I caught the train, on time and made it to my destination, the Andernach Bahnhof. I then found the bus station in Andernach and got on the 335 bus to Ochtendung. Again on time and no problem. In Ochtendung I was supposed to have a five minute wait and then the second bus was supposed to come that would take me to Minkelfeld. It never showed.
I looked at my itenerary and saw that it was supposed to be an eleven minute bus ride. Surely I would be able to walk the distance that took a bus only eleven minutes to travel. So I looked for the next bus stop and the route, set my eyes on it and started walking. I was soon outside of the city limits of Ochtendung and surrounded by some of the most beautiful rolling farmland I have ever seen.
I made it to a the first small town along the road and managed to ask some inhabitants where Minkelfeld was. They pointed the way to me, over the hill, under the Autobahn, and take a right. Great.
I took the right after the Autobahn and there it was, the town of Minkelfeld, all of ten houses. I saw the church that my Grandad had described to me. I was walked down the street until I came across a women out with her dog and asked her where the Eschs lived. She pointed me to the house right next to the church. I started to get pretty excited because this was unfolding just as my Grandad had said it would.
I went to the house next to the church just as a man was driving a tractor into the driveway. I followed him in and introduced myself as he got out of the cab. He is Junior. Senior Herr Esch had pulled up in a car behind me without me realizing it.
These Eschs are still living in the original farmhouse that was built in the 1800's by my ancstors. Herr Esch still has the key to the church where Mass is celebrated once a month. (He was very excited to find out that we were "still Catholic even though we lived in Evangelical America").
I talked with Herr Esch for two hours, all in German, and learned about my family. Minkelfeld has ten houses, three of which now occupy Eschs. There is another cousin who lives in Cologne who has done some extensive family research, he supposedly has six thousand names assembled, who lost track of the family after they immigrated to America. AKA: my family is the missing link.
I got an email from the Cologne cousin later in the day and I am hopefully going to meet up with him sometime this week to give him any and all information that I am able to provide about the family.
At the end of my visit, Junior gave me a ride back to the bus stop because "Eschs don't let Esch's walk". It was a great day.
Me with the Minkelfeld sign. Gotta love self timers.
The Esch Family home.
The Church that Herr Esch still has the key to.
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