Host Family Part V: German Village

After the beach, we headed out for the German Village. That is right-the island of Miyakojima has a German Village. In the late 1800’s there was a boat of German travelers that got stuck in a Typhoon off the coast of the island. The native people lit a fire to direct the boat to shore. Then, when it crashed, they took a canoe out into the dangerous storm and made trips back and forth to shore until all the survivors were rescued. For the next month the island people nursed the Germans back to health. Then, they sent them off in a new boat. When the king of Germany heard about this, he built a memorial to thank the Miyakojima people. Now, at that location, a replica German castle has been built on the location. It is such a heart-warming story, one that I had not heard before, and I am happy to have learned about this story. We visited the castle on the island, along with the village that accompanies it. It was interesting for me to see after visiting Germany this past summer.