BERLIN, Ohio – Mel Gingerich has fielded a lot of questions in the nine years he’s been giving buggy tours around Berlin.

Where do you live? Why do you wear those clothes? What kind of food do you eat?

Gingerich usually answers the questions something like this: “We’re not that different than you,” he said. “We just dress differently.”

There are numerous ways to experience Amish country in Ohio. Almost all involve a big meal and some shopping.

But dig a bit deeper for a more rewarding experience.

On this trip to Berlin (pronounced burr-lynn), my first in several years, I booked a 40-minute ride with Gingerich, a member of Holmes County’s Old Order Amish community. With me on this trip: my husband and my mother-in-law, who was celebrating a milestone birthday.

We climbed aboard Ginger

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