Albert and Gerti Graetz, who live near Frankfurt, Germany, have soaked up sunrises and sunsets all over the world.
Albert and Gerti Graetz, who live near Frankfurt, Germany, have soaked up sunrises and sunsets all over the world.
On Sept. 29, their MS Hamburg Cruise Ship, with a 17-day travel itinerary, docked in Cleveland following some rough weather that caused them to depart a day late from Montreal, Quebec.
Weather took a turn for the better, however, and a group of about 50 travelers landed in Middlefield via bus for a tour of Amish country with Destination Cleveland.
“Part of their interest in visiting Geauga County is to meet some of our Amish community and see how well they can communicate with the Amish, and to learn a bit more about their culture,” Destination Cleveland Director Lynda Nemeth said, of Discover My Cleveland.
Nemeth met the ship at the dock in the morning and after clearing customs, the group headed to Geauga County.
“The visit was very impressive,” said Albert, speaking fluent English. “We could talk to Amish people, get an impression from their way of living and even could see a school where the pupils were singing for us in Amish language. We even could understand a lot because of the German roots.”
Upon arrival, German guests visited the Middlefield Original Cheese Co-op and then Nauvoo Family Market.
They then arrived at Heritage Marketplace’s event center for homemade ham and cheese sandwiches on fresh baked buns, a sliced potato medley and fresh fruit, with time to explore various shops, take a buggy ride and visit the Geauga Amish Historical Library.
The library is home to books and bibles dating back to the 1500s, as well as articles of clothing dating back to the 1800s from Geauga County and other settlements.
According to Middlefield Township history, by 1866, Amish from Holmes County, in search of fertile farmland, started migrating north into Geauga County, settling in Middlefield Township — the second largest settlement in Ohio and the fourth largest settlement in North America.
“This is exciting,” said GAHL board member John Gingerich, who led the tour and is currently working with a German television station to do a documentary about the Amish. “It’s great to show off Geauga County.”
He said he enjoyed watching the transformation of the group — which mostly spoke German, but was accompanied by a translator — from being somewhat quiet and subdued when they first arrived to becoming very engaged, talkative and energized by the time they left.
“We had many good conversations at the Geauga Amish Historical Library and they seemed to be impressed with how the Amish have preserved their heritage, beliefs, language and culture,” Gingerich said. “People from different countries, various cultures and belief systems still share common values.”
Albert, a retired CFO, and wife started first visiting America in 1988.
Throughout their lives, they have visited more than half of the world’s countries.
“I’m living in a world and I want to see the world,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot.”
This time, they wanted to see where some of their Amish forebears emigrated from their country.
Victoria Henkel, 22, of the Bergisches Land region along the east bank of the Rhine River, is a law student in Germany and said she found it interesting the Amish are originally from Germany and have come to places like Geauga County and become part of the culture.
“It’s cool,” said Henkel, who has also completed undergraduate studies in the United States. “We have cultural ties.”
Nemeth said guests really enjoyed the day, especially the Amish school house.
The children even sang for them.
“It was beautiful,” Nemeth said. “I hope they take away great memories of their visit to Geauga County and a better understanding of the Amish community that they share with others who might like to visit us in the future.”
Before boarding their return trip from Montreal back to Germany, visits include Detroit, Traverse City, Chicago, Milwaukee, Mackinac Island and various stops in Canada.
Nemeth is happy they chose to visit Geauga County.
“We worked with this cruise line in 2018 and 2019, but their Amish Country Tours were already set to visit Holmes County,” Nemeth said. “We worked really hard to bring them back to Geauga County. We have so much to offer and I love being able to share our beautiful county as a destination and bring those tourism dollars back to our county.”
The Graetzs said they were delighted by their decision to visit Middlefield’s Amish country.
“Altogether it is fascinating to see how two very different cultures live aside each other, but also together,” Albert said. “It really was worth it to come to Middlefield.”
