Over the river and through the woods........

............and off to New Ulm, Minnesota! That's what we did yesterday. I convinced my husband that a good way to celebrate our 44th anniversary (it was November 24th) was to take a day-out and visit New Ulm. The weather was very mild and so that's just what we did!  We only live an hour from New Ulm so it was a short trip across country. Our first stop when we got to New Ulm was at the Convention and Visitor's office where we gathered up lots of goodies for other day trips. :-) Then we went around the corner to the Brown County Historical Society. It was very overcast so not good for taking a photo in the morning but if you go here you can see what a lovely building it is and it's history. We were interested in the exhibit on the 1862 Indian Uprising and also found the Century Farms exhibit very interesting. And because it's Christmas, the display of the Menzel Christmas village was just lovely!!

Many shops and places of interest are within walking distance around New Ulm.  The German heritage of New Ulm can be seen up and down the street............

And for lunch, well, of course, we chose .............

If I remember right, this restaurant has been run by the same family since the 1930's. For a moment, we felt like we were stepping back to one of our trips to Germany several years ago! I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and added the "house barbecue" sauce to it. Very yummy! Steve ordered up a Reuben and we both enjoyed a leisurely lunch.

 

After lunch, we took a walk up the street to the Glockenspiel. It sounds so lovely when the bells chime their tunes. I took a picture of Steve taking a picture of it...........

Here's the info on it.............

As we were looking up at the tower, a gentleman approached us to ask what brought us to New Ulm this day. He said his name was Fritz Busch and he was a reporter for the local New Ulm Journal. So we answered his questions and I'll share the photo if it makes the paper. ;-)
With the German Heritage in New Ulm, there are, of course.........Christmas goodies and ornaments to shop for and this little place was a delight! It's another business that has been around since the 1930's!  Earlier, we had bought a little gingerbread ornament at Lambrecht's but Steve was looking for something a little more special. He walked around Domeiers again and again, then finally spotted the ornament that he thought was perfect. And yes, he really did walk around the store three times to find the perfect ornament!  I was impressed!

Our last stop was at the Herman Monument ...........

It was closed for the winter but we're coming back in the summer or fall so we can climb to the top and get the panoramic view out over New Ulm and the Minnesota River Valley. Here's the details on the monument...........

Now you'd think that when reporter Fritz took our photos for the newspaper that perhaps we would have asked him to take a picture of us together. You know, so we would have a record of our day in New Ulm. But no, neither of us thought of that until we were several miles on our way home. So I told my husband that when we got home, we'd take a picture of each other hanging the two ornaments we bought. And so, here he is with the perfect ornament he found at Domeier's............

It's a delicately cut wooden angel in a star and he hung it on the gold and silver tree in our living room.  He's pointing to it so you won't miss it.  :-)
And then in the family room next to our kitchen, I hung the gingerbread ornament on the little tree next to our fireplace.............

We had a lovely day on our trip.........over the river and through the woods.......to New Ulm!
So, that's the story of two new ornaments added to our Christmas goodies. Today, I'm going to set up the tree in our basement family room. More ornaments, more memories, fun way to spend the day.  Happy Sunday!
Sandi