 
2005 - An Unforgettable Summer!
On June 24th, Ralph's brother Dan invited us on a boat trip to Baltimore Inner
Harbor. We visited the aquarium, ate seafood, toured shops and got a panorama
view of the city from an observation deck.
July 4th Celebration at the Harvey Bee Farm
 
 
A German TV crew happend to come for a shoot of the bee farm while we were there.
 
8 of 11 siblings were present
Trip to Austria, July 7 - 25, 2005
In spite of much rain and cool weather, we enjoyed the scenery! Most lakes were
at flood stage.
The water was icy, but Opa jumped in for a swim with the kids.
When it rained, our grandchildren entertained us and vice-versa.
To see and hear a video clip of the accordion trio, click on the left photo!
A trip to the zoo is mandatory! It only rained when we were about to leave..
The Zieglers have their own zoo.
We did many other interesting things like visiting a castle and decorating ceramic
dishes at the world famous Gmunden Ceramic Factory
In Gmunden, Austria, we visited a nice toy museum (above photos), a bicycle
museum and a Toilet Museum!
We also visited a wild-west town in Bavaria called "Pullmann City."
We visited with many friends and former neighbors
Verna's birthday had to be celebrated too! Finally, came the farewells. We ate a
fantastic meal in a restaurant high up on a mountainside overlooking the
turquoise Attersee Lake.
Verna eating her ice cream wrapped in pancakes with whipped cream and chocolate
on top!
Verna's 65th Birthday at Home
Dave and Nancy took good care of our house and garden. Dave got stung several
times by yellow jackets while mowing the lawn. Verna had a bountiful harvest
of tomatoes and zucchini. The sunflowers and crepe-myrtle were higher than the edge of
our roof!
Verna's brother and sister-in-law and a cousin with her husband, that she had
not seen in 38 years came to visit on July 27th. A number of Ralph's relatives
came to celebrate on the 28th.
Verna's birthday present from Ralph was a new kitchen floor. He wanted to lay it right
away, but it was unbearably hot, Ralph had to preach on the 31st, we were both
tired from all our travels and celebrating, and finally, Ralph Junior was here
and wanted to walk on the Ocean City Boardwalk. Ralph had to stop to catch his
breath several times, which is unusual. He had the same experience while hiking
in the Alps, but thought it was because he had not been in the mountains for a
while. Even on our normal half-hour hike at home, he was having breathing
difficulty and on Tuesday, August 2, he also got chest pains. We cut our walk
short and called the family doctor, who ordered Ralph into the emergency room at
Elmer Hospital. He underwent x-rays, blood tests and electro-cardiogram which
showed nothing unusual. After three hours, we returned home with an order to get
a stress test.
On Friday, August 5, Ralph got on the treadmill at the hospital with a cardiac
doctor attending. The first stage went well and they turned up the tempo. Ralph
was huffing and puffing, but had no pain. Suddenly the machine was shut down and
was Ralph told to take a seat. A nurse gave him a glycerin pill. According to the monitor, he
had a heart attack! The Doctor said there was no way he could leave the hospital
and asked for the first opening at Cooper Hospital for a heart cath. Monday morning,
August 8, Ralph was taken by ambulance to Cooper where the catheterization
showed massive blockage. Ralph would need quadruple bypass surgery immediately!
For someone who always ate healthy food, with little or no salt, whole grain,
granola, fresh vegetables and fruit and very little junk food; and a person who
exercised regularly and never drank or smoked; this was quite a shock! No one in
the family had a history of heart disease, but Ralph changed that!
Ralph returned home on Sunday, August 14th and was soon doing most of the things
he did before surgery. People all over the world were praying!
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