Last Day in Vienna

Well, party time is nearly over. Tomorrow we head out of Vienna and should be in Sinking Spring by dinner time, if all goes as planned.

We spent a lot of time on our feet this Trinity Sunday. We walked through a park to attend Mass at a Cathedral in the middle of nowhere. And, then walked back to the hotel where we checked out to move to a hotel nearer the airport so that tomorrow's check in goes smoothly.

So, we packed up and moved all of the luggage to the new hotel, drove the rental car to the airport and dropped it off, got our boarding passes printed for tomorrow, took a fast train into Vienna, walked to Belvedere Palace (which was pretty far), toured the Upper Rooms, filled with fine art, walked into Vienna for dinner, took the tube, transferred to the train station, rode a train into Achau and walked from the station to the hotel.

The weather went back and forth from bright and sunny to cold and rainy to warm and sunny, cooling off for our trip back to the hotel. But, we had ponchos and raincoats so we were able to stay dry.

Our most exciting adventure today was dinner at a cafe in Vienna. We began dinner outside, but when three women decided to light up cigarettes, surrounding us on three sides, we decided to move indoors. And, what a treat that was! Little did we know that there were some entertaining musicians in the restaurant: a woman playing the piano, and an interesting fellow accompanying her on the violin. I've posted a video on my flickr account so that you can see for yourself the excitement of the evening.

As this draws to a close, I've enjoyed having blog followers along for the ride. I hope you enjoyed our adventures as much as we have. Thanks for checking in.

Vienna: From Harried to Heavenly

We decided last night that we would venture out early to Schonbrunn Palace with the car, since we have one, and the place wasn't too far from where we are staying. So, we got up bright and early and were ready to head out at 8:00 when we realized that we were parked in outside in the lot. I'm not sure that the lady who had to move her vehicle was too thrilled with our enthusiasm, but hopefully she was planning an early day as well.

We found the parking lot at the palace empty when we arrived, but the streets were already lined with tour buses and it was obvious that the place would be filling up in no time. We were fortunate to have arrived as the doors opened, otherwise we might have had to wait for a scheduled time in order to enter the palace.

The tour was phenomenal, except when we were stuck between two different tour groups, and were kind of squished in the middle. I think I heard the record amount of languages today supplied by tour guides. At one point, we were stuck in a Japanese tour group, with a French speaking group in front and an Italian group behind. And, let me just say, that none of the people in these groups were very friendly. I can't tell you how many bumps and shoves I got while attempting to work my way via audio guide!

After the inside tour, we had the opportunity to walk around the beautiful gardens. With the temperature around 70 degrees, we couldn't ask for a better day. There weren't any small spaces to have to share outside. When we left for the car, I was amazed at how many people were scrambling into the grounds. Tour buses were everywhere, and the parking lot that had held just one other car was filled! Good planning on our part.

We drove back to the hotel, and parked the car for the remainder of our stay here. We headed into Vienna via bus for a self-guided tour of the city thanks to Rick Steve's and his book. The place was loaded with people. I don't think that I have ever seen so many people in one place except for the time we went to Dorney Park and they were offering a special deal so the place was filled to capacity. But, Vienna is much larger than Dorney Park, and so exponentially, I can't tell you how many people were there, but the numbers were way too many for me to feel comfortable.

We did see just about every site in the book, though. When we had difficulty finding a place, we just looked for gobs of people, and, sure enough, we'd find what we were looking for.

Sorry to disappoint Nathan, Steve, but I cannot say that we saw any memorials to the Turkish invasion of Vienna, but I do remember reading about it recently. I was still trying to fit all of the history together with Maria Teresia and Ferdinand I and Napolean and Marie Antoinette (who, it turns out, was Maria Teresia's daughter). One thing I can tell you is that Maria Christina was the only daughter of Maria Teresia who was permitted to marry for love, and Ferdinand's wife, "Sissy" complained a lot! I hadn't really given much thought to that until Marty told me that he skipped numbers on the audio tour because he got tired of hearing her complain.

We managed to escape the crowds and found a lovely little restaurant where we could sit outside and enjoy our meal. My picture of the day is what Marty calls his "two favorite things". He clarified that I was #1 on the list, not the beer, just in case you were interested.

After dinner, we were walking to the subway when we heard the most beautiful orchestra playing. We followed the music and ended up in a plaza watching the Vienna Youth Philharmonic orchestra playing outside. We decided to stop in at the cafe across the street so that we could sit outside and hear them play while enjoying a coffee and dessert. The combination was truly heavenly, and made the day a happy memory after all.

Sunny Skies on the way to Vienna

We awoke this morning to blue skies, giving us the opportunity to actually get more than just a glimpse of the beautiful mountains that surround the village of Zell am Ziller. Breakfast involved excitement, once again, by the hotel staff, and the waitress actually shook our hands good-bye when we left. Marty asked the receptionist if they see many Americans and the girl exclaimed, "No! You are our first this year!" I attribute that to the fact that this hotel does not take credit cards and they insist on payment in advance via a bank draft. Not too many Americans would cater to the extra work involved in holding the room. The place is very nice if anyone is ever interested in visiting Zell am Ziller.

Although we knew that we had lots of ground to cover in driving to Vienna, we decided to get out early and attempt to see some of the local sights along the way, prior to picking up the Autobahn and driving into the big city. We stopped at the Museum Tiroler Bauernhofe, which we found with no problem due to excellent sign posts. This is an Open Air Museum very similar to the one that we visited in Slovakia, but this one was located in the countryside rather than near a large city.

The museum is set up with typical Tirolean houses from the Northern, Southern and Eastern areas of Tirol. These are actual houses dating from as early as the 16th century, that were donated to the museum. We were able to rent an English audio guide to help us understand the way of life of Tiroleans. The day was beautiful and the walking was pleasant without the rain. Typical to the area of Southern Tirol, we needed climb up a rather steep grade in order to reach the village. Once again we were surprised to see Stations of the Cross set up along the path to the village. Perhaps there is some connection between the suffering involved climbing up the hill and remembering the suffering that Jesus experienced. Who knows? I definitely have to read up on this when I get home. I can't imagine this would be a coincidence.

After trotting through a lot of houses, we decided to hit the road and stop in nearby Rattenberg. This beautiful village looks like it stepped right out of the Middle Ages. It has been kept up in Medieval style and it has a certain charm about it. Walking through the town was exciting for Marty, as the cobblestone streets were filled with antique cars due to an auto rally being held there today. It was tough dragging him away to view some of the historical sights of the town, but I promised him that I'd be brief and he could look at the cars in his leisure.

We couldn't stay too long because we had a long drive ahead of us. Traffic was pretty busy, since it is Friday, but we arrived at our destination west of the city around 6:00 p.m. We managed to find the hotel quite easily with the help of Garmin Girl.

This place is on the top of a hill and we have a beautiful view of the city of Vienna from our room. Actually, our room is large enough for us to have brought the entire family, with one masterbed, a twin, a baby port-a-crib and a sleeper sofa. It is on the top floor, which seems to have been a trend for this trip. There wasn't one place where we didn't have to lug our suitcases up several flights of stairs. I find it amusing that one must put the room key into a lock and turn it in order to use the lights in the place. Not a bad idea!

We strolled down the street to a local Heurigen restaurant, also known as "new wine" bar. What fun that was to experience. We were directed downstairs where we were met by the woman in charge, a lovely, exuberant local who spoke English like a pro. There were foods in a case, like the deli, and you could choose what you wanted, and everything was weighed. You paid by the pound. So, I had a Spinach strudel with sheep cheese and Marty had roasted pork, a huge dumpling and sauerkraut. Then, we took our food upstairs, and outside at a table and we were able to order from a rather extensive wine list, all wines made locally by friends of the owner. We chose to eat outside at a table and enjoy the beautiful view of the city. And, we only had to walk a few houses back to our hotel. Can't beat that!

Internet is available here only in the public lobby so Marty is reading up on possible sights for us to visit tomorrow in Vienna while I write this and post my photos. Can't wait to see what adventures await us!

Zell am Ziller & the Geisler Trail

First of all, let me wish a very Happy Anniversary to Jim & Heather. Hope you were able to do something special today.

Marty and I were enjoying a fabulous breakfast in our hotel when we suddenly found ourselves being the center of attention of the staff. We received an introduction from one of the employees who seemed quite impressed that we were from America. She actually spoke excellent English.

Suddenly, the waitress was all excited, asking if we were from America (in German), and when we said yes, she became very animated and began a long one-way conversation in German, then she pulled out her cell phone and began calling people to give them the news. We weren't quite sure why our presence would be that exciting, but hey, we'll take exuberant Austrians over crabby ones any day!

I have been meaning to mention our surprise at the religious devotion of the Europeans that we have encountered in Slovaki and Austria. In Slovakia, there were Crucifixes adorning the walls of the Penzions where we stayed, and it is no different here in Austria. Pentecost was a two day celebration (which I thought was a great idea), and we had arrived on Monday in Salzburg to find most places closed due to this religious holiday.

Today, Marty and I set off on a hike to the Church of Maria Rast, and, once again, were surprised when we began the ascent up the hill, to suddenly find shrines to the Stations of the Cross along the trail. Scattered among the Stations were Grottos dug into the cliffs, with religious statues behind screens. It was kind of strange to find these religious reminders along a path that was originally along a gold-mining section of town.

So, we hiked up the trail in the pouring rain, but the end results were definitely worth the effort. The inside of the church is breathtakingly beautiful, and the vistas from the top showed the town of Zell am Ziller, although it was slightly foggy due to the rain. The trip down the hill took very little effort on our part, although we were really quite wet by the time we reached town.

Marty and I spent the rest of the day exploring the trails around the town, which imbedded us right into the locals, walking past some very frisky goats and cute little bunnies.

Our hotel here is very cozy, although the room numbering is definitely interesting. Our room is number 110, and we are on the top floor, which is the third floor, and we must ascend 6 flights of stairs to get to our room.
So, between walking up and down to our room, and hiking about town, our tootsies could use a break. And our jackets need some drying time!

Castles & Waterfalls

After another wonderful breakfast, we said our good byes to the Bloberger Hof, (a word that Marty really enjoyed saying). The staff at this Guesthouse was friendly and they were wonderful hosts. We opted to have dinner in house and we were treated to a delightful meal out on the terrace, complete with espresso and Apple Strudel for Marty and Nougat Creme Brulee for me. Yummy!

So, this morning, we set out on our way to the town of Zell am Ziller an alpine village nestled deep in the mountains of Tirol.

Our drive was filled with scenic adventures along the way. We stopped at the little town of Golling, where we explored the Golling Wasserfalle by a foot path through the woods. Getting to this point was certainly interesting, traveling down narrow country roads to reach our destination. On the way to the foot path, we passed a little church, St. Nikolaus, built in that area because this saint was devoted to water, and the town depended upon this waterfall to keep the mills running. This waterfall has been a favorite of many romantic painters and it is certainly easy to see why.

From Golling we drove to Werfern where we decided to ride the funicular to the top of the cliff and tour the Burg Hohenwerfen fortress/castle, which was erected in the 11th century. We were happy to have the option for an English audioguide, although we were required to stay with the group under the direction of the German guide. The tour began in the chapel, which offered some interesting sights. My favorite was the hand extending from the pulpit, holding a crucifix. One's first inclination was to wonder if it was there to warn the congregation of the sermon, but the guide explained that this was a symbol that this chapel was a Catholic Chapel, as this was built following the Catholic Protestant wars.

Marty's favorite from the chapel was the painting of the Bishop holding a fish. Marty is sure that this man was so proud of the fish that he caught, that he hired someone to paint him holding it, and he put it on display in the chapel for all to see. Of course, that is a fisherman's viewpoint. Personally, I don't think I would have given it much thought.

When I planned this trip, I decided to fore-go my fears and have Marty drive the scenic route to our destination. This required driving on a road that was imbedded into the side of a cliff. I did have to keep reminding him to keep his eyes on the road, as he is always tempted to look at the view while he is driving, making the journey extremely stressful for me. This reminds me of that Mr. Potato head commercial where Mrs. Potato head ends up losing her mouth on the way down the hill in the car with Mr. Potato head. Just for the record, I kept my mouth shut...probably from shear fear!

This drive offered a spectacular view of the Krimml Wasserfalle, the highest one of its kind in all of Europe (1, 247 ft.) It has three cascading tiers. We parked and walked to two levels, but I decided against climbing to the top since the elevation was not being kind to my asthma, and I feel the beauty of a waterfall is at the bottom. In the long run, we were able to see the waterfall in its entirety as we stopped at vistas on our climb up the mountain.

At one of the viewpoints, we were startled to hear a cow bell, and when we turned around, there was a group of cows, all with bells tied to their necks, getting into line behind one lead cow who was mooing her head off. Must have been time to head back for dinner.

Our drive took us to the top of the mountain, and then we had to descend down the very curvy, narrow roads to the valley. We arrived at our hotel just as the heavens decided to break open with pouring rain. Thank God that it waited until we had reached our destination!

Once at our hotel, it was obvious that there were not many patrons in house. The woman who runs the place does not speak a word of English and she had to call her son, Karl to help us check in. Karl was interested in our last name, Geisler, as it is a local name. Marty explained that his gr. grandfather, Josef Geisler was born in this town.
Karl was quite impressed with that fact. And I think that Jo Ann was right on the money with her blog comment regarding Marty's hat. He must look so great in it because he is of Austrian decent! And, when we saw a local farmer wearing the same hat, Marty felt right at home.

Salzburg: Mozart for Dummies

Today was a great day, despite the sudden rainstorms that seemed to sneak up on us. But we were prepared for wet weather, so it didn't dampen our spirits.

We decided to get up early, and after a delicious and hearty breakfast here at our Penzion, we headed into Salzburg on the bus and began our day at the home where Mozart was born. Despite the fact that Rick Steves had given this site a thumbs down in his review, Marty and I loved it. The place was filled with the history of the family, and the displays were made up so that one actually enjoyed reading about the family. We learned a lot about Mozart of which I had never been aware. Mozart's father, Leopold, had written a book, "Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Playing the Violin", and they actually had copies of the books from the late 1700's, in several different languages.

Leopold was described as being a devoted husband and father, and I enjoyed reading many of his letters that he wrote to his wife when he traveled with his prodigy son. When Mozart married and had his own son, Leopold wrote, "The child is, indeed, very agreeable, exceptionally friendly and he laughs as soon as someone speaks to him." He then goes on to bemoan the fact that his grandson, Carl, was being plagued by teething problems. I couldn't help but think of Finn while reading these comments. Perhaps there will be a music prodigy among us!

We then toured some more of the sights in the city, and one in particular, the Old Residence, was once again given a poor review by Rick Steves. Marty and I thought this was the best tour of the day! So glad that we decided to ignore the advice and venture out to these places for our own interest. You will see for yourself by the photos.

Marty bought himself a new hat, and I'm sure that you will enjoy seeing the many photos of him sporting it today. You'll have to excuse his appearance...he apparently ran out of clean clothes. But, I remedied that situation when I found out that we could easily have a load of laundry done here at our Penzion for a reasonable sum.

You will get a peak of the Mirabell gardens, where the Sound of Music featured a few scenes. And, we also walked through the cemetery that inspired the scene in that movie as well. We saw, from a distance, the actual nunnery where Maria would have lived, and that is actually the place where she married her husband, unlike the cathedral in the movie.

We decided to spend the evening here at our Penzion, and we plan to eat dinner on the premises, as we are quite tuckered out from all of the excitement today.

The Hills are Alive...

You guessed it. We made it to Salzburg where the hills are certainly amazing, but not without some exciting adventures along the way. Would you expect anything less?

We began the day with an outstanding breakfast that would probably have easily fed four people. It was certainly hard to believe that we had been in Slovakia for an entire week, and we were kind of sad to have to move on. I was going to miss saying, "Hovorite po anglicky?"

We were no sooner on our way when the weather suddenly turned for the worse and soon we were driving along in the pouring rain in conditions that reminded me of driving on the PA turnpike. Since trucks don't deliver on Sunday we can't help but wonder if they were all out in full force to make up for lost time.

We were on the road in the rain for a couple of hours when I suggested that we detour off the highway to the town where my father's ancestors came from. So, we decided to make a quick jaunt through Zavar and the town just north, where the Mrenna family lived. On our way through Zavar, Marty spotted a cemetery on the side of the road, and I suggested that we stop, just for a minute, to take a peek.

There were three women in the cemetery, putting flowers on the graves, and after attempting to introduce myself, it was clear that none of them spoke a word of English. I told them, in my botched Slovak, that I was related to the Mrena family of Zavar and asked if they could show me where the Mrena graves might be. One woman, Maria Lu'delova, gestured for me to follow her, and within a minute, she was pointing to the grave of Jozef Mrena, my great grandfather, and his wife, Jozefina. I was shocked, to say the least, to have this woman lead me to the correct person so quickly. Marty took quite a few pictures, and I hugged her and thanked her, very much, (in Slovak) for her help. All of the women were waving goodbye as we beeped as we made our way down the road.

Marty and I then headed into the town where we took photos of the church that the Mrena's would have attended. The inside was extremely beautiful. All of the churches, in Slovakia, have gates closed when they are not open for mass because people were stealing statues and selling them for money. That's what Helga told me. But, at least one can walk into the back and see the beauty of the inside.

By this time, we had driven out of the rain, and we headed back onto the highway, stopping for an Austria road atlas and a vignette sticker for the windshield of the car for Austria. Then, we headed out on the Autobahn for Salzburg.

After checking into our Penzion, we decided to hop a bus into Salzburg for dinner. We were disappointed to find the pizazz of meals that we had discovered in Slovakia,, missing. Our waitress had to be one of the grumpiest that we have ever encountered! We're hoping for cheerier encounters tomorrow.

Pentecost in Slovakia

We started our day at 7:30 mass at St. Elizabeth's Cathedral in Old Town Kosice. We were amazed to find people so dressed up for church, not only in Kosice, but in every town that we stopped in during Mass times today. Every man and boy wore a suit and the women and girls wore dresses and nice shoes. In one town, people actually stood outside for the service, as the church interior was full. We walked through one walled town where mass was being held in St. Martin's church, and we could hear the chanting of the service echoing through the town. It was awesome to hear such beauty while gazing across the beautiful green mountains.

Our travels today took us back to the west of the country to Zilina. The roads followed a path between mountain ranges and we were delighted at the sight of the High Tratas, where the peaks were covered with snow. Our drive also took us along the Vah river, which was extremely high due to the melting snow in the mountains, in combination with the rain.

We visited Levoca where we photographed the "Cage of Shame". Marty wants you to know that Slovakia has ways for dealing with dogs like Lily. When Lily misbehaves, he likes to refer to her as "the dog of shame". So, Marty felt a real bond for this town that held this cage of disgrace. Apparently women who were disgraced were placed in this cage to be put on display. I can't say if that technique would help with Lily, however.

We skirted thunderstorms as we drove from town to town. We stopped in Poprad for lunch and ate at a restaurant where Jaromir Jagr apparently has eaten. Lunch was very good Slovak style food. Marty had spinach pirohy and I had spinach and mushroom filled polichinky. Yummy stuff, that's for sure.

In Martin, we managed to get in a visit to a Slovak outside Museum which is a collection of homes that would have existed in different areas of Slovakia in years past. After getting disoriented in town due to a closed road, we finally found the place and walked extremely fast along the long path to the entrance because we knew that the place would be closing soon. It was pouring down rain, and I was in my poncho and Marty was wearing his Red Fairchild raincoat when I knocked on the glass at the entrance booth. A woman peered at me in disbelief, and shook her head while I pleaded for her to let us in. I'm certain that she thought we were nuts, showing up with thunder, lightening and pouring rain all around us. She finally relented, telling us that the place closed in 45 minutes, then she handed me a program in English, charged us the student rate, and reminded us, again, of the closing time. Although it would have been much more fun to be able to look at the houses leisurely, Marty and I zipped through the sets if villages, but not without my sandals and stockings getting filled with mud. Luckily, I had brought an extra pair which went onto my feet as soon as we returned to the car. What was odd was that just 15 minutes out of town, no rain had fallen anywhere.

We arrived at our final destination with a sense of relief after Garmin Girl originally told us that our Penzion was an abandoned Concrete building. Luckily, some kind people on the road were able to direct us to the correct place, which is lovely. We had dinner, just the two of us, in the basement wine cellar with a very attentive waiter. The food was the best that we have had yet, and the local wine was fabulous.

On a final note as we spend our last night here in Slovakia,on this side of the country, I was surprised to see so many signs for ovci syr. (Sheep cheese). First of all, I didn't know anyone actually milked a sheep, much less make cheese from it. I remembered that the man by the castle had offered us cheese from sheep milk, but I had presumed that he had meant a goat. Sure enough, it is sheep cheese, as we see the signs for it all along the highway out here. But I can't say that I am brave enough to stop at a roadside stand a buy a hunk.

Tomorrow we head for Austria, so I suppose that I must close with a hearty Dovidenia!

Aint Genealogy grand?

I don't know that I will ever be able to portray in words the crazy adventures that Marty and I experienced today. Just when I think that excitement cannot be topped, another day comes along that far exceeds the one previously. Today definitely takes the cake.

The morning started out simply enough. I was down in the lobby, attempting to get my photos to upload while Marty was still getting ready to come down for breakfast. I was concentrating on my computer when I heard the concierge call my name, Mrs. Geisler. I assumed that she was going to tell me that Mr. Geisler was on the phone, but no, she told me that Mr. Vincent Voytko was on the phone, and that he didn't speak any English, but that she would happily translate for me. Could he come by at 10:00 a.m. and take Marty and me to his house?

Let me explain briefly, here, that Vincent is married to my dad's first cousin, Eva. They live about 40 minutes from Kosice. I had written a letter and told Eva that Marty and I would be in town. Just prior to leaving, Eva had sent me an e-mail, telling me that she would not be here as she works in Austria, but that her husband and brother, George would love to meet me. But, (and here's the big problem) no one spoke English. And, believe me, I may know a few words of Slovak, but they would never get me very far in a conversation. So, I had been sitting in the lobby, wondering just what I should do, because I knew that they were anticipating a call from me, and I also knew that they did not speak English. I had thought about having Silvia translate for me, just when the concierge came over and called my name.

At that point, I realized that I was going to have to figure out some way of communication, so I asked Silvia if she would be willing to go with us, and she enthusiastically agreed. In the meantime, we decided to go along with our scheduled plans and just tell Vincent that we would meet them in the town of Slanske Nove Mesto.
Vincent really wanted us to visit his home, but since Silvia had scheduled evening plans, we knew that was not a possibility.

We headed off to the land of my shepherd relatives and we were amazed at the beauty of the towns. Kecerovce is inhabited by gypsies on the outskirts of town, but we were able to find the church and actually go inside. I cannot explain how awesome it was to stand in that church and realize that over 100 years ago, my relatives attended Mass there. We had driven through the town of Boliarov, where they had resided at the time. Silvia had spoken to the priest earlier, asking if he would help us locate some relatives, so we headed over to the rectory to meet with him.

The priest, who was dressed in a blue velour pant suit, was not very excited about us being there, but he relented and pulled out the church baptism records and let me look through them. I was searching for Aunt Lizzie's birth record and I can assure you that it is not written in that registry. The priest was being difficult with me, but finally let me look through the years from 1895 through 1908. No record of an Elizabeth born to a Hanchak. The priest kept pointing to his watch and saying, "TIme, Time". I thanked him, and gave him some euro for his efforts. At that moment he seemed shocked and stopped pointing at his watch. Silvia told me that she would not have given him any money since he was being so rude, but I told her that I hoped that he felt guilty for being so rude. He suddenly became very nice at that moment.

After leaving the rectory we headed up to the cemetery, but soon realized that we would not be having much luck there, either. If there were Hanchak's buried in that church plot, the headstones would have been very old and not readable. I realized that there was nothing to be done about that, so we headed out to Cervenica where Veronica Stofan, my mother's gr. grandmother was born.

Cervenica is much further than I had imagined it would have been, from Kecerovce. We had no luck there with the church or the priest, as he was on vacation. So, we headed up to the cemetery which overlooked the town, and had no luck finding any Stofan or Stoffa burials in that place. The graves did not appear to be well taken care of, and it was obvious that we would not be finding what I was looking for there either.

So, we headed off for Slanec and Slanske Nove Mesto to meet with the Takach relatives. We agreed that we would meet at the local church. We arrived first, and then a BMW SUV showed up with two men in it. They popped out of the car, and Silvia was able to ascertain that they were looking for me. A man in a bright orange shirt came right up to my face and began talking to me in Slovak. Sylvia translated and told me that he wanted to know who my grandmother was. I told him that my grandmother was Maria Takac. I mentioned that her younger sister was Veronica. (Veronica was this man's mother). Suddenly, he made the connection, and he squeezed me and the next thing I know he was kissing one cheek and the other, then he grabbed Marty and he was kissing his cheeks. He was just so excited! I had presumed that this man was George because Eva had told me that her brother George was interested in meeting me.

I began to ask a lot of questions and he said that he would be happy to answer everything. He would take me to the cemetery to find the graves of my gr. grandparents, and he would show me the house where all of the family had been born, which was in Slanske Nove Mesto, just about a block from the church. But, he said that he owned a restaurant and that he wanted us to have lunch with him. We agreed, and he asked us what we liked to eat, and we told him that Slovak food would be great. Silvia heard him ordering his staff to make all kinds of food and she just began to laugh. She told me that we were in for a real feast. It was at this point that I was told that this man's name was Stefan. He is another brother of Eva's. He was talking so fast and so much that poor Silvia just could not keep up with him to translate. She had to tell him to stop so that she could translate because she could not possibly remember everything that he was attempting to say to her. Marty and I just kept laughing at the ridiculousness of hearing a man rambling on and on in Slovak, with this young woman attempting to soak it all in to translate, and us completely out of the loop.

We went to the house where grandma would have lived as a little girl, and Marty took my picture in front of it. It has been renovated since my parents had seen it. Then, we headed up to the cemetery, which is in an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful spot. I was really awed at the beauty of this area. You can see the ruins of an old castle on a mountain in the distance, with rolling hills surrounding this entire area.

We were not having much luck finding any of the Takach graves, and the next thing I knew, Stefan was calling someone on his cell phone and hopping in his SUV to pick up someone who would know. When he came back, two women popped out of the car with him.

This is the moment that Marty says he will never forget as long as he lives. He was at one end of the cemetery, when suddenly he spotted a rather rotund, older woman, in a blue duster with grey Nike sweatpants, holding onto two metal canes, wheeling her way with record speed through that cemetery. She was obviously a woman on a mission and he wasn't getting in her way! The vision was absolutely hysterical. He was still laughing at it this evening, when he shared with me that he knows that this will go down on record as one of the absolutely funniest moments of his life. It was as if we were part of some type of crazy comedy.

After immediately identifying Andras Takac's grave, and then heading off to find his wife's grave, we were finally introduced to this woman, who's name was Yolanda. Her father was John, my grandmother's brother. Along with Yolanda was Regina, the grandaughter of Anna, another sister of my grandmother. Regina just kept smiling, and Yolanda was all sweaty from speeding through the cemetery at record speed. Each wanted us to come to their home for coffee, but we mentioned that Stefan had invited us to his restaurant for lunch.

Soon we were on our way, attempting to keep up with Stefan as he zipped his BMW towards the town of Secovce, where he owns a Penzion and restaurant. The facility was actually closed today, so we had a table to ourselves.

Everything was set for us and it was obvious that Stefan had given orders to his staff to have things ready. He wanted Sylvia and me to partake of pear whiskey drink in celebration. I mentioned that I did not drink, but suddenly had this small glass of clear liquid waiting for my lips. Stefan popped the entire amount in his mouth in one gulp, while Sylvia and I sipped the tiniest bit. Even at that, my mouth and throat immediately felt like they were on fire and I knew that I would not be able to drink another drop. Vincent and Stefan seemed to be a bit surprised, but not offended. Marty was not offered a drop since he would be driving, and Vincent did not partake of any either.

We enjoyed a fabulous meal of Haluski,one with cheese and one with cabbage and bacon, chicken soup, some type of chicken and corn in a very light sauce, with boiled potatoes and a scoop of rice, all beautifully presented. We were pretty well stuffed at this point, and needed to get Sylvia back to Kosice.

Suddenly, we were informed that George, Stefan's brother, was in our hotel in Kosice and that he was waiting to meet us. So, we no sooner returned to Kosice when Sylvia immediately began translating once again. George asked if she knew anyone who would translate that he could pay, and she told him that she would ask her husband, who was free, but that they would not take any money. So, Peter, her husband arrived in short time, and I could tell that he was a bit nervous, but in no time it was as if he knew us his entire life. He happily translated all that George had to tell us, which, let me way, was quite a bit. Peter spent more time telling us about George than he wanted to know about us.

George insisted that he take us out for a meal, so Peter was definitely recompensed for his time by a delicious meal, huge beer, and my dinner, since I had ordered a vegetable risotta with zucchini and cheese and it came loaded with green peppers. Of course, I wasn't touching that, so the restaurant boxed it up and we insisted that Peter take it home.

At the end of the day, we had bonded with two new friends, Sylvia and Peter, who without we would have been completely lost in translations, and were treated like royalty from the Takach relatives from Slanske Nove Mesto.

Tomorrow we plan to attend early mass at the cathedral in Old Town, then began our trip back to the western part of Slovakia. Don't know for certain that I will have internet at the next place, so don't be too disappointed if there is a day's lull in the posting.

Making new friends in Slovakia

Well, there's one thing that I must admit and that is that each day seems to present itself with unique and memorable events. This morning we left a Penzion in a quiet, cozy town just south of Banska Bystrica. Tonight we sleep in a grandiose room in Old Town Kosice, with our windows overlooking some sort of excavation and the trolley lines passing right next to our hotel. It reminds me of sleeping at grandma's when I was little.

Marty said this was all quite appropriate, seeing that we are in Kosice to seek out the Hanchak villages of origin, so it falls into place that we would be staying in a hotel that reminded me of the home that my grandmother lived in. I thought that was pretty clever of him. We'll see if he thinks the same in the morning.

This morning we headed out with Castles on my mind. There were a couple that I had hoped to see along the way, one only a short distance from the Penzion where we had stayed.
Our Garmin Girl directed us up this tiny, windy road. We hesitated about continuing up, but since there was no way to turn around, we kept going to the top, which did take us to a small parking lot just outside the doors of the castle. There was a man up there, taking photos, and I asked him if he spoke Slovak. (We were curious as to whether or not we'd be able to get back down of if there was an entrance that we had missed.) He laughed at me when I said that I did not speak Slovak, in Slovak. I apparently spoke that so well that he questioned my real ability. Another man came along, not speaking English either, and he pulled out his cell phone and began to call someone who apparently spoke English, but was not at home to take his call.

In the meantime, I introduced myself in Slovak and they introduced themselves as Miro and Lubo. I pulled out my Slovak Dictionary and gave it to Miro who immediately motioned that he couldn't read the words without glasses. Lubo went running to his truck, and the next thing I knew he was scrambling over to Miro with a pair of glasses that he popped on his nose. That made me laugh out loud.

After some botched conversation on my part, and some pencil drawings, we established that there was just one way in and one way out. We decided to stay and see if the castle would open at 10:00 as the tour book had listed.

In the meantime, Lubo jumped into his little truck, and pulled out a wedge of soft cheese that he had stuck a knife into, and offered us both some "syr". I knew that meant cheese. He mentioned that it came from sheep, and he was excited to share it with Marty and me. We both declined, with me telling him that we had just finished ranajky and were too full. He seemed OK with that.

Marty was walking along, taking photos, and I was waiting for the doors to open, in hopes of running to the "toalety dami". Nothing seemed to be happening regarding the former, so I was attempting to be polite to these men while clenching my teeth, wondering if I'd be able to hold out for the doors to open.

The next think I knew, Lubo pulls out a Slovak bagpipe and shows me how it works and begins to play it. Miro had a huge camera and was filming Lubo while he played, and then I watched Miro interviewing Lubo whom I heard welcoming people to a festival. Apparently there was to be a huge Bagpipe festival this weekend at this castle and these fellows were hoping that we would stay for the festivities. We explained that we needed to head onto Kosice, and they seemed a bit disappointed.

In the meantime, another car showed up, and this time, to our good fortune, a man named Martin arrived, who was a violinist scheduled to play with the bagpipes for the festival. He spoke very good English and he and Marty had a grand time talking of Slovakia and music.

We soon established that the castle was not opening until 14:00 and that I could forget the opportunity of using the bathroom. We bed farewell to these men, but not before they gave us their e-mail addresses. Once they were gone, I decided that nature just could not wait, and I managed to find a place near the castle, but was certain to avoid anything that looked like poison ivy after Stacey's recent scare.

Once again, we were holding our breath traveling down this windy path, and we did have to back up in one instance when a yellow truck coming up seemed to think he should have the right of way. But, soon we were on our way again, traveling through the Slovakia countryside.

We certainly traveled over hill and dale and came, once again, to another castle on our list. We opted not to actually tour the castle, as it was required to stay with a Slovak speaking tour guide upon entering, and we decided that we had made the correct decision when we passed a bus load of school students hiking up the hill for a tour.

We managed to make it to Kosice just around the time of rush hour traffic, and after circling the same roads a couple of times, we finally ended up at our hotel and we were happy to park the car!

We met Sylvia, the local girl who has offered to show us around the towns of our ancestors, but we did not have time to go out today. So that will be tomorrow's adventure. In the meantime, we went to an excellent restaurant where I had home made pirohy and a balkan salad with a wonderful local Slovak wine. The waiter gave us both a shot of Amaretto "on the house" as we finished our meal. We wondered if we'd be able to manage the walk home, we were so full.

On the way back to our hotel, we passed the singing fountain, which really is such a lovely, romantic idea, spurting water up and down along to the music that is being played. So, the day began with a musical adventure and ended with a musical delight.

Forever Young

Curious about today's blog title? The crazy day came to an end with Marty and me, sitting alone in the Castle Bocian dining room, finishing a wonderful dinner, when we both looked at each other and exclaimed “Napolean Dynamite!” There's just something wrong with being in the middle of Slovakia among Penzion proprietors who don't speak one word of English, and hearing the rap version of Forever Young playing in the background. We both cracked up laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

It certainly was another exciting day, this time with the added adventure of managing to rent a car in Bratislava and drive it out of the city to our next destination. The smartest thing we did was to ask about renting a GPS unit, and we both decided that it was well worth the 5 euro extra per day just for the sense of security. With our American speaking Garmin and my Slovakia road atlas (another smart buy on my part), we managed to make our way through unexpected detours and were lucky enough to find roadside toilets when necessary, thanks to the atlas. (I don't think Garmin is much help in that category).

Our first stop was Bojnice castle. We took way too many photos, as you will soon notice, but it was breathtakingly beautiful and certainly hard to resist photographing. One must tour the castle with a guide directing the group. We were handed an English brochure describing the rooms of the castle, and asked to wait in the courtyard for the next guide. Before we knew it, thirty youngsters, about 4^th grade age, were heading through the gates and we were expected to tag along with them under the direction of the Slovak-only speaking guide. Let me just say that it was certainly an interesting experience, and I am certain that the employees of the castle weren't too happy that Marty and I were lagging at the end, attempting to see as much as possible on our own. The tour was pretty extensive and I'm certain that had it been in English, we would have enjoyed it even more.

We decided to forego any sustenance and to head out to our next destination as we weren't certain what surprises might await us. We rolled into the town where our Penzion is located just about 5:30 p.m. We are staying at a restored castle, albeit very small for a castle, but historic nonetheless, in a very small town just south of Banska Bystrica. We showed up and a man in an apron came running out in the back yard where I said hello in Slovak, introduced myself, stated “reservacia” and handed him my copy of the e-mail confirmation for my room. He finally nodded his head and smiled, and shuffled us over to a very lovely woman who spoke no more English than this man. She gave us our room key, and showed us our room, which is really quite nice. Marty smelled the food cooking and wanted to eat dinner pronto, but I convinced him to venture out to see the town of Banska Bystrica since it was on my list of important towns not to miss. It only took about 10 minutes to get there, and soon we were strolling through this lovely, old town which had been famous for mining gold, silver and copper. Since we arrived after most of the building were closed, we headed back to our Penzion to get some dinner, as we had nothing but a banana since our morning croissant and coffee.

Once back, I asked the proprietor, in Slovak, what a particular word on the menu was. He watched me intently as I struggled to get the correct pronunciation so that he would understand me, and he thought long and hard, when suddenly he blurted out, “Cheek en!”. (Chicken). We both laughed at that. The word he had in the menu is not the word that I had in my dictionary. So, Marty and I both had some form of Chicken. Mine was stuffed with olives and some sort of cheese and lightly fried, while Marty's was “au natural” stuffed with broccoli and cheese. We switched veges as mine came with green peppers on lettuce and some zucchini and corn, and his came with broccoli and carrots. (doesn't that figure?) We had some sort of potato buttercake which was out of this world, to go along with it. And we both decided to go ahead and have some strudel for dessert. It was filled with some sort of nut mixture, warm, and the perfect finish to the day. And, of course, as we delighted in the taste, listening to the background music, we both had this overwhelming sensation of feeling, “Forever Young”!

Castles & Cousins

Today our adventures took us to Devin castle which stands on the point where the Morava and Danube Rivers meet. The castle itself is extremely old, positioned to protect the town of Devin from invasion in years past. Across the river is Austria.

The lands around the castle are a nature's paradise, covered with various flowers, trees and plants. The castle itself is a "ruins", but much effort has been put into protecting what is left for future generations to enjoy.

Marty and I find such historical sights to be of great interest merely because one doesn't find much in the United States that is older than 200 years. This castle dates back to Roman times and is considered to be one of the most important monuments of Slovak history.

Despite the cold and extremely windy weather, we enjoyed traipsing through the grounds of the castle with Helga once again as our guide. We pretty much had the place to ourselves until we were leaving and a large group of school students arrived. Good timing on our part.

Helga explained to me that her mother, like most typical Slovaks, don't understand why we would be interested in seeing a castle in ruins. They are not proud of such attractions and wonder why we would want to see something that is clearly falling apart. I suppose they think that we are crazy, but I explained that we enjoy history and seeing such things is truly exciting for us.

When we exited the castle, we were delighted to find Lenka and Dominika sitting in their car, waiting for us in the parking lot. We had wanted to eat at the Castle Restaurant, but for some reason, it was closed today. So, Lenka drove us into the town of Devin, where we enjoyed real Slovak food. I had creamy garlic soup which came in a bread bowl, and a grilled cheese, similar to brie with what the menu called "cowberry" sauce. (it tasted and looked suspiciously like cranberry sauce), while Marty had the Devin special which consisted of pork, mushrooms and various items wrapped in a large potato pancake. We both were licking our chops when we left the restaurant.

Lenka then drove us to the garden house of her grandmother, Helga's mother, Olga Mrenova. Olga was so excited to see us, and being the typical grandma type, she started pulling out food for us to eat. Although I was filled beyond imagination, I somehow managed to finish off a piece of cake that was fabulous. Chocolate with three layers of coffee cream sandwiched in between. Olga chuckled at my poor Slovak skills, but I couldn't help but smile myself to see this woman so thrilled to have us as visitors.

We said good-bye to Helga this evening, and tomorrow begins our adventures on the road. I have been attempting to use some Slovak, although I do realize I am really lacking in that skill. I asked one woman what something cost today and she laughed at me. So, I figure that I must work on that one. Marty's been attempting to learn some words, but he always has had an issue rolling his "r's" so he's a far cry from sounding Slovak. But after a week, he may have managed to learn a few words.

We pick up the rental in the morning, and hopefully we will arrive at our next destination safe and sound. Guess you'll just have to wait to see what happens.

The Streets of Bratislava

You may see photos of us enjoying delectable delights, but rest assured that we walked enough to be able to enjoy such delicacies. Marty and I met Helga at 10:00 a.m. at the American Embassy in Old Town Bratislava where we began our fun for the day, heading for the little red train that runs a tour through Bratislava.

Luckily we had our own tour guide, because the woman on the train was extremely difficult to understand and her low, monotone voice combined with the roudy German group in our car, made it virtually impossible to grasp what she was saying.

We had a blast with Helga showing us around, and I'm fairly certain that if there was anything of interest historically for us to see, we saw it today.
We also enjoyed cakes and coffee at a traditional Coffee house as well as a delicious Slovak Meal at the Restaurant that is near Bratislava Castle. Despite the unusually cold weather and the slight mist, we certainly had a wonderful day! Couldn't ask for anything better.

Tomorrow we head off to Devon Castle yet again, by "Helga Tours" as we were referring to her today. She has been so excited to have us to show around, and the sentiment is certainly reciprocated.

Farewells and Hellos

Today began with a 6:00 a.m. pick up from Ernest who drove us to the Luxembourg airport for our flight to Vienna via Paris. Although we had only really met Ernest on Friday, it was as if we had known him for a very long time, and as we bid farewell, he stood there, waving, with his eyes brimming with tears. It had been such a wonderful weekend for all of us, and I'm certain that Ernest really felt needed and important this weekend, something that he doesn't often get the opportunity to feel having been widowed at a very young age. Marty and I both were quite touched by his reaction to our leaving, and we plan to keep in contact with him in the future. He was really one entertaining fellow.

We were treated, once again, to a delightful croissant on our flight from Luxembourg to Paris, and I'll admit that was the highlight of the trip. The boarding in the Paris airport was something I had never seen before, every man for himself trying to rush through the gate into the plane. I don't think they understand the meaning of the word "queue" in the Paris airport, although I thought that word was French!

We arrived in Vienna a bit late, and our luggage did not arrive at all. After filling out the appropriate forms, we nearly missed the taxi driver that was hired to pick us up, but luck was with us as we heard our name being announced, and met Peter who shuttled us into Old Town Bratislava where we met my cousin Helga.

Helga was just thrilled to pieces to have us visit, and she walked us to our hotel, which is actually a type of apartment in Old town Bratislava. This place is wonderful. We have two rooms and a bath, quiet and no smell of smoke anywhere, quite unlike our hotel in Echternach. We survived that experience by keeping the windows open. That hotel had real old town charm, and delightful owners, but because the room was above a pub, the smoke traveled right up through the room. This place is pristine and very quiet. No breakfast included, but there is a kitchenette and coffee machine. We'll be just fine. The proprietor could not be any nicer.

Despite the rain and cold, Helga walked us through town, and we decided to have some lunch at a nearby restaurant. The food was marvelous, and by the time we finished eating, the airport service was calling us to tell us that they would meet us at the US embassy with our luggage. Our hotel is in a pedestrian only area, so they did not want to have to walk our luggage to the hotel. It all worked out for the best, as we were finished eating. We received our suitcases, although mine is missing a handle and has metal pieces sticking out where the handle should be, and we brought everything up to the room, then headed over to Helga's for some time spent in her flat.

Tomorrow more cold and rain is predicted, but we plan to make the most of it and tour the city with Helga leading the way. She is so excited to have us here visiting and we are really enjoying her company. She, too, is very entertaining.
So, until tomorrow....

Holy Cow!

Here you see the cows in the field opposite Holy Cross church who seem to be quite interested while Marty was photographing the church. 

 Makes one think that things must be pretty slow up on the hill where these gals graze. 

You can see the picture of the church as well as the statue in front of St. Willibrord on my Flickr site.

 I'd like to share an interesting experience today involving, of all things, the bathroom in the restaurant where we ate a wonderful afternoon meal. I was amazed at the feature on the toilet when I flushed. Suddenly, part of the back of the toilet moved forward, and I had expected it to squirt a disinfectant into the bowl. Much to my surprise, the toilet seat suddenly became contorted, as if it were rubber, and it began to move around, forming an oval and moving under this extra part that had swung forward. 

Before I knew it, the seat had rotated around 360 degrees, and the arm that had extended moved back into position. I actually thought about flushing it a second time and filming it with my camera, but I thought that might be a little over the edge. So, those of you who might have enjoyed such a film will just have to use your imagination. Unless I stumble upon another, where I just may be tempted.

Last Day in Luxembourg

The morning began with the peal of the church bells echoing through the town, beckoning us for an early walk around town prior to meeting with Ernest for yet another adventure.

We attended mass last evening so that we could get an early start to Diekirch Military Museum. There we were met by Roland Gaul, the curator of the military museum, whom I had corresponded with regarding my search on several occasions. He directed us on a private tour and we were surprised to receive a copy of the book that he has written regarding the area and the battle of the bulge. I had read his book several years ago, and we will certainly treasure his signed copy.

It amazes me that these people of Luxembourg can be so generous with their time, truly interested in this search for Marty's uncle, when I have to battle at the American end to get anyone to take me seriously. This has certainly been such an insightful trip and I am thrilled that we decided to add this extra onto our plans. It has definitely been worth every minute.

After a wonderful lunch at "The Grille" in Diekirch, Ernest drove us back to the site of the crossing, where we found Mike Boehler and a young friend enthusiastically sweeping the ground with metal detectors. We had been told that this area had been searched in the past and that there would be nothing there of value. In short time, after reviewing the map I had brought and discussing the movements of Company F, Mike found 3 "live" American hand grenades. In the time that we were there, he and his friend uncovered an American razor blade, a shovel for digging foxholes, and several other items that were American made.
Mike is an expert at searching for military items in this area, and those of you who might be concerned that the grenades might have exploded can rest assured that he takes the utmost caution when he is working. He has assured me that he and his friend will be going out in the future to spend some more time searching.

I told him how grateful we were, and that I was truly not expecting him to find any signs of Marty's uncle, but that it brought great solace to know that someone had actually taken the time to actually look.

After some time in the field, we all relaxed at a local restaurant and had an enjoyable evening chatting. It is funny how people of such different natures can all have a similar bond and really have an enjoyable time, isn't it?

Luxembourg American Cemetery Chapel Ceiling

In proud and grateful memory of those men of the Armed Services of the United States of America

Who in this region and in the skies above endured all and gave all that justice among nations might prevail

And that mankind might enjoy freedom and inherit peace.

Hallowed Ground

We began our morning with an insightful recounting of the Sauer River Crossing by Emil Hanson, a resident eye-witness to the crossing. This man was more than willing to answer any questions that we had and he actually offered some extremely valuable information pertaining to the area where Marty's uncle would have last been seen. Marty videotaped most of the interview and we hope to present it to JPAC along with a lot of other information that we have accumulated. The stop here was well worth the trip, and we have been scolded on several occasions by the locals who insist that Americans don't understand that one needs more than 3 days to accomplish anything here. We just smile and agree and insist that we cannot extend our trip here, as lovely as this town is.


Ernest then drove us to the Luxembourg American Cemetery where the bodies of over 5,000 American soldiers from World War II are buried. I had e-mailed the curator a few weeks ago, wanting to be certain that the cemetery would be open, and the man was actually awaiting our arrival, and he gave Marty a huge packet of information regarding the cemetery. It was such a kind gesture on his part, and one that Marty was truly appreciative of.

The weather had been gray and overcast, but as we walked through the cemetery gate, the sun suddenly popped out, illuminating the crosses that seemed to stretch out forever. The chapel was beautiful and the saying around the chapel ceiling truly overwhelmed me.

We were able to easily spot the inscription of Marty's uncle's name on the tablets of the missing soldiers. There are two tablets, one standing on either side of the chapel. The experience of gazing upon so many graves, knowing that these were young men who died for our freedom, was beyond description. We were both so grateful to Ernest for taking us there.

Across the road from Luxembourg American Cemetery is Sandweiler, a German cemetery set up for the same purpose as the American Cemetery. But the set up is far different, and actually quite eerie. One must walk down a gravel lane which is located in a forest, and walk through a wall that has the look of a German Bunker. Once through, you see ahead of you, at a distance, a large cross on a monument. All of the grave markers are dark, rather than the brilliant white in the American cemetery. There are four German soldier names engraved per marker, rather than single names.

This cemetery contains the remains of over 12,000 German soldiers who died in the Battle of the Bulge time period. What I had such a difficult time comprehending was a flowered area, not much bigger than my garden at home, that contained the remains of over 4,000 soldiers, who are listed by name on panels surrounding the large cross. In addition, there are 810 men buried in that group of whom they could not identify. When you read the inscriptions, you realize all too soon that these were young men, 20-25 years of age, all lost in the prime of their life. It's difficult to comprehend such a huge loss of life, but one cannot ignore the enormity of this cemetery when one looks out among so many graves.

Be certain to check out the newest Flickr photos which have views of the cemetery as well our other exciting adventures today.

Snoring overload

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that someone was having a snoring contest with Marty next door. At first, I thought what I was hearing was an echo...from Marty... who must have been exhausted last night from the sounds that kept me awake. But, it didn't take me too long to realize that someone on the other side of the wall was attempting to outdo Marty. Too bad I didn't bring along earplugs! Let's hope tonight goes better on that count.

The weather is still unseasonably cool and overcast, but no pouring rain to dampen our spirits!
We head out to Hamm cemetery this morning, to see the memorial upon which Marty's uncle's name is engraved, and the 5,000 + American graves of the soldiers who lost their lives on this continent fighting for our freedom.

Ernest has a full day planned for us. I'm hoping Marty recovers from his jet lag. Last week he was in Taiwan, this week in Europe, and his body clock is in limbo, I think!

Marty in Echternach

Greetings from Luxembourg

Let me begin by saying that the smartest thing that I have ever done was to carry chewable Immodium in my purse. This wonder drug solves more than what you think its intended purpose would be. It calms down stomach spasms which could otherwise result in some real issues. 

Lesson learned from last night's plane adventure was that when both entrees contain peppers of some sort, automatically presume that anything the flight attendant offers you has some sort of pepper in it, despite their insisting otherwise. I won't elaborate, but when I suffered some real breathing distress and just managed to make it to the bathroom prior to losing my dinner, I was happy to have the chewables in my purse to prevent future disaster, and I am lucky enough to be here to write this blog! 

Our flight out of Philly left late, resulting in a delayed arrival in Paris. Marty and I literally ran from one terminal to the next, passing through security/passport check on the way out of one, and through security, again, on the way into the other. We made it to our connecting flight after running a solid half hour through the airport from one terminal to the next. Good thing I was recovered and we have working legs!

Once on Luxair to Luxembourg, a very small plane, we thought we were in heaven when the steward presented us with the most magnificent croissant we have ever encountered. Our mouths watered while enjoying it and our flight was over before we knew it. Ernest was standing at the gate, as promised, quite surprised to see us as he had checked the flight schedule, saw what time we had landed, and was quite certain that we had missed the connecting flight. He underestimated our stamina, and he commented on how he was amazed that we managed to run from one end of Charles de Gaulle to the other to make the flight. 

We had an extremely busy day, hiking up the site of the battlefield where Marty's uncle was last seen, then going back again, after Ernest called a friend who was also interested, then hiking back again, for some other reason. I'm not certain that my legs will work tomorrow. And, just think about this..... we did all of this running on about 3-4 hours of sleep! I'm going to post some photos on Flickr. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page to view them. In the meantime, I hear Marty snoring.....

May 13: Official takeoff.

Welcome bloggers! We're all packed and waiting for Ed, the limo driver to shuttle us to the airport. We depart around 6:30 p.m. from the Philadelphia airport. Our flight takes us to Charles de Gaulle airport in France where we then transfer to a flight for Luxembourg.

Ernest Kirpach will be anxiously awaiting us at the airport to be our personal driver for the weekend. He is extremely excited to meet us and I can tell from the e-mails that we've exchanged this week that Marty and I are definitely in for a fun adventure!

Why Luxembourg, you ask? Most of you are familiar with my research these past ten years, involving the MIA status of Marty's uncle during World War II. Ernest is the local historian for the 5th Infantry Division, and he has been invaluable in providing me with co-ordinates and aerial views of the crossing. We have been working together via internet for over 5 years now, and we are thrilled to be able to actually meet. Ernest speaks English like a pro, which is good, since I don't speak one word of the local language. Did you know that Luxembourg has its own language?

For those who are interested, and who haven't viewed this before, here is a link to the website that I have put together in the hopes that JPAC would consider a field investigation: http://home.comcast.net/~geisler27bam/The_Search_for_Private_Frederick_W._Goempel/Welcome.html

Perhaps we'll do our own field investigation. I'll keep you posted.