European Family History Tour: Day 1 – Munich and Regensburg, Germany
My husband Dave and I took a trip to Europe October 7 – 24, 2024. Our intention in going was to do family history research on his father’s line and my mother’s line. We visited Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.
After an 11-hour flight (Chattanooga – Charlotte – Munich) we arrived in Munich around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, October 8th Munich time (or 1:00 a.m. Georgia, USA time). Dave served a mission for our church about 40 years ago in Switzerland and Germany. He’s managed to maintain the language, and the passport agent complimented him on his German. 😊 I’m glad someone can speak it! I would have been LOST without him in more ways than one.
Retracing My Mother’s Footsteps
This not only was a family history research trip, but also, I set out to retrace some of my mother’s footsteps from her time in Germany back in 1953. My mother passed away in 2017, but before that, she frequently spoke with fondness about her time in Germany. So, I thought it would be fun to go to some of the places she visited.
A German friend and my mother (Betty on right) in downtown Kitzingen
After our arrival and renting a car, we drove into Munich, parked and took a long walk around Munich.
Hofbrauhaus in Munich Germany
My mother and her first husband honeymooned in Munich. She also went back a few months later with some friends and walked the streets. She and her friend Phyllis spent time sightseeing Munich, riding the streetcars. She visited the famous Hofbrauhaus in March of the following year. We stopped at the Hofbrauhaus and took some photos.
Dein Mann Is Here!
We stopped at a bookshop in Munich, and I spotted this book. The woman on the cover sort of makes me think of my mom Betty Morton in her 30s. She was a brunette by the time she gave birth to me. The name of the book “Mein Mann” made me think of this line from my mother’s personal history about her time living in Germany in 1953 with her first husband Roger who served in the US Military there:
“Roger got back about the same time from border patrol. One of my favorite memories was sitting on Frau Herbert’s balcony and hearing her say “Dien Mann is here.” And Roger would be back from border patrol.”
Munich
We walked around Munich for several hours, went to the Marenplatz, watched the Glockenspiel, and saw a couple cathedrals. I love the architecture. So beautiful!
Notice the couple walking down the street carrying a bag of groceries between them.
Germans often carry baskets to the store. They typically go to the bakery for their breads, a cheesemaker for their cheeses, and a butcher for their meats.
Dealing with the Jet Lag
I walked 10,440 steps on Tuesday (October 8th). That’s around 5 miles. Not bad for having had very little sleep on an overnight flight and losing 6 hrs. 😮 Normally, I can’t handle such little sleep and time changes really get me, but I handled this remarkably well. I attribute this to the fact that I purchased some Travel Vitamin Tonic for Flight, Jet Lag, Hydration, Circulation, Digestion and Immune Support. It’s a powder you put in water and drink. I drank some during our lay-over in Charlotte, NC. Then I took another one about 24 hours later. I also took one for my flight home. It really made a difference! I handled the trip so well.
Evening Picnic at St. Peters
After a much-needed afternoon nap, we stopped at a grocery store, picked up rolls, cheese, liverwurst, sliced sausage, juice and a tomato to make sandwiches, stopped at a bakery for yummy desserts and took it all to St Peters Cathedral in Regenburg, Germany and had a little evening picnic.
Mama came back from Germany with a love of liverwurst on pumpernickel with bread and butter pickles and sliced tomato … which she passed on to me. This was the smoothest, mildest liverwurst I’ve ever eaten. In fact, by the end of our trip, I’d tried Liverwurst from three different places, and it all was incredibly mild and smooth. Not “gamey” flavored like what we get in America.
Our picnic spot: St. Peter’s Cathedral in Regensburg, Germany
We ate a lot of bread, sliced meats and cheeses while we were in Europe.
This pastry was like a Napolean – layers of pastry with Bavarian cream. Yum!
Click here to continue reading about Day 2 of our European Family History Trip
