On the bus to Copenhagen, Denmark [Post #17, Day 234]

As I ride the FlixBus from Hamburg to Copenhagen, the Poland and Germany stage of my trip has come to a close. It has been wonderful meeting and spending time with my relatives and friends who warmly welcomed me into their homes, and showed me all around different parts of Poland and Germany. Even though it was the first time meeting my relatives in Germany, I felt at home right away and I’m very happy to have had the chance to strengthen our family connections across continents!

I first traveled to Poland from Romania by bus, with an overnight stay (at a particularly hot and stuffy hostel dorm room) in Budapest. My first stop in Poland was Warsaw where I was kindly hosted by my friend Adam and his girlfriend Aneta. The last time I saw Adam (and where we met in fact) was at the Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics conference held in London last September. It was great to see Adam again and be introduced to his girlfriend Aneta. We had an awesome day venturing all around Warsaw, visiting historic sites, eating traditional Polish foods, talking about geology and geotechnical topics (Adam and Aneta work at the Polish Geological Institute), attending a military parade which was interesting to see, and strolling through beautiful parks. Adam and Aneta also took me to the animal shelter where they volunteer which was fun to see. I found Warsaw to be a really nice city and a great first introduction to Poland.

Fun day in Warsaw with Adam and Aneta. The right photo shows Sigismund’s Column, located in the Old Town area of Warsaw which commemorates King Sigismund III Vasa who relocated Poland’s capital from Kraków to Warsaw in 1596.

Next, I was on the train to Kraków, the home city of my paternal grandfather. It was very special to visit the place where my Opa is from, and to walk in the same places where he had once walked. It was something I had been looking forward to for a long time. Kraków is a beautiful city, with a lot of interesting history and many things to do and see. I especially liked the Jagiellonian University buildings and the Professors’ Garden. Founded in 1364, Jagiellonian University is the oldest university in Poland and one of the oldest continually operating universities in the world. I attended a football match between the local club Wisła Kraków and Arka Gdynia. Knowing my Opa had liked following European football, I was wondering if Wisła Kraków (founded in 1906) was his favorite club in Poland. I had one of the best soft serve ice creams I've ever had while in Kraków, it was very creamy and delicious, and huge! It took a lot of willpower to only allow myself one per day. I also did a day trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine which is a massive underground network of tunnels and big open spaces with ornate sculptures in the rock salt. I attended a classical music concert in Saints Peter and Paul Church, the opening piece was my favorite classical music piece, Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major by Bach. I had a very nice dinner with my friends Andrew and Lois who I had met while hiking in northern Albania. It was great to have a mini reunion in Kraków and we ate at what turned out to be my favorite restaurant there called Chimera – a very green place with many plants and delicious healthy foods, I returned two more times after our initial dinner! I had planned to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum which is a short distance from Kraków but I was not able to book tickets during the short stay that I had. I also heard that it was very overcrowded which detracted from the experience, with people being loud and not fully respectful of the place. So I plan to visit sometime in the future when I can avoid the main tourist season.

After Kraków I got back on the train and made my way to Zakopane, a resort town at the base of the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland. I stayed for two nights in Good Bye Lenin Hostel which was a cozy, social, and fun hostel (I need to watch the movie now!). I only had one full day for hiking, which started out nice and sunny but rain was in the forecast. Along the trail, I came up to Nat and Zanna who I had met earlier in the hostel. We ended up walking together and had a great time enjoying the beautiful scenery and talking about all kinds of interesting things. Thunderstorms began to set in as we approached the high ridge we had planned to walk along. With lightning and thunder approaching and the rain getting heavier, we decided to turn back and head back for our hostel. We were a little soggy by the time we got back but it was a great day nonetheless – I have always loved the rain!

Next, I was on my way to Wrocław, a city I was interested to see based on the recommendation from my relative in Germany, Barbel, and which also would serve as a good setting off point for my mission to visit the little village where my paternal grandmother (my Oma) is from – another primary objective of my travels in Poland. I really enjoyed exploring around Wrocław, particularly finding the little bronze gnomes placed all around the city.

Treasure hunting for bronze gnomes around Wrocław. Apparently there are over 400 of them sprinkled around the city!

The village where my Oma is from is today called Kłodobok and is part of Poland, although when my Oma lived there prior to and during World War II it was part of Germany and was spelled Klodebach. There wasn’t a direct way to take public transportation from Wrocław to Kłodobok, so after a bit of logistical investigating I determined the best way to get there was to take a short train ride to the nearby town of Ziebiçe then make it the rest of the way by bicycle. I found a nearby bicycle rental shop with the help of the friendly front desk person at my hostel (Grampa’s Hostel), and the next morning I boarded the train to Ziebiçe with my rental bicycle. Upon reaching Ziebiçe, I had a nice ham and cheese sandwich and delicious pistachio cream-filled croissant from the local bakery then set out on my bicycle. It was about a 1-hour ride to reach Kłodobok. The cycling was challenging! Up and down over continuous hills with farm fields all around. It was a beautiful sunny day and I enjoyed the ride very much, thinking about my Oma and her family, and with a feeling of excitement and anticipation as I approached their home village. Somewhere along the way I took a wrong turn but was rerouted by Google Maps along a dirt farm road leading to Kłodobok. It was fun riding along that road! And sure enough, I reached Kłodobok.

Kłodobok has one main road that extends the full length of the village. The way I intended to confirm I was in the right place was from an old photo of a farmhouse my Oma had shown me, which was next door to the house she had lived in with her family. I cycled along the main road, taking in all the surroundings and searching for a building similar to the one I had seen in the photo. It was a sleepy Saturday morning with not a whole lot going on, a few people were out mowing their lawns, I could hear birds chirping, and enjoyed seeing the different houses, some old, some new, many with beautiful flowers and gardens around. I continued making my way along the main road, and hadn’t yet sighted the farmhouse. Then, just as I came to the end of the village – there it was! It was an exciting moment! I parked my bike and walked all around, taking photos and videos to send to my Oma, giving her a “tour” of present-day Klodebach. At the time, I had mistakenly thought she had in fact lived in the farmhouse, but actually her house was the one next door. I met the neighbors across the street, who at first asked what I was doing, but were excited to hear as I explained my family connection with Kłodobok and the reason I was there. They were very friendly and helpful, giving me some resources to find out more about its history. We are now connected on Facebook and I think it’s super cool to have that link now – like a connection between times past and the present – where before, Klodebach was a distant, little village I only knew about through my Oma’s stories, and now, I can instantly message the people who live right across the street from the house she lived in those many years ago.

The history of my family is very important to me and I love listening to my Oma tell stories from her childhood. Her family did not have an easy life during and after World War II. They struggled to have enough food to eat at times and were continually moved around immediately after the war. Visiting the home of my Oma (Christine, or Christel as she is also known by many) and her siblings Fritz, Eva, Ursula (Uschi), and Willi, and her mother Agnes, and father Wilhelm, was a very special experience.

The old farmhouse (built around 1800) next to the house where my Oma lived. The old photo my Oma showed me (left), and the photo I took of the farmhouse during my visit (right).

My Oma with her mother Agnes holding her, and her siblings from left to right – Eva, Ursula (Uschi), Willi, and Fritz. The right photo shows their former house in Klodebach as it stands today.

Next I had a short stop in Prague, Czech Republic. I really loved Prague. I found it to be beautiful, and a very big city! Every new area I ventured to was beautiful, with more historic streets, buildings, and parks to explore. I loved the colors of the buildings and rooftops when looking out over the city, and there were several afternoon rains and beautiful rainbows during the days I was there. I enjoyed the food, and discovered my favorite restaurant Havelská Koruna, which served traditional Czech meals and was a place I returned to several times – I tried svíčková (beef sirloin in a creamy vegetable sauce) with bread dumplings, Moravian pork sparrow with cabbage and potato dumplings (a pork dish and doesn’t actually have anything to do with a bird), and beef goulash with boiled potatoes. From the moment I arrived in the Old Town area of Prague, I saw many people walking around with a special looking ice cream – I was very intrigued. I found out it was the traditional trdelník (also called chimney cake), which is made by wrapping pastry dough around a cone or cylindrical-shaped mold then rotating and cooking over an open flame. The outside of the cake is coated in cinnamon and sugar, and after baking the inside is filled with various sweet fillings like whipped cream or ice cream (I had also seen and tried the chimney cake in Romania but it was never filled with ice cream!). So I got one with chocolate hazelnut sauce and vanilla soft serve ice cream, it was scrumptious and rivaled my soft serve ice cream in Poland, but if I had to choose I think Poland is still the winner!

The colors of Prague.

The delectable ice cream in Poland, and the one with the chimney cake cone in Prague, which one looks better!?

After Prague it was on to Germany, with my first stop in Leipzig where I was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet and stay with my relatives Barbel, Bob, and their daughter Rebecca (who goes by Becky just like my mom!). Barbel is my father’s first cousin (my Oma’s sister Eva’s daughter), which makes her my first cousin once removed. We had a lovely time going all around Leipzig, including a stop at St. Thomas Church where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as Thomaskantor, musical director of church music including the renowned boys’ choir – Thomanerchor. I learned that Leipzig is one of the historical musical centers of Europe, being home to not only Bach but other legends of classical music such as Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, and Richard Wagner. Barbel and Bob are professional pianists and Barbel gave me an introductory piano lesson! It was a lot of fun – one of my goals is to learn to read music and play the piano, and now I am one step closer. With Barbel’s guidance I learned to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, next up is Chopin! I also spent a fun day at the nearby Moritzsee and Grillensee lakes with Becky and her boyfriend Heiner. We had a nice picnic with delicious food prepared by Becky and enjoyed cooling off in the lake since it was a hot day. It was my first experience swimming nude, which is quite common at lakes in Germany – it was a freeing feeling and I recommend it!

From Leipzig, we then traveled together to Celle to attend the Silver Wedding (25th anniversary) celebration of Barbel’s brother Andreas (also my first cousin once removed) and his wife Annette. It was a great celebration with music, dancing, and a very nice dinner. I had the opportunity to meet more of my family, including Susanne and Bernd, who I would soon be visiting in Hamburg. The next morning we made a group FaceTime call to my Oma and Dad in Australia. It was wonderful to all be able to talk together and I know my Oma loves when she has the chance to talk in German. We also made a group call to Barbel and Bob’s son Timothy, who is currently working at a music camp in Switzerland and preparing for a highly competitive cello competition. All the best Timothy! After our family video calls, we went for a nice walk through Celle, which is famous for the traditional half-timbered construction technique (fachwerk) used for many of the buildings in the town. One of our stops was at Annette’s beautiful pottery studio and store, which is inside one of the old, historic buildings.

It was great to be with my relatives in Germany, here we are in front of Annette’s pottery studio in Celle, from left to right – Bob, Becky, Annette, Andreas, me, Barbel, Susanne, and Bernd, with Lissie in the front! Congratulations Annette and Andreas on your Silver Wedding anniversary!

After saying goodbyes in Leipzig I made my way to Berlin for a few days. I met my friend Franziska who I had first met at the Stone Town Hostel in Gjirokastër, Albania. She lives in Berlin and helped me plan my sightseeing activities. She introduced me to the Midnight Runners Berlin group, which was a huge, energetic group and we had a lot of fun running 8k through the streets and parks of Berlin, with stops in between to do various group exercises. We also saw The Zone of Interest at an outdoor cinema, which was a somber but well made movie.

After my short trip to Berlin I was then on to my final stop in Germany to stay with my relatives Susanne and Bernd in Hamburg. Susanne is also my father’s first cousin (her father Willi is my Oma’s brother). I had another wonderful time in Hamburg which is a very interesting and unique harbor city. Susanne and Bernd took me all around, to see the local markets and other landmark sites around the city, including the impressive Elbphiharmonie building. We did a boat tour through the harbor and visited the amazing Miniatur Wunderland. As an engineer I love tiny details and Miniatur Wunderland is chock-full of them! The gastronomical highlight of Hamburg was having an authentic Hamburger lunch with Bernd of labskaus and matjes. Labskaus is a mixture of corned beef, potatoes, and onion, often served with beetroot and pickled gherkin, and matjes is raw, cured herring, a type of fish commonly eaten in Hamburg. Bernd delightedly prepared our meal which we enjoyed out on the terrace in a ceremonialesque lunch. We also made a day trip to Lübeck to visit Susanne and Bernd’s daughter Paulina (my second cousin) and her partner Patrick, and the newest member of the family, their smiley sweetheart 6-month-old daughter Gwendolin. Paulina and Patrick had also visited Klodebach last year so it was really fun to talk about that and many other things. Patrick is also very interested in family history and told me about the Arolsen Archives where I may be able to find out more about my Opa’s time as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II. I also had the chance to catch up with my friend Max who I had met when he came from Germany to Perth as a visiting research student. I messaged Max to let him know I was in Germany and it just so happened he now lives in Hamburg, where he moved to complete his PhD! We had a fun afternoon together catching up on things and seeing some cool places around Hamburg.

An ode to labskaus and matjes! The labskaus is under the eggs.

So I said my goodbyes to Susanne and Bernd in Hamburg this morning, sad to be leaving Germany and my family who I had such a nice time staying with. But I’m very happy to have made the connections now and I very much look forward to visiting with everyone again in the not too distant future, whether in Germany, Perth, or wherever it may be!

My next stop is Copenhagen where I will have the chance to catch up with my friend and colleague Santosh which I am very much looking forward to! We plan to spend some time taking photographs around Copenhagen, make a day trip across the water to Sweden, and I may make a visit to Legoland.

Part of the bus trip I am currently on included the bus driving aboard a ferry where we then had a 45-minute crossing of a portion of the Baltic Sea, that was a new one for my transit experiences. We have crossed into Denmark and are approaching Copenhagen now!