Category: Ancestry

My Revolutionary March to Princeton

Watching Ken Burns’ ‘The American Revolution’ brought back memories of my 15-mile historical reenactment walk eight years ago. There’s nothing like being there to appreciate the sacrifices our forefathers made for our country.

It was January 7, 2017, near midnight when we started.

The plan was to walk with a Revolutionary War re-enactment group from Trenton to Princeton to reenact the famous Battle of Princeton. What that actually meant to a crazy group of long distance walkers remained to be seen.

Battle Briefing

As we approached the Old Barracks of Trenton there was an eerie silence. The old wooden two story building was wrapped in a fort-like fence barely lit by faint street lights in the middle of a post-industrial city. There was no trace of life, let alone preparations for a battle.

Our rag-tag group of six FreeWalkers were here as volunteers to experience what it might have been like to be part of a crucial Revolutionary War battle by following reenactors in an event labeled “To Princeton with Peale!.” To be accurate these were Charles Wilson Peale’s Company of Philadelphia Associators who would march through the night to surprise the British at the Battle of Princeton.

We were experienced long distance walkers but not battle tested, as they were. We were used to marching long distances and even cold temperatures. Our march on Princeton event provided new challenges for both pedestrian civilians and enacting soldiers.

The Battle of Princeton was a crucial event in turning the tide against the British and surprising Cornwallis’s troops. Only days before, Washington had held off the British at Trenton and captured a Hessian garrison after crossing the Delaware.

Now, bolstered by their current successes and desperate for victory, Washington planned a surprise, nightime offensive attack on the British. They needed to somehow quietly march the troops 15 miles around the British flank with a surprise attack on Princeton. Reenactors and observers like us would re-create what it was like to be there and be part of it.

Getting Ready for Battle

loredana-march-princeton-8
The general informs us the troops are still sleeping

Our first problem appeared at the stroke of midnight when we were set to start. We learned the troops were actually still sleeping in the barracks and would start this year at 1:00 a.m.! Where would the Continentals go if they had to wait an hour? “To a pub!” someone replied. As we started walking away, a faint bar light of the Smoke House (aka 1911BBQ) on Front Street appeared. Naturally, we took shelter in preparation of the upcoming battle walk.

Developing a Battle Plan at the Smoke House Bar.
At the Smoke House … waiting.

After about an hour at the Smoke House, we were primed for some kind of battle as we spilled out of toward our Continental troops mustering outside the barracks. Orders were given. We were headed to Princeton. Soon we headed down the old streets of Trenton following the troops. There was a positive energy in the air, in spite of the hour, five inches of snow and bitterly cold temperatures.

It’s Time to March

Getting Serious
Peale’s Philadelphia Associators at attention and ready to move out

This was our first experience interacting with reenactors. Reenactors take their roles seriously. We managed to chat briefly with couple soldiers but most kept quiet on the march or talked quietly – just as it was ordered by Washington. We learned that historical reenactments are more than just dressing up and marching to this event. There is a sincere attempt to mirror history as best they can.

Beautiful Trenton Street
Quietly marching through the streets of Trenton at 1:30 a.m.

In 1777, history recorded that the temperatures were probably in the 20s and snow had fallen a week before. It had thawed and refroze leaving a crusty snow to walk on. That was an important fact in deciding to attack, as too much mud or deep snow would have made a successful attack impossible. This day we had to face the cold temperature and five fresh inches, enhancing the experience. Our conditions, at least for weather, were worse this year of 2017 than 1777.

We continued past the old colonial homes and townhouses of Trenton into the Chambersburg section. Then continued on a broad Hamilton Avenue into Mercerville, Hamilton and eventually turned on Quaker Bridge Road toward Princeton. This was a roundabout route around Cornwallis’s troops. Now, these are well-travelled commercial roads.

As we walked in the middle of the quiet night in these suburbs the only sign of life was a single Wawa convenience store where we could take shelter for a 15-minute break. The troops were not so lucky. They kept going, presumably because convenience stores are a post-revolution concept.

Our objective was finally reached about 6 a.m. when we approached the Thomas Clarke House on the Princeton Battlefield. This was where the soldiers would come together for the battle reenactment. The only problem with this was that we still had a couple hours before the reenactment began. There was one campfire and one house for all to share and the temperature was said to be in the single digits.

midnightmarchprinceton-46

Our history lesson organized by the Princeton Battlefield Society started at 6:45 a.m. It was fascinating and helped put the actual event in perspective. The British Army historian William P. Tatum III, Ph.D. told the story of the battle.

Our History Lesson

We all recognize Washington’s crossing of the Delaware which occurred on December 26, 1776 where he attacked the Hessian troops in the Battle of Trenton. With that success he moved into Trenton and held back the British who attacked him at the Battle of Assunpink Creek on January 2, 1777. Then, in a surprise move, Washington’s troops led by General Mercer continued marching that night toward Princeton to capture the British garrison before heading to Morristown for winter quarters.

deathofmercer
Trumbull’s Death of General Mercer

Mercer was mortally wounded. Reinforcements under General Cadwalader turned back after seeing Mercer under fire (Peale’s unit was under Cadwalder). But, eventually Washington sent troops who overcame the British and took over Nassau Hall, a strategic British garrison. The victory helped drive the British out of New Jersey and helped turn the tide of the war. It gave new confidence to the Colonials and helped enlist more soldiers.

loredana-march-princeton-73


On the battlefield where we watched, soldiers fire cannon at costumed British troops on the snow covered fields, amazed at the difficulties of war. Moving heavy cannon in the snow, wadding bullets and gunpowder, meanwhile being shot at in the open. If nothing else this had to be a nerve-wracking experience for both sides. Then, if you consider that most of these men had just been through several major battles in recent days, were lacking sleep and were at the end of their supplies, the effort and outcome seems all the more amazing.

British Fire Back

Taking Solace in Victory

The combination of bitter cold, warmth of a fire, shelter in historical homes and the presence of colonial soldiers had created a new, yet old, reality show. After this long 10-hour bitter cold night, learning first-hand about war in the 18th century, and building close bonds with fellow troops – we had enough.

Just as Washington headed to his headquarters in Morristown after the battle, I too headed for my Morristown home.

War is hell, and a tough slog, especially in the winter.

For one sleepless night, we became immersed in history and energized by the spirit of 1776. Huzzah!

Reference Note:

Much of the above article was first published for FreeWalkers in 2017 under FreeWalkers March to Princeton under a separate blog Distant Thoughts,

Haunted by Images: Review of “The Rest is Memory” by Lily Tuck

The dreams and nightmares of a 14 yr old Auschwitz prisoner is part of what has been haunting me. Ghosts are all around and are trying to warn us.

Visiting Auschwitz was a profoundly emotional, yet strangely analytical experience. Your senses and mind struggle to comprehend the unimaginable atrocities that unfolded there.

Being physically present in such a place heightens your awareness in ways no history lesson ever could. But sometimes, a single image can evoke emotions almost as powerfully.

Since that visit, I’ve often felt haunted by echoes of what I witnessed. Evidence of this haunting continues to surface.

Shortly after our trip to Poland, I watched A Real Pain, a film about two Jewish cousins, David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin), on a Polish heritage tour. While the film is mostly a comedy, their visit to the Majdanek concentration camp bore an unsettling resemblance to my own experience.

Not long after, The Zone of Interest was released. The film focuses on Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig, who live a comfortable family life just beyond the fence of the concentration camp. In their home, domestic routines play out against the distant backdrop of prison sounds and the ever-present specter of death.

More recently, I read a review of Lily Tuck’s book in the New York Times. The book, inspired by a single photograph of a 14-year-old girl, imagines the life of an inmate before and during the Holocaust. That led to my expanded interest in the holocaust.

Then came Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation. Media coverage was filled with stories from the few remaining survivors, all children during that horrific time. Their voices served as reminders that the past still lingers.

Ghosts don’t need to appear physically to haunt us; they are far more subtle. The echoes of the dead surround us if we care to look and listen.

My Goodreads Book Review: The Rest is Memory

It was less than a year ago, on a heritage tour of Poland, that I had an opportunity to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. That visit was still fresh in my mind. So, when I learned of Lily Tuck’s new book “The Rest is Memory,” a portrayal of a young prisoner, I immediately dove into the book to see if it could provide a perspective of what it was like as a teenager to experience this manufactured hell.

Visiting Auschwitz is an otherworldly experience. The tour is an extremely efficient, almost military process, led by knowledgeable docents who lead you through various buildings and exhibits. The guide touches on who was imprisoned there, how they were treated and the unfathomable amount of death and destruction that occurred. The fact that over a million prisoners died in this one camp, the great majority between just 1942 and 1944, is hard to comprehend.

To see my personal remembrance of the tour click here.

There is a special quiet and solemn feeling shared by all throughout the tour. Occasionally, you would hear someone in the tour breakdown in tears. But, most of us were absorbed in trying to comprehend what happened and how we could reconcile that with our understanding of humanity. Our tour guide explained in simple, cold terms the operation of the camp and how a prisoner might live and die here. The grounds and exhibits were obvious evidence of the holocaust.

Seeing prisoner ID portrait photos on a wall was my most vivid memory. They personalized life in a concentration camp. No photo could even begin to tell the story of what a person went through, although they looked like they knew what was ahead. However, there were some survivors, including the camp photographer, Willhelm Brasse, who managed to save 40,000 photos along with his memories.

The Rest is Memory is a story of the star-crossed life of Czeslawa Kowka, a 14-year old female prisoner, who’s camp portrait became an obsession for Tuck as she imagined what it must have been like for her. It is told in a style that recalls my Auschwitz tour guide’s careful, factual and unemotional telling. The language is sparse and almost banal. There’s no need here for elaboration or exaggeration when imagination based on facts is a more powerful agent.

Czeslawa’s personal story is necessarily made up by Tuck. Czeslawa was tattooed as prisoner number 26947 and immediately lost her identity when she arrived in Auschwitz in 1942. There is little trace of her real life, except for a few basic facts like birth date (August 15, 1928), internment date (December 13, 1942) and death (March 12, 1943). Tuck appears to have looked back at her hometown area and constructed a possible tale of a normal life before the Nazi invasion. Its a life of a pre-war ordinary teenager with a romantic interest in Anton, an older guy with a motorcycle. She’s close with her mother Katarzyna, friends, community and church (she is Polish Catholic). Although she has an abusive, distant father, she has an enjoyable life and a promising future, maybe even as a teacher. All this will be violently taken from her within a couple of years.

Tuck seems just as committed to telling the horrific story of how the Polish people were completely controlled and abused. The Nazis declared war on Poland in September 1939 and in twenty-six days gained full control of the entire country. Hitler declared “The destruction of Poland is our primary task.” Germany needed “Lebensraum” (living space) for its survival and expansion. Most of the populations of Central and Eastern Europe would have to be removed permanently through mass deportation, extermination, or enslavement. The country of Poland was to be resettled with Germans.

Czeslawa lived in the small town of Wólka Złojecka outside of the historic eastern city of Zamosc. This area would be among the first to be repopulated in 1941. Over 110,000 would eventually move. She and her mother were forced off their farm with other women and eventually sent to Auschwitz to do forced labor. We learn her father (Pawel), uncle and other farmers in her village are shot and buried in a mass grave. Her would-be boyfriend Anton escapes on his motorcycle only to be beaten, imprisoned and die in Russia. Even though Russia fought Germany, it also had its designs on Polish territory and inflicted its own cruelty on the Poles. There appeared to be no escape for the Poles.

The book alternates timelines: from a broad historical view, to the innocent mind of a young girl before all this happens and then to the mundane sadness of a prisoner of which there is no hope. Although we don’t dwell on the suffering it seems to be everywhere. If you juxtapose that with the privileged life of the SS guards and their Commandant Rudolph Höss, it becomes hard to imagine a crueler place.

Pleasant and unpleasant memories are all that are left for Czeslawa. Occasionally, there are flashes of what might have been. Dreams of food, friends, wizards, dragons and even dogs are all warped by the environment where scarcity is everywhere and hope is nowhere to be found.

The book weighing in at 112 pages is a blessedly short read. My normal reading self would have craved for more details. But, I think in this case, Tuck sets the limit on what we need to know. For me, reading The Rest is Memory was like re-visiting Auschwitz. It is not a pleasant experience but a re-awakening of my senses and imagination. Unfortunately, we see many of the same cruel signs of those times around us today. Its always worth considering what are the limits of humanity and acknowledge that if it happened once, it can happen again.

The above review was published on Goodreads which can be accessed here.

Three Days in Kraków

A brief look at three days in the cultural capital of our motherland. It was our reward for a week’s worth of exploring family history in Poland.

Three days were not enough! But we gave it our best shot. There’s plenty to see and do in this old classic European City. It’s probably the best place to truly understand Poland and its rich history.

As we approached Kraków, the highway gave way to a grand boulevard. Stylish pedestrians strolled past modern storefronts housed in historic buildings. After five days as an odd trio of Americans navigating a land both unfamiliar yet strikingly reminiscent of suburban America, we found ourselves in a quintessential European city. Kraków exuded all the charm, energy, and grandeur of the world’s great cities.

Thanks to our guide and translator, Lucjan Cichochi, we had managed to overcome the language barrier during our PolishOrigins tour. As we prepared to part ways with him and venture out on our own, we reflected on how a few key phrases and a friendly attitude could go a long way in bridging communication gaps. Now, it was time for a little indulgence: the ease of English accessibility, the freedom of being a tourist, and the vibrancy of Kraków awaited us.

Ethan (my son), Ethan Luke (my grandson), and I had traveled over 200 miles across southeastern Poland by van, tracing our family roots. Over the past week, we experienced moments of wonder and joy as we discovered familial connections, met new relatives, and explored beautiful locales. Even when our leads seemed to run dry, the journey offered insights into Polish life and history, connecting us with our ancestors’ world. 

After an enriching week in Poland’s rural heartlands, we turned our attention to Kraków—our final destination. Over the next three days, we planned to immerse ourselves in the city’s rich history and culture, which serve as a proud testament to Poland’s enduring spirit.

See all posts for this 2024 Poland tour here.

A Timeless City

Kraków, one of Poland’s oldest and most significant cities, became the country’s capital in 1038. Situated along the Vistula River, it has long been a hub for trade, linking the Baltic and Black Seas. During the Middle Ages, Poland grew into one of Europe’s most influential nations, with shifting borders reflecting its complex history of alliances, invasions, and leadership changes. Though the political capital moved to Warsaw in 1596, Kraków remained the intellectual, cultural, and historical heart of the nation.

Kazimierz: A Neighborhood with a Soul 

Friday, June 14, 2024

We arrived in the afternoon at the Queen Boutique Hotel, a four-star gem nestled in the heart of Kraków’s Kazimierz district. With spacious rooms priced at a reasonable $130 per night, the hotel’s central location made it an ideal base for exploring nearby landmarks, including Wawel Castle, Old Town, and Podgórze.

Outside our Hotel in Krakiw
Strolling the Dietla

That evening, we ventured out, guided by local restaurant recommendations. Just beyond our hotel, we crossed the leafy Dietla boulevard and entered Kazimierz. The area’s weathered facades, adorned with graffiti and steeped in history, told a story of resilience and rebirth.

A Challenging History

Once an independent town, Kazimierz became a haven for Jewish refugees fleeing persecution. By World War II, it had evolved into Kraków’s Jewish quarter, only to be devastated by the Nazis. During the communist era, Kazimierz remained neglected until the 1990s, when the movie Shindler’s List sparked a cultural revival.

Savoring Flavors and Music

Drawn by lively music, we stumbled upon a cozy plaza surrounded by restaurants. The weather at 7:30 p.m. in mid-June was still bright (darkness around 10:00 p.m.) and comfortable, perfect for eating outside and watching the crowd of visitors. We dined outside at AWIW, a Jewish-Polish café, as we broadened our culinary tastes with a mix of Polish, Jewish, and Middle Eastern dishes, all accompanied by traditional klezmer music.

After dinner we decided to explore more of Kasimierz. While looking rundown and dirty, this was the liveliest and most creative section in town, filled with historical buildings, galleries, and restaurants.

Tonight we set aside our hunt for the past and searched for the best homemade ice cream for dessert. It was not easy. There were too many places to choose from and it seemed we were not the only ones on that mission.   

A Day in Polish History

Saturday, June 15, 2024
Wawel Hill

The next morning, we met our guide Johanna and walked to Wawel Hill, home to Kraków’s iconic Wawel Castle. Perched above the Vistula River, the castle complex dates back to the 14th century, though the site has been inhabited since the 4th century.

The Legend of the Wawel Dragon

One version of the legend (there are many) of Smok Wawelski, the dragon, claims that this troublesome monster lived in the limestone cave at the base of Wawel Hill and liked to eat maidens. Knights came from all over to slay the dragon but instead were eaten alive. It took a shoemaker to devise a plan to kill the dragon by offering it a sheep with sulfur sewn inside which the dragon ate and then died. For his reward he married the princess. Today, there is a statue of the dragon that occasionally spews fire at the base of Wawel Hill reminding us of the city’s very own famous dragon.

Fire-breathing Krakow Dragon Monument
Wawel Castle

Our tour began with the castle’s Royal Apartments, brimming with centuries-old treasures: ornate armor, tapestries, and murals depicting Poland’s storied past. We also explored an Oriental Art exhibition, featuring intricate artifacts from 17th-century Turkey.

The National Shrine

Next up was a visit to Wawel Cathedral is the sacred center of Krakow and possibly the entire country. Sigismund Chapel is notable for its 24kt gold domb. Since the 1300’s kings and other notable Poles have been coronated and buried here. You can see the actual sarcophagi tombs carved with images of the dead. Even the national hero, Tadeusz Kosciusko, who led American troops during the Revolutionary War, is buried here.  

For Whom the Bells Toll

Of special interest, is climbing the 70 tight wooden steps up to the Cathedral bell tower. Here there is a great view of the castle and old town areas. But, our destination was the huge bells above us as we climbed.

View from the Wawel Cathedral Bell Tower

The huge, 12-ton Sigismond Bell (cast in 1520), is said to have a magical sound and is only rung on momentous occasions for Poland, such as national celebrations, major religious holidays, or times of great sorrow. 

Sigismond Bell

Of lesser importance, in the bell tower, but even more popular, is the Bell of St. John. The bell should be touched with the left hand while making a wish. especially in matters of the heart, such as love and marriage. Each of us touched the bell with our own private wish.

Old Buildings in the Old Town

We left the castle area to briefly view a few other historical buildings. The Papel Window in the bishop’s palace where favorite-son Karol Wojtyla (who later became Pope John Paul II) would address his followers, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul and the Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in Europe (1364).

A Gothic Masterpiece

Chief among other nearby historical buildings St. Mary’s Basilica know for its magnificent stained-glass windows and famous altarpiece, a pentaptych by Veit Stoss, is said to be the greatest Gothic work of art in Poland.

Roaming Around

Our three hour tour ended with us heading toward Rynek Glowny (aka Rynek Main Marketplace) for lunch and then a nap back at our hotel, only a few blocks away.

We were surprised by the size of this plaza, said to be the biggest in Europe. In the middle of the plaza, was a large building called Cloth Hall, a very old medieval marketplace where vendors would sell goods, especially clothing. Tip: Here was a great place to buy amber jewelry and Boleslawiec pottery, specialties of this area. We found just what we needed to bring home at a reasonable price solving our souvenir anxiety quickly.

Streets of Old Town
Cloth Hall

That evening we explored more of the Kazimierz and Old Town sections. We followed the crowds and found maybe the best Italian/pizza restaurant in town, Nolio’s. It was a very lively night with people of all ages, appreciating the good vibes and weather.

A Day of Reflection

Sunday, June 16, 2024
Auschwitz-Birkenau


Our final day in Kraków took a somber turn with a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Located a short drive from the city, the concentration camp stands as a harrowing reminder of humanity’s capacity for cruelty. Touring the grounds was a powerful, emotional experience, leaving us with a renewed commitment to remembering and learning from history.

Auschwitz Entry Gate – (translation) “Work Will Set You Free”

Click here for my post on that visit including a video of our experience at Auschwitz- Birkenau.

A Celebration of Family

Returning to Kraków that evening, we marked Father’s Day with a celebratory dinner at Kogel Mogul, a Michelin-star restaurant specializing in gourmet Polish cuisine. The meal, a gift from Ethan’s wife Amanda, was the perfect way to cap off our journey.

A Michelin-star restaurant in Old Town called Kogel Mogul had been recommended to me by a friend. They specialized in gourmet Polish food. Both the food and service was outstanding and prices were reasonable for that level of quality. We would recommend it to anyone looking for a special dinner in Krakow.

Click here for my post “Eating Polish” for a broader review on eating everywhere on this tour in Poland.

England in Poland

Leaving the restaurant after a leisurely meal we walked around the old town which was still lively but less crowded. We followed a stream of people heading to what looked like a cellar bar  with called the “English Football Club”. Seemed a bit out of place here in Poland but especially relevant because the Euro 2024 Tournament was underway, as my young grandson Ethan Luke (15 years old and a BIG “soccer” fan) reminded us.

We ended up in a jam-packed bar of what we presume were mostly British ex-pats cheering on the England against Serbia. Wow! For a few moments we were transported to a different part of Europe with all the spirit and camaraderie we seek in our travels. The crowd was so tight that we could not even buy a drink, which would have been nice but not necessary to enjoy the fun.

We continued exploring the Old Town section for a while that last night while father and son duked it out on where to go next. Next, would be back to the hotel for some sleep after a long day.

Final Thoughts

Kraków captivated us with its unique blend of history, culture, and modernity. Its welcoming atmosphere, vibrant neighborhoods, and proud heritage left an indelible impression. While we regretted not having time to explore every corner, we left with a deep appreciation for the city and its people—and a resolve to return.

As a Polish American, this journey was more than a vacation; it was a homecoming.

More On Our Polish Heritage Tour

See all photos for this tour here.

Eating Polish

Eating our way through eight days of genealogical touring in southeastern Poland. Searching for relatives brings back old memories of a different kind.

I didn’t go on my recent trip to Poland for the food, although I probably should have given it more consideration. Our mission was to discover family ties, but we soon realized that food is a major link to our past and remains a proud tradition for all Poles.

I’m a child of second-generation Polish parents who turn out to be from families that once lived in roughly the same southeastern region of Poland, about an hour’s drive from the Ukrainian border. While my father and mother were both born in the U.S., their parents came from Poland around the turn of the century. My parents never had the opportunity to visit the old country.

My mom learned to cook from her mom, our “babci” (grandmother in Polish). That’s how most Polish dishes were passed down in the family, a tradition likely still true for many immigrant families. While Polish dishes were not regularly scheduled unless it was a holiday, we probably ate Polish food at least once every week or two. Those hearty dishes were different from what our friends and neighbors ate. Little did we know that we would come to miss that food and wonder what else we were missing from our heritage.

For the last 45 years, I’ve been lucky enough to be married to a notable Italian chef, Mary Ann, who reigns over our kitchen. Mary Ann learned most of her important cooking skills from her “nonna” (grandmother in Italian), and so it goes. I would never argue which country’s cuisine is best, but occasionally she will cook something Polish, like kielbasa or pierogies. It’s been decades since my mom passed, but recently I got to go full “Polish” again during my visit to our country of origin.

During our week-long stay, except for an afternoon dinner at our relatives’ home, we ate fast food for lunch and full dinners in the evenings. Polish food options were everywhere, but there were also American and international cuisine choices. Payment and tipping were similar to anywhere in Europe today—quick and painless using a credit card or smartphone. Most credit card companies automatically convert the currency at a favorable rate. Tipping is minimal; 10% is advised for exceptional service but not necessary. Being American, we tipped more.

Poland uses the zloty for its currency, not the Euro. The good news is that the zloty is trading at about $0.25 to the $1 (U.S.). Even more importantly, everything seemed cheaper, and food seemed half the cost in Poland compared to the U.S.

A Traveler’s Breakfast

If you have traveled to Europe, you know breakfast offerings are similar in places you stay and are usually free at your hotel. The hospitality in Poland is no different. Hotels offer a full-choice free breakfast buffet with pastries, fruit, meats, yogurt, eggs, etc., along with juice, tea, and coffee. Coffee, of course, is mostly served in smaller, fancier ways like espresso or cappuccino. A large cup of “American” coffee is almost unheard of, except where Starbucks has landed in the bigger cities. All of our hotels seemed to use the same self-serve, high-end coffee machine that offered a choice of any type as long as it fit into an 8-ounce cup or smaller. Coffee limitations aside, breakfast buffets are a great standard solution to start your day. It’s even possible to grab some breakfast items “to go” and save them for lunch on the road or later as a snack.

Eating on the Road

Since we were traveling on the road most of the days during the week, we would find a place to eat a sandwich, slice of pizza, dish of pierogies, or better yet, look for a McDonald’s (young Ethan Luke’s preference). It’s commonly believed that McDonald’s food tastes better here because they use local sourcing for burgers, chicken, and dairy products.

Inside McDonald’s in Poland

These are ultra-modern McDonald’s with the familiar menu kiosk (English translations available), but with small differences in the style of burgers, chicken, and wraps with special sauces. Probably the most popular (the one our 14-year-old Ethan Luke preferred) was the WieśMac or Country Mac, a variation of the Big Mac but with a mustard-horseradish sauce—only available in Poland.

At least the vegetarian wrap and Polish sausage sandwich seemed different. Of course, as in the states, you can order online, use a credit card, or pay by phone app. No need for cash. That was true almost everywhere we went.

Playing the Food Guessing Game

My teenage grandson was incredibly patient over the five days and 300 miles of travel. But he gradually became obsessed with Polish products on sale at local convenience stores like chips, candy, and drinks. It became a game to seek out different products, sometimes using Google Translate to figure out what the product was. Some were variations of familiar products or branded with popular Euro stars, like Lionel Messi. Others were just something we had never seen before, like different flavors of chips or thick nectar fruit drinks.

How to Manage a Food Allergy

Ethan Luke has a nut allergy, so he has to be careful what he eats. Ethan had a very useful card with him that explained the allergy condition and foods he must avoid, including those that might have been in contact with nuts. It was in English on one side and Polish on the other.

So, he would present the card as he ordered. It seemed to work well. (Purchase online at Equal Eats) And, we enjoyed seeing him navigate what to order with the waitresses! Everywhere we went, the wait staff seemed eager to accommodate Ethan Luke and point out dishes that would be off-limits.

What’s for Dinner?

Dinnertime was where we got to really enjoy the cuisine of Poland. Our dinners were mostly at our hotels, which were all excellent. Most restaurants served traditional Polish and other international dishes. Ethan and I were looking forward to tasting and remembering old family dishes. For young Ethan Luke, this was an adventure in travel, language, and eating something new. He settled mostly on pierogies for dinner and became our pierogi expert by the end of the week.

Pierogi is King

Pierogies are considered a staple in Poland and can be found almost everywhere. Pierogies are stuffed dumplings usually filled with either meat or vegetables in a buttery garlic and onion sauce, served with sour cream on the side. Absolutely delicious in any flavor.

However, there were many more variations in almost every restaurant. In addition to the standards—cheese, meat, mushroom, potato, and sauerkraut—we tried pierogies filled with veal, buckwheat, and strawberries. With such choices available and a lighter texture than ravioli, they are considered the most popular national dish. But it seemed like every place we went had its own favorite way of offering pierogis!

Playing the Oldies but Goodies

I hadn’t been thinking much about old Polish dishes I hadn’t tried in years until they started appearing on the menu. Fried breaded pork chops were a personal past favorite that I got to enjoy our first night at the Grand Hotel restaurant in Rzeszów. Memories of potato pancakes (placki) with sour cream came back as I ordered them for dinner at the Bartna Chata Restaurant at the bee farm Sądecki Bartnik. We were “buzzing” about the place for days.

I’m pretty sure it was because there was so much else to try, and kielbasa is so well known, that we never ordered it during our entire stay. The one dish I sought out but was not on the menu when I wanted it was gołąbki, cabbage rolls stuffed with a mixture of rice and beef and served in a thin tomato sauce. It’s a common dish, less likely to be seen on a fancy menu. I still have fond memories of helping my mom make those by rolling together the chopped beef, rice, egg, breadcrumbs, and onions into those cooked leaves of cabbage. We would grab small chunks of the filling and eat the filling raw!

Different Eating Habits

Speaking of eating raw meat, all the dinner restaurants we ate at offered steak tartare as an appetizer. Ethan and I ordered it several times and thought the taste was amazing. I’m not sure what the current food handling laws are in Poland, but the food is not highly industrialized and considered safe even raw. I’m pretty sure this is a “rare” dish in the U.S., in a different way.

Another country favorite is soup as an appetizer. My impression was that most restaurants expected you to order an appetizer, and there was always a variety of soups to choose from. Żurek, a sour rye soup, is often seen on the menu. Probably the most popular is borscht (aka barszcz), a clear beet soup with a sour finish from added lemon and/or vinegar with Polish mushrooms. I wish I had tried it, but it seemed there was always something else to try instead. I went for the cream of asparagus soup our first night, and it was outrageously good.

Chicken Salad

Of course, our visit would not have been complete without sampling the wide variety of international food in Krakow. We got to try Jewish and Middle Eastern dishes and one of the best pizzas I ever had in Kazimierz, the old Jewish section of town, where practically every type of food could be found.

Memorable Polish Dining

Dinner @ Kogel Mogel in Krakow

For our last night out, we ate at Kogel Mogel, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the old section of Kraków. Amanda, Ethan’s wife, treated us (remotely) to a Father’s Day dinner for the three of us at one of the best restaurants in town. I had the roasted duck, the house specialty, which was amazing, as were all the other dishes we tasted there.

No doubt, the highlight of our culinary experience was to take place mid-week at our cousin’s home. We got to enjoy a surprise homemade afternoon dinner at the home of Bogumilia and Zdzislaw Furtek in Brzezanka. Bogumilia is a sister of cousin Krystyna Onacki, who had helped plan the visit to the place where our related family was born.

We had a chicken consume soup followed by a roast pork dinner with mushroom gravy, dill potatoes, and fresh salad – all sourced directly from their farm. 

Memories for Dessert

It’s funny how food often so basic that we take it for granted. What helped make this trip so special is that it brought back a flood of fond memories while opening up a new horizon of taste to explore. We did not get to try many of my old favorites and some new ones like the street food of Krakow and the famous filled Paczki donut. 

Food may not be the top reason to come back but it will be another major reason to revisit the friendly people and delicious cuisine of Poland.

Smacznego!

4o

Witnessing Auschwitz

Our family of three generations of Polish-Americans tour Auschwitz-Birkenau in search of its history and cautionary message. Can anything so brutal ever happen again?

We decided to add a visit to the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau as a final point of interest on our genealogical trip to Poland. It was about an hour and a half cab ride north of Krakow. As you can imagine, touring a concentration camp is not a pleasant task, but it was an important one for a trip themed around life and death.

All of our sources suggested purchasing tour tickets well in advance, as it is an “important” tourist destination. Much of the concentration camp area is free and open to the public. However, the museum offers reasonably priced small group tours in various languages, including English. The professional guide leads about 30 ticket holders throughout Auschwitz and the neighboring Birkenau camp, providing the necessary historical background in a roughly 90-minute tour.

There were busloads of visitors this Sunday (June 16) starting at the new visitors’ center, which seemed well-equipped and organized to handle large daily crowds in the thousands. The visitors’ center, a year-old, mostly concrete structure, is sparsely designed but well-thought-out as a waiting area to keep visitors moving. There seemed to be a bit of irony as we followed our somber guide, almost blindly, in military order to Auschwitz and then by bus to Birkenau. The place naturally has that kind of aura.

We visited a handful of the many buildings in a progression that seemed to heighten the senses to the scale of this horrific place. We started with an understanding of the scale of this project, which began in 1939 when the Nazis annexed the town of Oswiecim to create an industrial base with a work camp at Auschwitz, a former WWI Polish barracks. The success in exploiting and then murdering prisoners led to a huge expansion at nearby Birkenau and other smaller camps in the area. The camps held over 1.5 million prisoners, 1.1 million of whom were murdered. In just a few years, the Nazis had learned how to efficiently kill and plunder Jews (largest number by far), Poles, Russians, Gypsies, and others from all over Europe.

The tour, buildings, and grounds are preserved much as they would have been back then. Auschwitz does not look particularly threatening from the outside of the buildings until you learn what happened on the inside. The museum tour continues quickly through several buildings, each with a specific focus such as medical experimentation, extermination, proof of crime, interrogation, punishment, and cremation.

All this is explained and examined through the many glass-enclosed statements and artifacts. Surprisingly, the photos on display do not show the ravaged bodies of the starved and tortured, but rather pensive and scared individuals waiting for the worst to come. This is not a multimedia experience. We see and hear only the story, but by being in the actual place, we can more easily imagine what happened. Imagination here can be more powerful than simulation.

The final third of the tour was a short bus trip to Birkenau after touring Auschwitz. I was surprised by the larger scale of the Birkenau camp. Its 365 acres are wide open except for a dozen or so buildings and the ever-present electrified barbed wire fence. There is a dominant headquarters building and guardhouse with train tracks running right through it. The tracks and train end about a half-mile into the camp, where thousands of prisoners would end their final journey.

Auschwitz remains important as a reminder to all of us of man’s ability to do wrong, especially to each other. One can only imagine how anyone could be so cruel, although there is plenty of reason today to think that it could happen again. On the other hand, we know that people can change too. Germany and Japan today are positive examples. It’s worth a visit to Auschwitz at least once in your life to give that some serious consideration.

For this particular visit I chose to create one slide show video with pics we took while on the tour with the theme from Shindler’s List playing in the backgroud. While we were all lost for words, the pictures are memorable and speak much louder than words.

Slideshow Video of Photos taken at Tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau

The Family Dragnet

Here’s how we became genealogical detectives in Poland as we hunted for clues to our family history.

If the word “Dragnet” means something to you, my guess is you remember Sargent Friday saying “Just the facts, ma’am.” on the old popular TV show. Or the 1960’s comedy movie version of that show with Dan Ackroyd and Tom Hanks. Either way it was about how detectives solved crime (mysteries). It seemed they had odd and funny ways of discovering facts when they interviewed suspects or witnesses.

Dragnet Theme

Now, we were on the ultimate dragnet for any clue to our family history. Facts mattered. Leads needed to be followed. We were on a missing persons investigation in Poland.

Near the top of my personal mysteries is how we got here. Ultimately, we all come from the same relatives. But the road that was taken by each of our ancestors made us who we are today. Sometimes, it was a voyage to leave their country and family. Other times it was to stay and make the most of the life they had, even if it was harsh at times. Whatever path was taken, family connections remained strong in most situations.

Where This Investigation Begins

About 10 years ago, Krystyna Onacki, a distant cousin from Poland discovered our Kiczek family. A Polish citizen at the time, she met and later married John Onacki a U.S. citizen when he was studying abroad in Poland. They moved to Roselle, N.J., coincidentally, the same town in which I grew up. Our family connection was through her mom who was a descendant of Josef Kiczek, my great grandfather.

Little did I know then that Josef had a second wife after his first passed away which created a second branch of the Kiczek family. Just 10 years ago, I had little knowledge of who my grandfather was, let alone my great grandfather. And, my parents and their siblings had passed away years before so it seemed we had no one left to ask, until Krystyna found us.

Large families were desirable back then to help work the land, provide financial support and to replace those children that would die young. For our side of the Kiczek family, my grandfather would immigrate to the U.S., and have nine children. My father’s siblings included one brother who became a priest and three sisters who would live their lives as cloistered nuns. To most Polish families this might have been the ultimate career choice and source of family pride. It was also seen as a way to increase their blessings by bringing the family closer to the Catholic Church. 

Covid Creates a Time Warp

My oldest son, Ethan Kiczek, met the Onacki’s and understood the family connections better than I. Ethan has an engineering degree and has worked in technology his entire career, appreciating the complexity of large scale projects. In 2020, tied down by the pandemic and working remotely, he became absorbed in discovering more details about the family.

Often a search leads to a clue about another relative or the nature of a relationship. This usually needs to be verified. There’s digital sources, like ancestry.com and there are analog sources, like a town’s records of births, deaths and marriages or even finding tombstones. 

While it’s possible that a birth record can appear as a digital image, more often than not it simply needs to be found in a physical registry of births, deaths and marriages. This is especially true for older records. In Poland. registry books are often located in the town where the family lived – or in the registry of the local church where they prayed. All this would take time and concentration, which with Covid, we all had plenty of.

Ethan searched a few databases like the Mormon’s FamilySearch and Facebook’s genealogy groups to discover what sources could help and how to get more information, if the data was not available online. This led to outsourcing a remote genealogical researcher in Poland, Lucjan Cichocki, who could actually go to local Polish towns to search registries to validate and discover family connections. Lucjan became our Sargent Friday. But, that led us to considering getting involved in this Polish dragnet too.

Going Back in Time

Ethan discovered, with the help of Lucjan, the towns where our family lived and even traced some ancestors to the 1700’s. But to dig deeper, we would need to view the registry records. Those records also state some other related information like the birth date, name of parents, religion and towns they came from. Ethan began to construct a large family tree that opened up our imagination as to who were our ancestors and how we were related.

PK’s Family Ancestors to Investigate

In 2022, we began to plan for a trip to Poland to discover our relatives – assuming we could find them and they would talk to us. But it was then that the Ukrainian-Russian war started. The area where our family was from was only about 50 miles from the Polish-Ukraine border. At that point we had no idea if the war would spill over to Poland. Poland’s borders have been moved often and the area we were planning on visiting was once even considered part of Ukraine. So, we postponed the trip for safety reasons. But the dragnet research continued.

Our Case History

Plans were set in late 2023 to visit the following year all the towns where my family seemed to have originated or once lived. Ethan’s mom, Judy’s (Dolac) mom had a clear connection to a town in the same region too. So, Ethan worked with a special touring company called PolishOrigins and created a custom tour that would take us to most places we had confirmed had a family connection. We hoped to visit those places, hopefully discover more connections and perhaps meet some relatives!

We spent four days investigating our ancestors in Poland, mixed with some interesting sightseeing along the way. Here’s a brief case history of what actually occurred during our investigation part of the trip:

Our Ancestry Tour Route from Rzeszòw to Kraków
Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Świerczów – About 20 miles north of Rzeszów, our starting base, we sought family connections to the Stobierki’s (Ethan’s grandmother on his mother’s side). We had an address to go to from previous research. Found a distant cousin Halina Knipa and son Bartek. They share a great great grandfather Michal Stobierski with Ethan. We visited the town hall for records, the old family farm where his grandparents lived and a local cemetery. We exchanged emails for future follow-up. See the earlier post for more details on this visit.

Bartek, Ethan, Ethan Luke, Helina

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 – morning

Żarnowa – In search of Sliwinska family (or possibly Sliwinski). Marriage records showed that great grandmother Marianna Sliwinska (born 1847) had married Josef Kiczek (born 1827) and was originally from this town, about 20 miles south of Rzeszów. We had a possible address or location but it seemed wrong. We went to the nearby convenience store to ask around if anybody knew a Sliwinska family and followed a lead to an address that might be a descendant. No one was home but a neighbor corroborated that there might be a connection. They called the possible relative and we promised to send a letter explain our relationship. Low odds on connecting here, but maybe they will respond.

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 – afternoon

Brzeżanka – a neighboring town to Żarnowa, we had our best clues and even arranged a meeting with Bogumila and Zdzislaw Furtek. Bogumila is a sister of Krystyna Onacki, our cousin who helped start this whole investigation back in the states. This was pay-dirt for us.

We now had a direct connection from the other branch of the Kiczek family. Antoni Kiczek was a half-brother of my great grandfather, Josef Kiczek. His descendants included Bogumila and Krystyna. It seemed Josef married once had eight children and married again having four more. Not so uncommon back then. One of Antoni’s sons was our familiar “Uncle Joe”(Joseph Kiczek) as he became the messenger between the U.S. and Poland Kiczek families. We just never realized what the exact family relationship was.

This was the highlight of our trip from a social and genealogical point of view and the main objective. We met a distant but direct relative, had a warm inviting visit, saw where my great grandfather and some of his descendants lived and tilled the land, even until today. We ate together, exchanged gifts and promised to keep in touch. We had an open ended welcome to come back. More than that, we discovered the land where our ancestors lived and worked was a beautiful peaceful place. See the earlier post for more details on this visit.

Thursday, June 13, 2024 – morning

Brzezowa – Our investigation moves on as we travel 30 miles southwest toward the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains and closer to the Slovakian border. There we searched for traces of my paternal grandmother’s (maiden name Katarzyna Kuchnika) family. After visiting the town hall records we found a possible relative’s address. We went to a cemetery and the home of to a a Kuchnika descendant and her son but they did not seem terribly interested in relating anything to us. We made the connection but in this case there wasn’t much interest in continuing communication.

Friday, June 14, 2024 – morning

Grybow/w – We travel west another 10 miles in search of my maternal grandfather’s ( Kmak) family. We started in Grybow, the area where we had a record of his family. We went to the local town hall to explore records. We found a clue that Kmak’s were still in town and a relative might be living nearby. We visited Richard and discovered another lead to a younger generation relative. For our last investigation we went to a local farm and met Kamil Radzik, 28 years old, our youngest relative we met. He offered his email and promised to connect.

Friday, June 14, 2024 – afternoon

Bobowa – Our last investigation started in the local town hall. Through Lucjan’s charm and two very conscientious staffers we spent over an hour pouring through records to find my maternal grandfather’s family.

Case Closed?

Four days of investigation had ended. With the help of Lucjan as our translator and charmer, we had managed to discover new facts, meet family members and potentially open up further communications. Eventually, Lucjan mentioned that he was interested in police detective work, his skills fit perfectly for that job.

More than that, we had a real feeling of what it was like living in Poland. It is truly a beautiful country, not unlike America. There are small quaint towns, small shops, even American fast food (e.g., McDonald’s) and town halls with vital records. Beyond that there is a huge landscape of open fields and undulating mountains. It changed my perspective about who are ancestors were and where they were from and why many chose not to leave.

I couldn’t stop myself from thinking of one of my favorite Elvis Costello songs that seem to relate to us being amateur detectives, if only for a while and in a friendlier way. The following video has nothing to do with genealogy, but it too is a great mysterious song and video about being a detective….

Elvis Costello: Watching the Detectives

Discovering Relative Gold

Day two on the road looking for relatives and we uncover some of the mysteries of the family.

It’s day two of actual relative hunting. Our first objective was to find a Slawinska family relative which was the maiden name of my paternal grandmother, Marianna Kiczek. We knew she was born in 1847 in Poland through a marriage record which showed she was from a small village area called Źaranowa, about 40 miles south of Rzeszów, where we had stayed the last two days. The terrain became more hilly and rural the further we traveled.

Convenience Store Clues

We did not have a specific address so our guide Lucjan suggested we stop and ask at a convenience store if anyone knew of a Slawinska family. To him this was a logical professional move. To us it was more like following a detective trying to track a criminal.

While the store clerk was not able to help, we stumbled upon a nice looking, fit older woman outside the rough-looking store who said she knew of a family that might have had a family connection with the Slawinska’s and could be related. We volunteered to drive her to her home a couple miles away. Like amateur detectives ourselves, we deduced this was how she kept in shape, walking up and down these hills these steep hills would be tough for any of us.

Super walking lady
Neighbors of Slawinska’s

No one seemed to be home at the possible family house but a next-door neighbor took our email address and promised to pass on our interest. We had made a loose connection but could not be sure if our detective work would pay off. Now, we began to realize this could be a slow process and may turn up as a dead end. On the other hand, luck might be on our side and practically everyone we met seemed eager to help.

There’s Gold in These Hills

Our second goal for the day was actually a planned visit to Bogumila and Zdzislaw Furtek. Bogumila is the sister of Krystyna Onacki, my distant cousin who had discovered our family connection many years ago. We share the same great grandfather but have different great grandmothers.

Josef Kiczek married Zofia Kielar and had three children before she passed away, one of which was Zusanna. Zuzanna married Victor Kaminska and had three children of her own, among them was Bogumila and Krystyna. Josef remarried Marianna Slawinska after Zofia’s death and had three more children, one of which was Joseph Kiczek, my paternal grandfather. Whew!

Krystyna and her husband John Onacki currently live in Roselle, NJ and are extremely warm people that embrace our shared Kiczek family connection. We have kept in touch over the years but this trip was an ideal way to share in our family heritage since much of her family still either lived in Poland or maintained connections there. This was a perfect time to actually meet and understand more about our family. And, Bogumila was the perfect personal connection to make it happen. While Krystyna could not join us physically she set up our meeting with Bogumila at her home in Breźanka just a few miles away from Źaranowa.

You could see both a physical and personal connection between the sisters. While Krystyna is younger they both have a warm beauty and personality. Bogumila and her husband, Zdzislaw, invited us into her home in the dining room and immediately talked about the family with Lucjan acting as our translator.

It seemed awkward at first but we quickly grew accustomed to the dialog. Next, she brought out several photo albums with old and new family pictures. I, in turn, had brought some of our old and new family pictures to share. We laughed when we realized that we both actually had a few of the same photos.

Bogumila and Zdzislaw’s Home

Bogumila planned lunch with us and a visit to the land and house where our common great grandfather Josef had lived. There was a new owner now and the place had been renovated many times over the years. An older woman and her nephew lived there now. Her husband had passed away and her nephew had come to take care of her. They graciously invited us in for coffee and cake as we spoke about old times there. You can’t seem to escape hospitality here!

We eventually returned to Bogumila’s home where a full lunch of Polish food including soup, salad, roast pork and dessert awaited us. After lunch we took a walk around her property, a large tract of land which they continue to farm part-time.The house and farm are situation on beautiful rolling countryside hills broken occasionally by patches of forest. It reminded me of those alive hills in the Sound of Music.

Late in the afternoon we exchanged gifts and goodbyes. But that was not before calling Krystyna in Roselle and telling her all about our adventure. Finally, we agreed to go with Bogumila and Zdzislaw to visit the local church and cemetery to see the graves of many in the family.

The Legend of Uncle Joe

My father had a close cousin Joe who was always a mystery to me growing up. He was the physical connection to the old country, living in Bayonne and working for a school for the deaf in New York City. He was a sharp dresser and a very buttoned-up character who had a worldly view traveling frequently between the U.S. and Poland and having us help our distant family in Poland in many ways. Joe also was responsible for helping to build the neighborhood church, earning him such respect that he still seeems to have earned sainthood here in the town of Breźanka.

The church that Joe Helped Build
Uncle Joe

Cemetary Life

The Poles have a special reverence for the dead and for past generations which we seem to have lost here in the U.S. It’s the final evidence of lives lived and gone. And, maybe reminding us that we’ll all be gone too someday. Nothing lasts forever but memories can linger for generations.

Let the Hunting Begin!

Our first day of relatives hunting began today. A combination of detective work and history.

It was Tuesday and our first day of relative hunting. Our guide Lucjan Cichochi arrived at our hotel in Rzeszów, Poland to take us to our first destination for the week. One big advantage we had was a personable tour guide who spoke both English and Polish was a professional genealogist who Ethan had consulted with on our family history. So, he already had some familiarity with our case(s).

What’s in a Name?

Ethan’s mom Judy’s mom was Helen Dolac (maiden name Stobierski). Her family was known to come from an area about 40 miles north of Rzeszów in the town of Świerczów. We had an address for a Stobierski and approached a woman living there who said no one with that name lived there and there were many families with that name. She suggested trying another address down the road where Halina lived who might be from that family.

It was in a multi-family apartment building which seemed might be daunting for a stranger to ring a doorbell. Lucjan, however, never let that stop him from asking around. Through a neighboring park attendant, he called Halina Knipa (formerly Stobierski ) and asked if we could meet to discuss her family for the benefit of three strangers from the U.S. seeking family history.

Naturally, it seemed, she let us in her modest apartment and treated us to coffee and cake while he began asking questions to see if she was indeed connected to the Stobierski family who immigrated to the states. She spoke only Polish but her 28-year old son Bartek, spoke some English and joined us as we looked through old photos. Ethan and Lucjan agreed that there probably was a connection to the the U.S. Stabierski’s through a great grandfather. She even agreed to take us to the town hall records building to verify his birth record to see if he was a brother of Tomas Stobierski, Ethan’s great grandfather.

Halina and Bartok then took us to the house where she and the Stobierski family once lived which is now vacant along with many others in the area. Once mainly a farming community, commerce had settled in and the family moved on. With no one interested in a house in need of repair, a barn and acres of farming land, Helena’s sisters now owned the land and its future was uncertain. It seemed likely the family home would be sold off someday. We agreed to exchange emails and make a connection

The land in this area is mostly flat and fertile. It’s fairly busy with traffic although the population is not dense and there seems to be an oversupply of land with little influence from big agricultural companies. It seems like a place where time has stood still, at least for now.

Visiting the Ethnographic Park

After a quick lunch we headed to the Ethnographic Park in Kolbuszowa a few miles away. The term “Ethnographic Park” is probably a more globally acceptable term for a recreation of a past time and culture. Williamsburg in the U.S. is considered as such. There are many such places in Europe reflecting past history and how people lived in those times.

The southeastern part of Poland was mostly an agricultural area and the common village people who worked the land and raised farm animals, mostly for the benefit of wealthy landowner aristocracy. The park is an assembly of about 60 buildings in an area resembling what a Polish village might look like several hundred years ago.

All buildings in this living exhibit were historically accurate and selected from the nearby areas then reassembled to create this reconstructed new village, including peasant houses, barns, shrines, schoolhouse, silos and manor house.

Ironically, our guide Sabina was married into the Stobierski family but we quickly realized that there was no direct connection to our’s. She became our private guide walking us through the village and explaining the history of the early settlers in this part of Poland. It was a great way to appreciate the past and think about how are history was both the same and different.

The Ethnographic park continues to expand and is a very popular destination for visitors from Poland and beyond. For a relatively new and small area of Poland, they are now attracting up to 50,000 visitors a year. Probably most important to many visiting these days is that a popular Netflix streaming comedy series (in Poland only?) called “1670” was shot here for its first season and a second season is in the works. We’ll be looking for it on Netflix when we get back to the states. I guess you could say it’s a virtual recreation of past, not unlike what we are trying to do.

Visiting Rzeszów: Polish City with Promise

We visit a charming Polish city before we embark on our hereditary journey.

June 10, 2024 Rzeszów, Poland

Our 8-hour LOT Polish Airlines flight from Newark Liberty flew into Rzeszów at 11:00 a.m. The two Ethan’s managed to catch a few hours sleep in our deluxe Business Class seats. In spite of my recent habit of catching daily naps (goes with the age) I could not sleep. Worse was the lack of WiFi and decent entertainment. Maybe it was the stress of the last couple days and the anticipation of what lie ahead that kept me up in spite of the excellent service and onboard meals.

We landed on time but had to wait for a back up driver to take us to our hotel in Rzeszów (pronounced shesh ov) about 10 miles away. Rzeszów is a regional capital of southeastern Poland bordering Ukraine. Much of our week would be close to an hour away from Ukraine. In fact, Ethan noticed when landing that we had passed several Patriot-type missile launchers along the way and we continued to see the subtle presence of military personnel. Poland is not currently threatened but their is a whiff of anxiety in the air and a common hatred of Russians.

We were staying 2 nights in the boutique Grand Hotel in the heart of the old part of the city. While we had no real preconceptions of Rzeszów, we also knew it was not one of the big cities but had some interesting history going back centuries and future promise. Its an interesting blend of “Old European”, Soviet-styled cement buildings and monuments and brand new office buildings and even a shopping mall that resembled those in New York and New Jersey. In fact many of the stores were very familiar, including H&M, McDonalds’s and Starbucks. We loved the cobble stone streets and open piazza similar to Italy and Spain, with outdoor restaurants and cafes. To me its a modest city with lots of potential.

The Grand Hotel was pretty grand in its open court setting and service, although rooms were not particularly great or big, they had plenty of amenities like a spa area with exercise room, pool, hot tub and sauna which seemed were ours alone. In fact the hotel looked less than half full, although we could not figure if that was a seasonal thing. Even the outdoor cafes seemed relatively empty for this time of year. Maybe we were on the early side of the summer season.

After going out for a burger lunch at one of the local cafes we headed back to the room for a “power nap” to try and get our bodies used to the 6-hour shift in timezone. The afternoon consisted of walking around, visiting churches, a big shopping mall and killing a couple hours at the spa/gym. A nice dinner followed at our hotel where we began to try the excellent local Polish cuisine, much of it brought back old memories of my Mom’s cooking as I grew up.

The more time we spent in Poland the more felt disappointed in myself for not studying the language more as Ethan and Ethan Luke were able to enthusiastically converse much more with the natives. They even had fun and enjoyed trying their new skills, even if they had a limited vocabulary. I think I am a hopeless case with a mental block. Languages were never my strong suit and Polish is a particularly hard language to learn.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a day in Zarębki and Šwierczów about an hour north of Rzeszów. This is ou first stop on exploring for relatives. This first stop involves my son Ethan’s mom, Judy’s family, in particular Judy’s mother’s side of the family. We have a few clues, birth records and an address to visit. With our trusty genealogist, Lujan, we hope to learn more. It seems a long shot but anything can happen.

Welcome to Bureaucracy

Who expected Soviet-style bureaucracy at a New Jersey airport? Is this a forewarning of things to come?

Newark Liberty Airport – June 9, 2024

To start our journey, Ethan and Ethan Luke arrived at our house in Morristown in time for lunch and a small family gathering wishing us a bon voyage! A car service picked us up in a stylish big black van which probably made us look like a neighborhood celebrity. It were high-flying until we reached Liberty National airport terminal B at about 6:00 for our 8:10 flight to Poland. Plenty of time, as it should be.

The LOT Airlines receptionist asked if we had any electronics. Duh! Who doesn’t? But what she meant was that ANY electronic device had to be carried onboard and NOT checked in our luggage. Seemed odd to us but we went into the suitcase and transferred our gear, including cameras and computers to our carry on bags. This was a minor inconvenience but we gladly complied. BTW – LOT does not offer onboard wifi.

With boarding passes and luggage checked we proceeded to the TSA screening. Since we were flying Business Class we were able to avoid the “Economy” screening line of about 100 people and were processed quickly…until the woman who looked as stern as a prison guard saw my passport and notice an irregularity. My name on the passport was “Paul Kiczek” but the ticket, which Ethan had bought months ago was issued to “Paul Robert Kiczek”. This was a big red flag and we were pulled out of line. The TSA clerk said she could not let me board unless the ticket read “Paul Kiczek”.

So, we go back to the LOT receptionist and plead with her to change the ticket. She said she could not but could add another line with “Paul Kiczek” showing so that might help. Fortunately, although the screening line was getting long the nasty TSA clerk must have now been on break and we all passed the name test this time. Now all that was left was for our carryon bugs and our bodies to be scanned.

And, of course there was a new problem – my body. The x-ray somehow showed a metallic area at my crotch! Folks, I know of no reason that I could think of for me going “metal”. Naturally I was man-handled with a pat down but not cavity searched by a professional screener as he snapped on his latex gloves and found me to be free of at least dangerous metals. Yikes! It still makes me wonder. Why me?

Finally, post-body search I go to pick up my screened bag and its pulled out of line. Yes, this time it was a rookie mistake on my part. I had taken a can of seltzer with me to drink before we boarded. And, everyone knows that 12 ounces of liquid can be as dangerous as carrying a loaded gun onboard. Tossing out the drink, we were finally ready to board with just 45 minutes before departure.

This was an awkward start. Right now I am flying over the Atlantic and all things seem peaceful again and actually pretty nice in business class with 8 hours to go before landing. Fingers crossed. We will soon be entering an old Soviet-style world which we hope has changed its bureaucracy for the better.