Family Ties

After a long drive we were excited to get to what turned out to be a REALLY nice hotel. As we exited the van we were introduced to Dziadzio’s long lost family who had come to meet us for dinner. Talk about awkward! Only one of them spoke a little English, so almost all conversation had to go through Uncle J and Dziadzio. Not to mention they came in their Sunday best and we were in sweatshirts! The family consisted of Dziadzio’s first cousin Irene, her two daughters, their husbands and kids. This was the first blood relative outside of his immediate family Dziadzio had ever met! The ice sorta melted, at least for those who understood each others’ languages, and we saw them again at their farm the next afternoon. I’d never been so to have Lena to focus so much attention on (to avoid the awkwardness!) and for the comic relief she provided everyone. Lena had taken to calling Babcia “abi” and Dziadzio “yayo” so during dinner she kept yelling “abiyayo” and everyone thought it was funny. Despite the awkward language barrier, they were so sweet and hospitable.

Our hotel for 2 nights--very nice! And two exciting amenities...a coin operated breathalizer and a bidet!  (Which I forgot to snap a pic of!)

Dziadzio and his cousin Irene

We visited the village and property where Dave’s grandmother (Helena) was born and raised until she was 14 years old and taken by the Germans for forced labor as a nanny. Helena didn’t return to her home until long after she had immigrated to the states. The farm was simple and although the house had been demolished and rebuilt it was neat to imagine what it would have been like for her as a child...the summer kitchen was still in tact but now housed animals instead of being used as a kitchen. Lena loved the dogs, ducks, rabbits, chickens, and pigs they had at the farm. That was super fun :) The family had a snack provided for us and we all sat around looking at photos in their living/dining room.

We took some time to visit the home Dave's grandfather grew up on before he was taken to Germany.  Dziadzio met another cousin, Zosha (spelling?)

An absolutely gorgeous view of the countryside off the backyard.

Dave's great grandparents graves.  The cemetaries were so beautiful--the families take such pride in keeping the graves beautiful. 

Two more incredible castles, one was fairly in tact, the second was more in ruins. Fascinating!This is what I call a time out!

Though...this torture room and dungeon would make a good time out place too!

The two castles were across the river from each other...indicating that the waterway would have been a natural border long ago.  We took a boat from the one castle to the next...and enjoyed some delicious smoked goat cheese on the way!  The goat cheese vendors were every where in this area.  Lena kept asking for more.

This was the weirdest thing...it sounded like a bagpipe but it looked like he had gutted a goat and stuck pipes in the head, arm, and leg holes.  Crazy!

Sarah you crack me up!  And also...we loved the 'exit' and 'keep walking' signs we'd see everywhere (here above Sarah's head)--to me I see "RUN!!! FIRE!!!" 

This was our third adorable hotel...a gorgeous place to walk around.  And our room had the best jacuzzi tub!  It was huge!