Travel to Mecklenburg

My heart is filled with awe, amazement and gratitude to God for having had the opportunity to take the trip of a lifetime to Deutschland!

Having spent the first nine days of our trip around the city of Bamberg, where we met my husband's cousins, we headed on the autobahn towards Mecklenburg.

Excitement was building as we travelled north towards Neustrelitz, a town of about 20,000. We had made reservations to stay two nights at the Hotel SchloßGarten, which we would highly recommend to anyone. I was in search of information about my great grandmother's family and wanted to see the places where she had grown up. Her name was Friedericke Schnell and she was born in 1828 in the small village of Starsow, south of Neustrelitz. Her father and many generations before were born in Groß Quassow. Prior to our trip I had some records dating back to my 3X great grandfather, Schnell.

Royal Schnell, from Tenesee, whom I got in contact with through the Internet, put me in contact with a Schnell family who was currently living in Neustrelitz. Although at this time I have no documentation that I am related to Royal or the Schnell family in Neustrelitz, the family there treated us royally! The whole family took a day off from work and school to drive us around to visit all the places I wanted to see. They took us to Groß Quassow, Klein Trebbow, Starsow and Mirow (picture: road sign leaving Starsow driving toward Mirow).

Our visits to the villages of Starsow and Groß Quassow were brief as neither had populations much over 100. I took a few photos and we searched the cemeteries, but found no gravestones of my ancestors. In Germany, if after twelve years no one continues to pay for the grave anymore, the stones are removed and piled in a far corner of the cemetery! It was sad to see the pile of old gravestones and wonder whether any of my ancestors' stones were among them (picture: abandoned gravestones in a cemetary in Starsow, Mecklenburg, Germany).

Our next stop was in Mirow. Here I was able to go inside the very church where my great grandmother had been baptized and confirmed! What an awesome feeling came over me as I stood in that beautiful church in front of the baptismal font and realized that it was the very one used for my great grandmother's baptism in 1828. I took many photos both in and around the church and also was able to bring back a small piece of red brick that once was a part of the original church. Of course my husband tells people jokingly that he saw me with a pick and hammer trying to get that piece of brick! I left there feeling a real connection to my past!

Across the street from the church in Mirow is a Tourist Bureau. The director invited us to her office once she found out I was from America and interested in my ancestors' history. There were many old books and documents here and we were very excited to find documents that my great grandparents had both signed in 1848, declaring that they were against the Duke's system of government. It was highly unusual at that time for women to sign such a document and it seems my great grandmother was only one of many women who signed this petition.

It was a most memorable day and driving along the narrow roads, lined with beautiful trees on both sides, made a lasting impression on our minds. We really were travelling along the same paths as my ancestors had. The winding roads were paved over the very pathways that my great grandmother's family had traveled, with their horses and wagons, back in the early 1800's.

We left the next day for Lübeck, which was a three hour drive on the Autobahn. By this time my husband was comfortable driving on the Autobahn and it was a much more pleasant experience for him than he thought it would be. Even though drivers go faster there than in America they seem to be more skilled and courteous, as long as you stay out of their passing lane, you will be fine. We would not hesititate to travel on the Autobahn again.

We enjoyed a quiet first night in Lübeck and were eagerly awaiting the arrival the next morning, from Hamburg, of our friend and translator. I cannot tell you enough how fortunate I was in making contact with this person three years ago (picture: a typical village house in Schaddingsdorf, Mecklenburg).

I wrote to everyone in Germany with the name of Rieckhoff who had an e-mail address. One man responded (among others) that he would give my inquiry to his brother who was into researching their own family. Bingo! This young man wrote me two months later for the first time. Never could I have imagined what he would do for me in my family search over the next 2 1/2 years! And...no fee! To shorten the story a little, he was able to find living cousins of mine in the spring of 1999, living in Lübeck and parts of western Mecklenburg. When my search began I only knew that my great grandparents had come to America from somewhere in Mecklenburg before 1853, no village, no records, only one page in a family records book that recorded the birth of their first child in New York City in 1853!

The next thing I knew I had been corresponding with my third cousin in Lübeck since last May and we were planning our trip to Germany. My "friend" from Hamburg next offered to take a week's vacation and join us in Mecklenburg and act as our guide and interpreter! Unbelievable, yes, but true!

What a memorable week we had! Our first full day was spent visiting my cousin, who is 86 years old and his lovely wife, in their two room flat. They served us a delicious lunch, and of course, at 4 p.m., Kaffee and Kuchen! After getting acquainted and sharing stories we returned to our hotel room for a relaxing evening.

The next day we drove to the village of Groß Rünz where my great grandfather, Hans Joachim Rieckhoff, had been born in 1826. It was a very warm 85 degree day (unusual for Germany in May) but we enjoyed walking through the village together and standing, "in the shadows" (an English term the Germans use for "shade"), under the giant Linden trees that once stood so majestically in front of the former Schulzen Rieckhoff Bauernhaus! A bit down the road from there was the village pond and we sat and watched some children swimming and having fun, much like my ancestors did many years before! As I sat there I could almost see my great grandfather and his brothers and sisters having fun splashing in that very place!

After a nice lunch (Mittagessen), we drove to Demern to the Evangelical Lutheran Church where my great grandfather and his family had worshipped. My great grandfather was baptized, confirmed, and married in this church just six days before he took his young bride and sailed for America (picture: third cousins (Hans Rieckhoff, Germany and Mary-Jo Allen, WI), our great grandfathers were brothers in Groß Rünz, Mecklenburg in the early 1800's)!

This church had been renovated between 1990-99 and was beautiful! Can you believe that only one service is held in this church each month and we were fortunate to have been there on the right Sunday! We were able to go inside before the 2 p.m. worship service began and took many photos. To have stood in front of the altar where my great grandparents had been married was a very emotional experience for me and one I shall never forget!

During the worship service a baptism was held. The original baptismal font was out for restoration, but the original bowl from the font was used in this service. I feel I can really say that I worshipped in the same church as my great grandfather had, because one of the hymns sung that day was written in both Deutsch and English! I very quietly sang in English while the rest of the congregations, of about 30, sang in Deutsch! Tears were beginning to well up in my eyes!

After the service we walked through the church cemetery where many of my ancestors were buried. There are no stones marking their graves and no records were kept back then, but I was told they were definitely buried there.

Next stop was at cousin Magda's home in the small village of Schaddingsdorf for Kaffee and Kuchen! Following our 4 p.m. "snack" we hiked to the edge of the village and climbed up a steep hill to view the countryside. From the top we could see in the distance both the city of Lübeck and the village of Groß Rünz! It was an amazing sight!

During the rest of our week we visited many historic sites, including many beautiful old churches, met and visited many new friends and relatives, many who had lived for years in the DDR zone, researched records in Mirow, Ratzeburg and Schwerin, and enjoyed a drive to the Ostsee (Baltic Sea) complete with a picnic on the beach!

I celebrated my 65th birthday with 16 "new" friends and relatives. We enjoyed dinner at a restaurant in Lübeck overlooking the Wakenitz Canal. One very special gift was a model in a bottle of the sailing ship, the "Deutschland". This was the vessel my great grandparents had sailed to America on!

In closing let me tell you that on our last evening, we were driven to visit the most wonderful sight of all and where I left a part of my heart! It was the promontory point from where we could witness what was the last view my great grandparents had of Hamburg, when they left from this port for America in August 1852. There was no sunset that evening, but never-the-less it was an experience and feeling that I will never forget! As I stood in silence on that high point, and viewed the sea and land below, my heart was throbbing!

Yes, I left a part of me in Germany, but if it is in God's plans I shall return again!

Mary-Jo Allen
June 2, 2000

My wife and I were able to travel in Germany during May this year (2000). We drove from SW of Koblenz across Germany into the Mecklengburg area. We spent one night at the Hotel Praalank outside of Neustrelitz. The next day we traveled through Malchin and on to Dargun where we stayed at the Hotel AM Klostersee. The owner of the hotel Praalank did speak some English, but in Dargun we could not find anyone that spoke any English. We made out very well. The owner(or manager) at the Hotel AM Klostersee treated us like old friends. We had no trouble, ate and slept well for two days while we toured the area.
Most of my great-grandparents came from the area within 50 Km of Dargun. We were able to visit Jordenstorf, Wasdow, Demmin, Wesselstorf, Zarnewanz, and other villages in the area. It looks a lot like the area of western NY that they migrated to. Trees, shrubs, flowers, etc all look the same. The people we met were just great. We were able to convey the names we were looking for and they directed us to various churches and cemetaries.
One lady had us follow her in her car to her home so we could talk with her husband, who did speak a very little English. He contacted a Schildt that he knew and got us a name and address that I will be following-up on. I cannot say enough about the trip and the people we met. I urge anyone who has the opportunity to visit the area to do so.
After we left Dargun we drove south and visited Dresden, Meissen, Seiffen, and Heidelberg. We got "slightly misplaced" once or twice, but other than that every thing went better than I had hoped. I hope that I have the opportunity to get back and do it again.

Bill Seaman

We went to Mecklenburg in 1996. What a wonderful trip. We drove a rental car from Amsterdam, which made many Mecklenburgers scratch their heads in wonder. I guess they don't see many "dutch" tourists. One man stopped us outside our gasthaus and was talking a "mile a minute" in what I think was Dutch. When we told him we didn't speak German, he was still perplexed and I think it was because of the license plate on the rental car. He went away shaking his head. We never did know what he was saying.

Our first stop in Mecklenburg, was Celle where we visited the embroidery museum and the schloss. 4 of us (the women) were very interested in the embroidery. We found the people very friendly and when we became lost in Celle, a kind lady who spoke excellent English offered to lead us to our hotel/motel. It was several miles from where we became confused, so it was a most welcome help. This was May 1st and so there were many little stalls downtown for us to sample the food, and we enjoyed trying almost everything.

I wish I could remember the name of where we stayed. We were most pleased and the owner had an adjoining restaurant. The food was good. If I can find the name of the place, I'll send it.

Then we drove through Lubtheen on our way to Schwerin. Lubtheen is where 2 of my great-grandparents were born. We were unable to make any contact with the pastor, so we will have that to do next time.

In Schwerin, we were fortunate to drive up to the Inter City Hotel on its opening day (without reservations). We were treated very nice and they even went to the trouble to make a menu in English for us, which pleased us very much. The boat trip on the lake was wonderful and so was the castle.

Everywhere we went there was scaffolding on all the buildings (even in Berlin) I think all the scaffolding in the world was in Germany in 1996. They were refinishing the outsides of all the buildings and making much needed repairs.

Here we split our party some wanting to go directly to Berlin, but my cousin & I went further east to try to find several villages that I had "thought" might help with my genealogical searches for other great-grandparents. We found out later that we were within 5 miles of the correct village, but did not confirm that until we were back in the States. We stayed at a little bed & breakfast called the Praalank Cafe outside of Neu Strelitz. It was so restful and beautiful there next to the lake, that we stayed 2 days just to enjoy the atmosphere. The owners spoke English, and kept a very neat & clean place with delicious food.

Then, on our way south to Berlin, we stopped on a Sunday in a little village and I cannot remember the name. The church was built in 900. The pastor gave us a tour even though his service was completed. The ceiling was painted with sort of a map of the heavens. Blue with the constellations identified and the sun & moon. Very fascinating. The rest of our trip was south to Berlin & Dresden & even further south. We never felt aprehensive or felt in danger at any time which is quite different that traveling in the states.

We found that banks can charge "any" fee for cashing a travelers check. So, we traveled the whole trip on "plastic money" which was soooo much easier than cashing travelers checks. The Geldautomat (ATM) asked us what language we wanted to use, and after that, it was easy. When we got home, we found that there was very little charge (if any) for the changing of the $ to DM on our accounts. In our estimation, that's the ONLY way to travel. Not all Geldautomats are hooked to the same "system" so you may have to try several in a big city before you can do this, but then things might be more universal now after 4 years. We loved our trip and would do it again (remember we spoke only English). We traveled a total of over 2,000 miles in 3+ weeks and never had a problem. We got lost several times on back roads, but always felt we were o.k.

I was so aprehensive but after studying the booklet on street & hiway signs, felt a little better as the navigator while my cousin did the driving. We were not intimidated by the Autobahn. It was easier to drive than the Los Angeles freeway system.

Shirley

In 1978 my mother completed a Bohnsack family history. Most of her work concentrated on the descendants of her great grandfather Johann (John) Bohnsack in the United Stated after his emigration with his wife and children from Germany in 1854. Although my mother had additional information from her cousin Walter Bohnsack on John's ancestors in Germany, I wanted to know more about them and where they lived. The story in our family was that the Bohnsacks were "blue-bloods", that is of a higher class in Germany.

In the fall of 1997 as a result of an Internet search for Bohnsacks I was able to make contact with a Siegfried Bohnsack of Güstrow, Mecklenburg, Germany who was retired Professor. It turns out that Siegfried's hobby was genealogy and he has researched the Bohnsack history in great detail. I visited Siegfried and his wife in October 1998 and was able to visit a number of villages where our ancestors lived and worked. A large part of the information that follows was provided by Siegfried and I am most grateful to him for his generosity:

October 1998 Visit to Mecklenburg, Germany

As a result of my year long Internet correspondence with Siegfried I decided, at his invitation, to arrange to visit Siegfried and take him up on his offer to drive to the villages of my Bohnsack ancestors. In October I was scheduled to take my annual business trip to Japan. It turns out it was less expensive to fly around the world then to fly round trip Chicago to Japan. Therefore I arranged to fly from Osaka to Hamburg via Frankfurt. I arrived in Hamburg on a Thursday night and after a poor nights sleep I took a train to meet Siegfried and his wife Christa in Wismar, Germany.

I arrived in Wismar mid-day Friday and they were both there to greet me at the train station. I took an immediate liking to them as we walked into the city center and to the Alt Scwede for lunch. Siegfried ordered this lunch for us of Schweinebauch with Rotkohl (red cabbage) which he said was a Mecklenburger specialty. I must say after a week of Sushi et al it was mighty tasty!

From Wismar we drove northeast to the villages of Kägsdorf and Rerik (Alt Gaarz). First we stopped at the the church in Rerik. Part of the original church is from the 12th century. In this church our Johann Bohnsack was baptized. The church is very close to the sea shore and Rerik today is a sea-side resort.

From the church we went into the village Kägsdorf. Here Siegfried showed me one of the Manor homes (which had been converted to a restaurant), where the farm day laborers would have to report for work each day (6 days of the week). We sure Johann was one of those workers. Nearby was one of the few remaining cottages (Katen) where these farm laborers would live. Siegfried thought that our Bohnsacks probably lived in a similar cottage during their years in Kägsdorf.

As we left Kägsdorf and drove to Steffenshagen, Siegfried told me how hard is was for our people to work and live under such conditions. He thought they had few opportunities to walk on the nearby beach. It is easy to understand how the chance to own ones own land in America would have been so attractive to Johann Bohnsack.

Steffenshagen is the church in which Johann Bohnsack’s grandparents were married and where his father Christopher was baptized. It is just south of Vorderbollhagen where they lived. We did not go to Vorderbollhagen as Siegfried said that all the old farmhouses had been taken down in the DDR (the former Communist East Germany) time to make room for Socialist style apartment buildings. Construction on this church was started in 1273 and the altar is from the 16th century. The baptismal font is one of the oldest in northern Germany and is believed to be older then the church itself.

Leaving we headed farther southeast to the outside of Bad Doberan to Althof. In Althof Siegfried had arranged for a Frau Wissman to show the chapel where he thought Johann and Anna may have been married. We also visited the ruins of an old monastery that had been abandoned in the late 16th century. We were sure as we strolled among the ruins that Johann and Anna’s walked in the same area over 150 years ago. Frau Wissmann really surprised us as we walked into the chapel as the had prepared the church as if for a wedding. There were bouquets of grains and candles burning along the center aisle and throughout the church. Nearby was the Herrenhaus now converted into apartments.

After leaving Althof we went to nearby Retschow where Johann's wife Anna Heincke was born. Here there were a number of the traditional Mecklenburg farm buildings . The roofs are made from thatch and at the corner of the roofs are decorated with horses heads-typical for this region of Mecklenburg.

As it was getting late in the day we continued south to the city of Güstrow where Siegfried and Christa lived. They took me to my hotel and we agreed to meet again in the morning.

The next day Siegfried drove me to Parkentin (where most likely John and Anna were married) and there we found the retired pastor of the Parkentin church. He lived right next door to the church and was happy to give us the key so we could visit the inside of the church. It was great fun to be able to explore on our own.

Returning to Güstrow we went to Siegfried and Christa apartment where Christa so so nice to prepare dinner for us. On Sunday afternoon after visiting the daughter of Siegfried and her family, I returned via the train to Hamburg.

The next morning I flew via London to Chicago knowing that I had two new Bohnsacks friends in Güstrow, Germany and also with a deeper appreciation for our Bohnsack ancestors and their life in Germany.

THE TRIP was wonderful, but to short.

We left Regensburg at about 11AM and drove on the Autobahn to Weiden and continued and the same road, but which is not quite an Autobahn yet. Once you enter the former East Germany, there are street constructions en masse. But one can still drive comfortably within the posted speed limit. It was a good traffic flow, with little jams. Past Hof you see one construction site after another and the 'gray' houses, as I call them, start showing up. And that all the way up and into Rostock. Folks heated and cooked with coal and the soot is what caused the gray, or so I was told. Many people, I would venture a guess and say more than half, have painted their houses. It looks really good.

For the most part, people were very friendly. I did run into just one woman, who was the most unhelpful person one can encounter. She did not want me there or answer my questions. It was bizarre. We exited the Autobahn at Wittstock and drove into Parchim. That was kind of funny. I was tired and drove in circles and could not find a place to stay. Finally I said, this can not be and stopped at a gas station. I received good directions to an old down-town hotel. "Hotel Stadt Krug". Old as an very old building, but well kept or renovated. The people were extremely friendly and if anybody ever goes there, I can highly recommend it. My mother is for the most part in a wheelchair and walks limited with crutches. W.W.II can do strange things to people. When I asked the owner about a downstairs room and told her why, she immediately told me that she had only one room available and because of the circumstances would only charge a single fee. Breakfast was great and plenty, as well as instructions to go to Klein Niendorf, our first stop. All in all we drove through, besides Niendorf, Groß Pankow, Redlin, Kuppentin, Techentin, Zarchlin, Neu Poserin, Klein Wangelin and Hof Hagen. Not in that order, but just the same. In Kuppentin I started to look at the church and a nice lady came and told me the history about it and answered all my questions. When she ran out of answers, she asked me for my name and address, so she could write me, once she found the information. Obviously, I found nowhere any of our graves. She also told me to stop by the pastors house, but he was gone at the time. Techentin was a disappointment. And that was the one place I wanted to know more about. When you drive up to the church, the first thing you see is a wall and iron gate. I tried to open the gate, it was locked. So I went to the nearest place, a small garage across the street, and the lady was very close mouthed. No, I could not see the church. No she knows nothing. Oh well. So I walked to the right of the wall, because I saw an old huge building that looked like it was a Gutshaus at one time. Before its demise. Now it is in sad shape and dire need of repair. Imagine my surprise when I saw there was not fence on that side and I could get into the church yard on my own steam. The grass was knee high and all in all a sad picture. It was obvious nobody cared about this little church yet. But I took pictures and moved on to find Hof Hagen. While I did find it, I could not find anybody who knew anything about its history. But the Mayors daughter gave me his card. So I will write to him.

I really liked the tree lined streets. Some still had the old cobble stone, and I mean miles and miles of it. Just little country roads with maybe one lane. Oncoming traffic...... and you have to find a way to evade. Fields as far as you can see. Some dotted with the new windmills for energy conservation. But even they looked right.

We ended up in Rostock that evening and saw my mother's cousin. She had not seen him since before Rostock was bombed. What a Reunion. My Grandfather had asked the Red Cross to find his brother and family, once he knew that the company he worked for, Heinkel (Aircraft), was bombed. They never were able to tell him one way or the other. So all these years we thought they had parrished. They told us about the before "der Wende" as they call the fall of the wall, and after. How life is different. Some good some not so good. For instance, a woman received 3 years credit towards retirement / social security for each child she stayed home with for three years. So, Gerda stayed home 12 years. Now she lost out, because there is no credit any more. Or one of her daughters paid little to nothing for childcare. She dropped her son off and picked him up on a daily basis, not weekly. Now she has to pay more than DM 500. But all in all they say life is better now. Freedom to go where and when they want to.

They took us the Warnemünde, the seaport outside of Rostock. Beautiful. We had a wonderful stay and hated to leave.

On the way back we visited Cousin Don's research sites. Steffenshagen was the first stop.

It has a beautiful church and cemetery. Or I should say, a small portion of the cemetery was beautiful. The rest was terrible. I was appalled at the conditions it is in. This cemetery has so many old beautiful graves / headstones, but are in a horribly condition and overgrown. I took pictures. When I asked the pastor why, he told me...you have to understand that we had communism for so long (this nine years later). I said what about a civic group,like Boy Scouts, nobody cares he told me. Only the new graves. I mentioned, how about each person with a new grave to adopt one old one. His reply, if you can find somebody... It was obvious he did not care either or had just given up.

I wished I could have stayed for two weeks to clean it up, but there was no way to extend my stay. I would have liked to cry. I saw headstones just tossed aside in a pile. There are beautiful stones and you can still read them. Some of the still standing ones have wrought iron around them. Gorgeous.

But in one of the other churches, Hansdorf, I believe, they had taken those old stones and places around the base of the church. It was beautiful. Heiligenhagen was all new. The old was tossed out.

Now, I know, that in Germany you have to pay like a lease fee for how ever many years to keep the cemetery plot. But history is history. And I think it should be preserved. Money or not. I think, since the church charges tax on the wages and salaries, they should upkeep and preserve the history. But I better get of my soap box.

I wished I would have had more time. I know I will go back to see more and other things. But my prime object for this trip was to find my fathers ancestors, to meet my mothers cousin and his family and to visit some of the villages. To bad I did not make it to Gustavel and Lebbin.

Christine Lippert Fung
fax: 254-542-3416
http://home.hot.rr.com/christinespage
http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/f/u/n/Christine--Fung/

Recently I was able to go to Germany with some very distant relatives. I keep my family ancestral in a filing system according to my Great Great Grandparents surnames, and I was able to visit 13 of my 16 Great Great Grandparents ancestral villages and churches.

We left for Germany on October 5 and arrived on Friday, October 6, in Munich. I rented a vehicle, and was on my own for the first week. I left the Munich airport at exactly 5:00 p.m. on October 6. Since I had never been to Germany before, it was quite an experience.

I arrived at my destination in Ansbach, Bavaria, where I stayed with a distant relative, Wolfgang Friess, in Ansbach. On Saturday, I met my friend, Ernst Ruettel, and he gave me a tour of the region where my Rühl and Moll ancestors lived. I attended church on Sunday, October 8, in Kammerstein where my Rühl originally attended church. Afterwards, we had dinner with the pastors Pfr. Sabine Bek-Baier, Pfr. Martin Bek-Baier (the share the pastor position in Kammerstein). When we said good-bye, Ernst provided information dating back to 1600, which could provide information to support research back to 1604 on my Rühl family.

On Monday, October 9, I left for Esens, Ostfriesland. I got to really try out the autobahn. Those German cars are tremendous. I arrived about 2:00 p.m. in Esens, and after checking in the Hotel, I went to the North Sea, which is only 4 km away. I also visited the Rathaus (courthouse), and they were able to provide information on my Lammers family.

My father's family is entirely from Ostfriesland, and Ostfriesland is not a large region.

That evening in the hotel bar, I met some people from Esens. They were able to provide me some information on the area villages, which helped with my research. I did not know anyone from the area, so I was on my own. This did not present any problems, except I was not afforded good background information, and also could not access the churches.

On Thursday, October 12th, I departed for Mecklenburg. I left very early in the morning hoping to get a good start on the day. I got to Mecklenburg that same morning. I researched some ancestral villages and churches on my way to Güstrow to meet Siegfried and Christa Bohnsack. Once completed, I was on my way to Güstrow.

Up until now, my trip was very organized, and I was very prepared. I had excellent maps of the region, and finding my way was not a problem--until I got to Güstrow. Siegfried had sent me a map of Güstrow, but since Siegfried has a much more powerful computer, I was not able to receive it. I had made no other efforts to be prepared--a big mistake. I greatly underestimated the size and complexity of driving in Güstrow. I will not get into the details, but I was able to hook up with the Bohnsacks, and everything was great from that point on. Siegfried had put together a manual regarding history of the region and a descendency chart on my family, along with a map of our proposed tour the next day. The manual was greatly appreciated, and a great momento of my trip. Siegfried and Christa have a very nice apartment. We visited for a while and then Christa made a typical Mecklenburg meal. It is similar to an American roast with potatoes and gravy. It was excellent. Later, Siegfried showed me my hotel. On Friday, the 13th, Siegfried and Christa took me on tour of the region west of Güstrow where the Bohnsack family moved about. I was able to meet with various people from the region including a pastor, an author, etc. I saw the ancestral home of my Bohnsacks in Klein Sien. We enjoyed another Mecklenburger meal that noon. We then returned to Güstrow, where I took pictures of the castle, church, and Siegfried's birthplace.

After saying good-bye, I was off to another area of Mecklenburg that evening to catch up with my group. There were many stories to tell. We spent the next three nights in Gotthun viewing sites where our common ancestors lived.

On Monday, the 16th, we left for Augsburg caravan style. We stayed in Augsburg on the 16th, and then flew to the US the next day (17th).

Observations:
• The German food and beer is very good. The cheeses are better than any I have ever tasted. You do not find the predominance of fast food restaurants in Germany. So the food I ate was more expensive, but would be best described as "real food"--and it tasted very good.
• Driving is more difficult. Drivers take their driving seriously. Driving on the autobahn was fun for me. I attained speeds that I had previously never attained--and still I got passed.
• The cemeteries, for the most part look like gardens. Most cemeteries in former West Germany have memorials for WW I and WW II soldiers killed in action, but in former East Germany, only memorials from WW I exist. The old German churches are wonderful. I attended two church services while in Germany.
• Unemployment is about 25% in East Germany, and in some areas, the buildings show neglect from lack of money.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and I would encourage anyone interested to give a try.

Bruce Lammers 117 South Payne Street New Ulm, MN 56073-3268

As a 51 year old Australian woman who travelled on my own in Setember 2000 to this area, I would say, go for it!!
My only German is restricted to Guten Tag and Danke, but I had a wonderful time!! The people were just great.
I was on a 3 month trip, mostly to the UK, but I just had to go to Germany when I found out just where my ancestors were from. They had left in 1857! I flew from London to Hamburg, caught the airport express into town, and stayed over night just near the station. This is where the airport bus drops you off. I walked to the station the following morning and caught the train to Rostock. (I had organised a return ticket, opendated, before I left Australia, so I didn't have the problem of buying one there with no German.) The trains go every 2 hours from Hamburg and it takes 2 hours to get to Rostock.
You get to look at the scenery along the way! Once in Rostock I took a cab to the Hertz depot, as I really couldn't work out the tram system, and I wanted as much time as possible there. I picked the car up, and headed off towards Sanitz. This was no mean feat, let me tell you, as I was driving on the WRONG side of the raod for me. But there is just no other way if you want to get to all the little towns and villages that I wanted to go to. I found a pension in Sanitz to stay at, and somehow managed to make the lady there understand that I wanted a single room for 3 nights. She had no English, but we managed. I made this my base, and travelled from there every day.
I managed to get into every church, except one, just by asking at the Pfarrhaus if I could see inside as I had come all the way from Australia. The Pastors were extremely helpful, most had some English, although the Pastor at Sanitz had none, his wife could speak a little. Sometimes I was given the key and just asked to return it when I was finished. Bliss!!! Be sure to get a good map, though. I bought a cycling map of the area while I was in London-scale 1 to 150000. You need one at least this scale, otherwise you won't find all the little villages. Some of them are really no more than a cluster of houses.
Even my map doesn't show Klein Lusewitz, even though I went there. Since returning home I have found more places in the history of my Mecklenburgers, so I will have to again.
I will go next time with absolutely no qualms at all-I was a bit nervous last time as I didn't know how I would cope without speaking the language or how I would go driving there. In Hamburg, many people speak English, in Rostock I found that there were fewer people who spoke it, and out past Sanitz hardly anyone at all.
Don't let this stop you though.
It was an experience I will never forget. My only complaint would be the weather. It was only about 15 or 16 degrees Centigrade, and I wasn't prepared for that. I come from a particularly warm area of Australia (it is an uncomfortable 37 today), so it was very cold for me.

Leonie Oliver