Luedenscheid - Part 2 Blind Date

June 3rd,
It is nice being in the same place for a few days, leisurely enjoying breakfast and random conversations of places and people that are dear to us. But today we also want to visit the old and the new in downtown Luedenscheid. Two things to keep in mind: 1. There are only curvy streets, 2. There are no level streets, it is either up or down. That is what happens when the town is built into the valleys and ridges. Makes for beautiful views but I still can't find my way around the town.
What's with the Blind Date? Read on and be enlightened!

With windy, hilly roads, signs like this are a great help. Well, they would be if you can read old German.

This is the one photo in this whole blog that I did not take. It shows the Altstadt (old town). Imagine a town built in a circle that you can walk across in five minutes. Of course today the town spreads out over hill and dale but there was a time when the entire town was roughly this size.

While the new town center is packed with shops and people, the old town is quiet, with gentle houses, rough cobblestones, and the occasional tree, well manicured and neat.

And the occasional fountain.

And small shops, this one belonging to a butcher with a pig that does not want to be anybody's meal.

In the new down town is this statue of Onkel Willy. Everyone in Luedenscheid knows Onkel Willy and his little dog. For as long as most can remember he ran a tobacco and sweets shop. No one remembers Willy without a cigar in his hand. Magdelene remembered what a treat it was as a child to go to his shop with a fist full of coins to buy some sweets.

And now to the Blind Date. This cute little cafe, located in the old town, offers good food but that is not what makes it special. They also invite you to partake in a Blind Date.

The cafe is part of a program that provides work for people with disabilities.  And they invite you to enjoy a meal while blindfolded. Really a great idea to help the rest of us get a "glimpse" into what disabled people deal with every day. 

The broader program for the disabled includes living quarters, training and workshops where they create many things out of wood and cloth. Unfortunately the workshop and craft store associated with it were not open to the public during the week we were in Luedenscheid.

Leaving the town proper, we wind our way up to some friends home with this wonderful view of part of the city and the surrounding tree covered hills.

Friedrich-Wilhelm and Doris (Magdelene's sister) treated us to a very delicious strawberry torte and much reminiscing over times gone by. Blanka's family have known this family for more than 50 years so there was much to recall.

Warm sunshine and warmer fellowship made this a very memorable day!