Hard to believe it is ending

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It is hard to believe that tomorrow we leave for home. The time has escaped us. There has been so much to see and do; we have tried our best. Each day has been filled with surprises. There is so much to learn here. How much I wish I had asked more questions to fill in the brief history that we learned in school. There is so much to know and learn from. We have such a mixed heritage in America. Our histories are so intermeshed with the rest of the world. I feel I have deprived myself of so much as far as my knowledge of the many generations that have preceded me.

We had a very brief visit in Warsaw. It is a huge city not easily navigated. We were fortunate in being invited to dinner with Krystyna Knight’s father. We were given a little insight into the history of Poland and Warsaw. With so little time there, it was really appreciated. It is astounding how they have rebuilt such a large city. Bricks were shipped in from all around Poland to rebuild Warsaw. Nothing was wasted. The Polish people all participated to the best of their ability. They utilized the plans that had been preserved and rebuilt the historical buildings to an exactness that is incredible. We have seen this same ability in the other cities we have visited. There is a great appreciation for their heritage here.

On Palm Sunday, we attended church in a small Polish town. The Polish people are extremely devout. The church was packed, everyone came on time, they stayed for the entire service, and they all sang. On Palm Sunday, the people make their own pseudo palms. These are made of pussywillow branches, flower, lace, and ribbons as well as beautifully colored and braided reeds.

We continued on to Auschwitz and Birkenau. Neither John nor I had been to a concentration camp. It is overwhelming. The barracks at Auschwitz where they held so many are now venerated museums documenting what occurred there. There are no words that can describe these places of horror. This history should never be lost. All of those who were in the camps with us view them in a hushed reverence. I cannot describe it for there really are no words.

We stayed in Poland for the night in a city called Wroclaw previously known as Breslaw. It has an infamous history as a Nazi stronghold. It was within the German control previous to the war and voted almost unanimously for the Nazi regime. It was a German stronghold almost to the end when the Soviets invaded and essentially destroyed the town pillaging and raping. It is now part of Poland and proud to be so. They too have restored the town to its original glory. How is still incredible to me.

John wanted to see Dresden so on we traveled. It was the subject of the book Slaughterhouse 5. This city was totally bombed by the American forces. They are still in the process of rebuilding. There were two building foundations that we viewed that were direct bomb hits. You can see where the new stone has replaced the old and where the bullet holes are still visible. The craftsmanship is beautiful as they have been so successful in recreating what once existed. We went on a bus tour and have filmed much of it. There is a statue to the women who collected the bricks and stone for the rebuilding of the city. Man’s resilience is a remarkable thing.

We stayed in a lovely pension in Germany for the night. I highly recommend the GPS for travel in Europe. We would have spent more time being lost than traveling without it.
You cannot argue with the GPS lady.

Next stop, Regansburg Germany. Again another beautiful city restored post war. It is located on the Danube and has all of the charm you would expect. We decided to stop for lunch at the Wurtzhaus on the river. It is an outdoor café with bench seating. We were joined by a delightful German couple who educated us on the area. Then, we were joined by an American couple who were on the Danube cruise from Nurnburg to Budapest. They were from West Chester PA. Hard to believe how small the world is.

I am writing from our hotel outside of Munich. This has been a wonderful experience. John and I feel really blessed to have been able to do this. I hope I have not bored you terribly. If I start to talk about the trip, you can just say I read about it and I promise to be quiet. A month never seemed so short.

Thank you for your patience with me.

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