After attending church at the Married Student Ward we drove 21 miles NW of Iowa City to the Amana Colonies. The Colonies consist of seven villages settled in the 1850s by a German religious group, the Community of True Inspiration.

The seven Colonies are: South Amana, West Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, Amana, East Amana, and Homestead. They were built one hour apart when traveling by ox cart. Each village had a church, a farm, multi-family residences and communal kitchens. The community owned all the land and buildings. This communal system continued until 1932.

We are staying tonight in the village of Homestead. It was not included in the original purchase by the Amana settlers. The railroad and stagecoach came through Homestead, so the settlers later purchased this area so they would have a way to ship their goods, such as woolen fabrics, back east. We are staying in a bed & breakfast hotel called Die Heimat, which means "the place of my roots." The building was built in 1856 to house the stationmaster.

We ate dinner at Ronneburg, a German restaurant in Amana. The food was good, including several side dishes.