Dec 5, Meet the Edestal Scheumbauers

Margit, Karl, and Maria picked us up at the Pinkafeld hotel at 9:00 am sharp.  (Margit is always right on time!)  First we drove through Weisfleck again to see some homes and to pick up a bottle of schnapps that Elizabeth and her husband wanted to give us.  We arrived at their home to find they were celebrating Elizabeth's 60th birthday.

Karl then started driving to Edestal, a small rural town in Austria about two hours northeast of Pinkafeld.  This is where the Scheumbauers first settled in Austria before some migrated to Pinkafeld and Weisfleck.  A number of Scheumbauers still live there.

Along the way, we stopped in a small town (have forgotten name) where Mary's grandmother, Anna, was from.  That town is famous for this castle.

A short time later, we stopped for lunch, the main meal, at a "Steak House."  Mary and I both had the Austrian version of filet mignon. Not nearly as good as one in the USA.

Continued on to Edestal, to the home of Anna and Joseph.  Anna is another second cousin of Mary.

We were served cake, coffee, and schnapps.  But it was difficult to eat so close the big lunch we just had.

We were joined by Anna's two sisters.  Here is Mary with three of her second cousins!

We took a walk through Edestal to the local cemetery, where several Scheumbauers are buried.

Near the cemetery was the town's Catholic church.

We walked down the street where "all the Scheumbauers" have lived.

We stopped at Eduard's house, another second cousin of Mary.  He and his wife were home.  The front gate to the house revealed another compound-like setting, with several buildings and barns to the rear.

This was the site of the home of Mary's grandfather, John (who came to the US in 1904).  We think one of these structures was the original home before it was expanded into the current compound.

The barn housed several horses.  Eduard and his wife bred and raised horses as a hobby, riding them and riding horse-driven carts.

About 4:30, Karl, Margit, and Maria drove us from Edestal to Vienna, another two-hour drive.  We parked in Christina's apartment parking lot.  As we walked to our hotel, we saw the front of Christina's apartment building and other Christmas street scenes .

After two such fun days with wonderful hosts, it was sad to say goodbye to them.  Getting back up to our room, we appreciated the street view we had from our room.