A visit to the Roll homeland, and a good day to storm the castle.

For many years we have known that the Rolls came from the small town of Kiffis, France. John’s parents made the trek to Kiffis close to 30 years ago, and by shear chance, met up with a bunch of the local Rolls during lunch at the local restaurant. They no longer lived in the town, but were there for a day of apple picking. That was the beginning of an international family connection, including several more visits by his parents to France.

Knowing that we would be in Basel, a mere half hour from Kiffis, John’s mother reached out to our french cousins and we made plans to meet for lunch. What a fun day! First, we had to get to Kiffis, so we rented a car and hit the road.

During the day, we lost count of the border crossings between Switzerland and France. There were at least 6, if not 8, as we wound through country roads. Only one road had an obvious (but unmanned) crossing — the others were just announced by the GPS with a “Welcome to France” or “Welcome to Switzerland”.

We had lots of time before lunch, so we stopped at the ruins of the Chateau du Landskron. We love visiting these ruins, and this one did not disappoint. Other than some groundskeepers, we were the only ones there.

And now to Kiffis. It’s a tiny town in a beautifully picturesque setting. We stopped at the war memorial and the church to find family names.

We were meeting for lunch at the Restaurant au Cheval Blanc. This is where John’s parents first met the Rolls. We were the first to arrive, as they were just opening for lunch, but it didn’t take long for almost all of the tables to fill up. Once the food arrived, it was easy to see why folks will travel here to dine. The food was delicious and the atmosphere is lovely. From the overflowing flower boxes and kitchen garden outside, to the beautifully appointed interior, and the delicious food, this place is a gem!

Lunch with Marie-Agnes and her brother, Jean, was so much fun! Between their English and John’s French, we had fun conversations. We also talked to the owner of the restaurant and found out that she was there on that first visit years ago. She is also related to the Roll family and pointed us to the house once owned by the family. Another Roll had visited the restaurant earlier this year – someone not known to us, but likely related. We’ll follow up and see if we can connect with that family. Almost 3 hours later we bade our newly found cousins good-bye. We are already talking about our next trip to Kiffis!