother) and her parents and grandparents. 

 

 

 

This is one of the gorgeous stained glass windows from the Langnau church.

I loved all of the churches.  They weren't as ornate as some of the churches you find throughout Europe but they were beautiful places of worship all the same.  They ALL had bell towers:)

One thing I love about Europe is all of those ringing church bells!

 

 

Shangnau

(pronounced Shong-now)

This is the hometown of the first Christian Reber and many of his predecessors.

This town is one of my three top beautiful places in the WHOLE WORLD!! 

These pictures do NOT do it justice!

I did not want to leave this place.  I felt very close to my forebears.

 

 

There were many Rebers buried in this cemetery.

(Of course they were buried in the last 25 years.  Remember, no old graves in Switzerland.)

 

 

Rothenbach

pronounce Ro-ten-bok

MaryAnn Stucki Hafen (my great-great grandmother) is from this beautiful little town.  Samuel and Anna were her parents. She had a brother named John and they all came across the plains pulling a handcart in the 1860's.  I LOVE her story.

 

 

On our way home we stopped at this restaurant.  It was great food.  We had eaten here earlier in the week and just had to come back.  Yes, it was Sunday but we did not have any other way of getting food:)  We gave the owner (a BOM and challenged her to read it.  She was a really sweet lady.  Rick actually gave out a total of four BOM's while we were there.  He's quite the missionary:)  Plus just today I sent one out to a man that we met in Prague.  He was Bulgarian and was just working in Prague. We didn't have a Bulgarian

BOM so we had to come home to get one.

 

 

Sunday was a great day!!