My Trip to Europe

I haven't blogged in a long time - mostly because I was in Europe for two weeks and then enjoying the last week of Summer. 

We had a great trip to Germany, Belgium and England.  Three generations travelled together - my mom, my kids, my boyfriend (who is also my husband), and me.   The main purpose of our trip was to visit relatives in Germany.  I had been there twice before, but I wanted my kids to meet their distant cousins and establish a friendship.  It worked.  It amazed me how 9-17 year olds hung out together, played soccer (futball), and had water fights  - but hardly spoke the same language.  One night they watched Garfield in English with German subtitles!  When we went on to Brussels, we hooked up with more cousins who have moved from Germany and even lived in the U.S. for three years. 

Pictures shown here are:
1 -  my two kids and their cousin behind the baptismal font where my great, great, grandma was baptized. 
2 - a bunch of the cousins together at Castle Waldeck - a medieval headquarters for the region.
3 - family together in central Brussels.

Click once on each picture to blow up and see better.

The other great thing about visiting Germany was the family history we were able to dig up.  I've done lots of work since 1999 on my family tree (genealogy), starting with my grandma before she died.  It was her grandma who travelled from Germany to Denver at the age of 16 in 1880.  And the town in which she was born and raised is the one we visited.  One dear auntie (Else) and one wonderful cousin (Timo), who speak English, have helped us trace back to the early 1700's with stories of real people.  Talk about really digging into "Know You"!  I have learned so much about my roots and where some of my behaviors (like stubborness and perfectism) have come from.  I can also see the good things that have been passed down -  like strong work ethic.

There are always touchy issues like WWI and WWII.  They tell stories of how the Nazis raided their towns and that one grandpa was even made Mayor by the US Military after WWII because he was not a supporter of Nazi efforts.   What we learned this trip was that Germans aren't proud of much.  The World Cup this year gave them more to rally around than anything else since before 1945, my cousins told me.  They say that pre-WWII, there was "too much nationalism - of the wrong kind".  Now, they tread carefully in creating nationalism, worried that power and ego could get out of hand as it did with Hitler.  I guess all nations should tread lightly on that subject!

Anyway, if you ever have a chance to interview your grandparents or dig into your genealogy, consider it.  It's like discovering a great novel if you can get people really talking. Juicy and fascinating!

I'm glad to be back in the U.S. and back to blogging.

Kelly