As if knowing it was time this morning to turn the calendar page from September to October, the weather turned from sunny, crisp autumn days to gray, chilly overcast skies. The timing couldn’t have been better for the activities that we had planned. Yesterday we enjoyed perfect weather for more walking and sightseeing in the hills and villages around Manebach. My aunt and her husband had driven from Leipzig the day before and were able to join the four of us on this day’s outing.
The plan was to ride the train from Manebach to Rennsteig where we could walk on the forest trails in that area. We walked to the Manebach train station, stopping on the way to look at the street where my grandfather had been born and spent his childhood. The original house has been torn down and replaced with a modern home. The current owners happened to be outside and when they learned why we had stopped there they invited us inside to look at a painting in the hallway that showed the original house.
The train from Manebach had a different schedule from what we had thought. We realized when we got to the station that there was still an hour before departure. Instead of sitting and waiting we decided to get on the train that was ready to leave for Ilmenau. It would be the same train that would turn around in Ilmenau, stopping at Manebach on the way to Rennsteig. It was a short, but scenic ride to Ilmenau where we had time to get off the train and look around before departure to Manebach and Rennsteig.
Today it was time to drive to Leipzig where we will stay with Leo and Gabrielle. They needed to get back for work, but Helga and Uli were kind enough to spend time with us this morning looking at some of the historical places in Manebach. We then drove back to Leipzig with them. The cloudy, drizzly October morning wasn’t a problem, since we weren’t going to be doing outdoor activities.
Living Wonderously 
Love your running narrative of this trip! How fun to see the places where your family lived and worked. Keep ’em coming!