So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good-bye

For those of you who have been following our travels over the years thinking you will go another time, this is my official retirement announcement.

Let me be crystal clear - I do enjoy these trips. But, although I enjoy seeing new places, revisiting familiar ones, making new friends, renewing acquaintances with old ones, and helping others to connect with their ancestors, it is not worth the three weeks away from my life and family.

The only reason I took on this trip was because I had discovered a couple of dozen ancestral villages that I hoped to visit. But, after fitting in everyone else’s requests, I had to drop almost all of them. And I don't want to spend my retirement running a travel business.  It is not rational to invest several dozen hours in planning and preparation, leave my life and family, spend my own money, take on the responsibility and risk of shepherding a dozen people across Europe, and spend weeks catching up on things at home, with no benefit for myself other than feeling good. The sacrifices are not worth it when it is all for others and there is little in it for me. So it is not a question of whether I enjoy it, but of how what I give up compares to what I gain.

I have always advertised these trips as an opportunity to walk where your ancestors walked and I think I have accomplished that for many people, but, if there are any trips in the future, they will be to walk where my ancestors walked.

Please don't interpret this as bitterness. I have enjoyed every one of our four trips. I just wanted to explain why I am not motivated to plan any more trips in the future. So, it has been a slice, but this is the end. Thanks to all of you who have contributed to some great memories over the years. I hope that the blogs I have created for each of our trips will serve as enduring reminders of those good times.

Friday, June 20 – Eichsätt to Kelsterbach

Last day on the road today. There was some rain overnight and the day dawned cool and overcast with a noticeable breeze. By afternoon it was warmer and mostly sunny, but the breeze remained.

Our first stop was at Speyer. The main attraction was the Speyer Technik Museum, but the city centre is also easily accessible, only a couple of blocks away. The museum covers all things technical, with an emphasis on transportation. The first large building contains numerous cars, a number of fire vehicles, a few military vehicles, some train cars and engines, a few airplanes, and many other miscellaneous exhibits. A second features space travel, with a Russian space shuttle that never actually went into space, a NASA lunar lander, and components from the International Space Station, among other things. Non-space exhibits in this building included a number of motorcycles and a couple of airplanes hanging from the ceiling. Outside the two large buildings were numerous airplanes, many of which were accessible, a submarine, two other ships each bigger than a couple of houses, and a number of additional vehicles. The guys were pretty impressed.

The gals were more interested in the walking district of the city, with a large photogenic church, shopping, and many ice cream and pastry shops.

Next up was our usual trip to Otterberg to visit our friends Helmut Kaiser, his wife Hanelore, his brother Erhard, and his wife Lita. They are always so generous and kind and genuinely pleased to greet us. Helmut and Henelore have both had health issues over the last couple of years, so our original plan was to take them out to eat in a local establishment. However, being as welcoming as they are, they eventually insisted that we come to their home for a meal in exchange for some Banat wine. We feasted on bratwurst, potato salad, cabbage salad, pasta salad, and a delicious homemade tiramisu. Interspersed throughout were numerous toasts with an aperitif, beer, wine, and schnapps.

 In conversation, Helmut expressed his pleasure that we make these pilgrimages to honour our ancestors. He has vowed not to return to Banat. His memories are a mixture of joy at the life he knew as a small child in the village that will never be the same, and the horror that he knew as a young boy in the starvation camp at Rudolfsgnad, the struggle to survive, and the loss of loved ones.

Here we are in front of the house. Unfortunately, due to sun on the camera display screen, only half of Erv made it into the picture. However, due to all the toasting, he was probably only half there anyway.

After a joyful auf wiedersehen, we were back on the bus for our final leg to Kelsterbach, by Frankfurt airport. We arrived about 8, said our good-byes to our entertaining friend and driver Johannes, and gathered in my room for some wine and final farewells. I was surprised by a totally unexpected, unnecessary, and generous gift from the group, along with some kind words in a card of thanks. It is these words that are the real treasure, knowing that you helped people accomplish something they otherwise would not have done and helped them achieve what one of them called “the thrill of a lifetime.”

I have to make special mention of two people on this trip. First is Loretta, probably the kindest, most thoughtful person I have ever met. Second is Miles, almost as kind and thoughtful as Loretta, of immense assistance to me in helping to keep things on the rails, and of great help to all our tour members with moving luggage and many other small details. Thanks Miles.

Thursday, June 19 – Vienna to Eichstätt

We are in the home stretch now – mostly driving with few stops – to get back to Frankfurt for our flights home. 

The hotel breakfast this morning was served on a rooftop patio with a view of the surrounding area. This hotel was again pretty good, except that it lacked parking for the bus and it was on a busy, noisy street.

We began the day with a hike to the Schönbrunn Palace, purchased our tickets, and were first in line when they opened at 8:30. I have been here a few times, but never this early, and have never seen the courtyard so empty. 

While most of the group toured the Palace, Miles and Mary Ann and I shuttled our luggage into position for pickup due to the lack of parking for the bus. We first moved it from the rooms to the lobby on the third floor of the building. (The first floor was retail and the second was offices.) Then we shuttled it to the main floor in the elevator. Pat and Loretta returned from the tour about this time and Loretta stood guard over the bags in the building while Pat was stationed at a bus stop we had found around the corner and the rest of us hauled bags to the bus stop. Johannes arrived and we started loading baggage. A city bus pulled up and wasn’t too happy about our choice of parking spots, but went on without creating any fuss. But where was the rest of the group? Due to a miscommunication, they had been waiting quite a while for Pat and Loretta. They finally concluded that the girls had already left and returned themselves, only a few minutes behind schedule. We were on the highway on the outskirts of town by 10:30.

We stopped in Salzburg for lunch and a brief look around. Mary Ann wanted to partake in a local dessert specialty that is difficult to reproduce and not easily found elsewhere, but the restaurant where she had had it before was closed. By the time she found another one that served it, she was out of time because we had been dropped off by the bus and had a prearranged time for pickup.

We arrived at our hotel in Eichstätt around 6:45, about three quarters of an hour late, to find Erv’s cousin awaiting our arrival. They went off to discover each other while the rest of us settled in for the evening.

The scenery today was beautiful. From somewhere east of Salzburg almost to Munich it is like you are viewing a postcard album. We were at the foot of the Alps, with hills in many shades of green with farmland and forest, picturesque houses and villages dotting the countryside, low mountains in the foreground, and snow-covered peaks in the background. Every few minutes brings a new vista worthy of a postcard.

The weather was again good – mostly sunny, although in the late afternoon we ran into a moderate rain shower caused by daytime heating.

Today was another holiday, so truckers were all parked at truck stops waiting to get going tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 18 – Szeged to Vienna

Weather was again good today - warm and mostly sunny.

Everyone was pretty pleased with our hotel last night. Rooms were large and well kept. Breakfast room was quite charming. Overall, a good place to stay.

We drove from Szeged to Budapest, where we dropped Anni and Willi at the train station after two and a half days with us. Willi has been quite a good sport. He loves biking and hiking and does not speak English, so trudging around cemeteries with a bunch of uni-lingual Anglophones was not his idea of a good time. But he chipped in and helped out because he knows it is important to Anni. Anni has been very helpful and genial.

From the train station we drove to the citadel overlooking the city. While all the viewpoints were accessible, most of the facilities, shops, and attractions were closed behind a security fence watched over by security guards. There was no indication that we could see what the problem was, but it seems to be pretty long term, as they had plumbed in a temporary toilet facility. Since there was nothing to do after taking in the view, we left early.

We stopped a few miles to the west for our last village – Many. In early versions of the itinerary, it had been on the list for our tour of the Schilgebirge, but because that was such a long day and because it was so close to the highway back to Vienna, I moved it to today.

From Many, it was on to Vienna, where Barbara, a certified tour guide gave us an interesting commentary as we drove around the inner ring road. It is quite a beautiful city with beautiful buildings and parks. Of note were several statues of composers, such as Strauss, Beethoven, and Mozart where, in other places, you might expect to find politicians and generals.

We made a brief stop at Barbara’s house where we were all impressed by the house they had built themselves. We then drove to a nearby Heuriger for dinner. To make a long story short, a Heuriger is a place licensed to sell its own new wine to the public. The rules have evolved over centuries to the point where they are basically local wineries and restaurants. Anyway, Barbara treated us all to a few pitchers of wine and we had a very good meal, many of us choosing authentic Wiener Schnitzel. We said our good-byes to Barbara and left for the hotel. Barbara had become a real favourite with everyone over the last ten days and she really appreciated the opportunity to visit the place her family had left under most unpleasant circumstances many years ago.

I had received an email from the hotel several days ago at they would not be able to accommodate our bus. Not much notice to make alternate arrangements since we were already on the road and they had had the reservation for months! When we got there, there was no place to park even to unload passengers and luggage. After a couple of trips around the block, Johannes squeezed into a place across the street adjacent to the tram car tracks, leaving what he thought was sufficient space for the tram to pass. Well, apparently the tram driver disagreed. While we were at the hotel desk checking in, a neighbour from across the street came to tell us that there was trouble. Johannes went out to find a stopped tram car, a fire truck, and a transit police car all parked in the street. While one of the officers recorded his license number, another told him to move the bus. That is probably not the end of this story.

Some Observations on Romania

Agricultural fields are quite a bit larger here than in Serbia, but not as big as in Saskatchewan – maybe like they were ten or twenty years ago. The land here has been consolidated into larger parcels. The combines are larger and more modern, although not as big as the biggest ones at home, and we saw them loading semi-trailer trucks with grain, just like at home.

We saw some samples of gypsy life on Monday. Twice we saw them camped in open areas near the road with their little covered wagons and their tents with their horses tethered nearby. Once we drove through the gypsy section of a village where it appeared that the gypsies had occupied several abandoned houses on the edge of town. The houses were in “abandoned” condition, except that there were a bunch of people around. In the rest of the village, the people were all inside their neatly kept houses, but in the gypsy section they were all out in the yard and the street. Everything looked dirty, run-down, and uncared for, just as we have been conditioned to expect. They met the stereotype in every way.

Another time we saw one of their horse-drawn wagons on the highway, although their highways are different than at home. A four-lane divided highway is rare here. Normally they are two lanes with no paved shoulder and whatever shoulder there is, is only two or three feet wide. The speed limit is often 80 km and can be 60 km on narrow, winding sections.

You don’t see many herds of cattle here, and when you do, they are pretty small. They are generally unfenced and occasionally accompanied by a cowherd. Sheep and goats are usually accompanied by a herder and one or two dogs. Usually four-legged livestock is tethered to a stake in a grassy location.