Most of us are familiar with tours and tour guides. Tours
come in large and small sizes. I saw many while traveling in Europe this
September. The hallmark of each was an energetic person holding an
umbrella/flag high in the air, striding in front of a group of tourists.
I
worried that if I ever was on such a tour, what would happen if I couldn’t keep
up with the flying umbrella/flag? It wasn’t until planning this European
genealogy trip that I learned about a different kind of tour guide – the
ancestral or heritage guide.
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| David Vignoni, Icon
from Nuvola icon theme for KDE 3.x., Wikimedia. |
The fact that I don’t speak Czech was the main impetus for
my thinking about getting some help for my visit to the Czech Republic to find
my grandfather’s ancestral home.
In my post from September 1, 2013, I wrote about how I found my personal guide to the Czech Republic, Ms. Marie Zahn of P.A.T.H. Finders International.
Now let me describe our trip.
On Thursday, September 5, 2013 at 9:30 a.m., Marie picked up
me and my husband, Bert, at the Best Western Kinsky Garden,
our hotel in Prague. The Kinsky Hotel was a great choice for location, service
and price, and we found it through Delta Vacations. Marie
is a great guide to have in Prague as she is a native and very knowledgeable.
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| Honza Groh, 7. 05.
2008, Memorial of seven czech paratroupers…., Wikimedia. |
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Maros M r a
z, August 2004 Dancing House, Wikimedia.
|
After we left Prague, we soon were in the countryside. We saw
large, cultivated fields interspersed with forested areas.
We asked Marie about the huge farms; she explained that after the fall of Communism, many farmers whose lands had been collectivized, regained their land. But as in America, it’s difficult nowadays for small farmers to make a living. Many sold their land to developers, and the result is that large, corporate farms abound where most people in agriculture now work.
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| ŠJů, 31 August 2012, Nihošovice, Strakonice
District, South Bohemian Region, Czech Republic, Wikimedia. |
We asked Marie about the huge farms; she explained that after the fall of Communism, many farmers whose lands had been collectivized, regained their land. But as in America, it’s difficult nowadays for small farmers to make a living. Many sold their land to developers, and the result is that large, corporate farms abound where most people in agriculture now work.
We saw cars parked in the forest areas and Marie explained
the Czech national pastime – mushroom picking.
It seems that Czechs of all ages
love to go to the woods and search for mushrooms. And Marie told us a joke: on
a mushroom hunt, a non-Czech asks, “Are any of these mushrooms poisonous?” The
answer is: “All mushrooms are edible, but some only once.” I’m glad we were
ancestor-hunting.
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| Karelj, October 2008, Boletus badius, Czech Republic, Wikimedia. |
When we reached Naceradec, we first stopped at the Administrative Town Office
where we met Mrs.
Svecova with whom Marie had set up this meeting prior to the trip. Mrs. Svecova
presented me with a book on the history
of Naceradec. It has many beautiful photographs from
different eras in the town’s life. And best of all, there is a summary in the
back that is in English!
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| Pat in Naceradec in front of Town Office and Church |
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| Book by Eva Prochazkova |
Our first stop was the Catholic church of Naceradec which
Mrs. Svecova unlocked for us. My heart was filled with emotion as I stood
before the very same building where my grandfather was baptized and attended
services.
Although I have toured many churches in different countries, I felt
very different being in the church of my ancestors.
While to most people, the altar and the decorated ceiling would be the sights to see in this church, to me, the baptismal fount where my grandfather was baptized was place that drew me.
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| Entrance to Naceradec Catholic Church, Sept 2013 |
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| Altar Naceradec Catholic Church, Sept 2013 |
While to most people, the altar and the decorated ceiling would be the sights to see in this church, to me, the baptismal fount where my grandfather was baptized was place that drew me.
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| Baptismal Fount Naceradec Catholic Church, Sept 2013 |
Our second stop was the World War I memorial
in the town square. This is a familiar site in many European towns but again, this was special to me as two people with my grandfather’s surname were etched onto the monument: Josef Holub and his son Rudolf. I don’t yet know how these Holub men are related to me, so I will be doing some research.
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| WW I Memorial Naceradec Town Square, Sept 2013 |
in the town square. This is a familiar site in many European towns but again, this was special to me as two people with my grandfather’s surname were etched onto the monument: Josef Holub and his son Rudolf. I don’t yet know how these Holub men are related to me, so I will be doing some research.
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| Close-up WWI Memorial Naceradec Town Square, Sept 2013 |
The next to last stop was the town cemetery. We weren’t sure
what we would find there except Mrs. Svecova had told Marie the number of the one
Holub grave. Before we left for Europe, I had asked Marie if Czech cemeteries
followed the same practice as some other European countries of only leasing graves for a certain period so
that they can be used again. Marie responded that this is indeed the case in
the Czech Republic as well.
We came upon the Holub grave
and I immediately noticed two
things. First, two different families were buried in the plot and second, the
plot looked somewhat neglected. The grave marker was
made of glass and very hard to read in the sunlight with the reflection factor,
but it looked like a Rudolf Holub was buried on one side. Now there were two
Rudolf Holubs to investigate: one who died in WWI and one who was buried here
in 1977.
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| Grave Naceradec, Josef Hrolicka and Rudolf Holub |
Our last stop in Naceradec was the house where my
grandfather was born. A Holub family lived there and was waiting to welcome us.
The house was the last one in a small lane. We parked in front and Mrs. Holub
(I have not used first names for privacy) came out to greet us with a warm
smile. They had just returned from their daily visit to the hospital where Mr.
Holub was under treatment. As I walked through the front door, I felt very
emotional as this was the same threshold my grandfather and his family crossed
in their daily lives so many years ago. We followed Mrs. Holub into the kitchen
where Mr. Holub, despite his ill health, stood beaming. He offered us all a
warm handshake and gestured towards the chairs around the kitchen table.
Mrs. Holub had graciously prepared a delicious Czech
luncheon. First we had coffee and pastries.
My childhood memory of “kolache”,
pastry filled with prune/apple/poppy seed, was reawakened – there were several
on the dessert plate! Then we were presented with ham and cheese sandwiches,
and each time one of our plates was empty, another sandwich appeared!
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| Jonathunder, 29 November 2010, Home made poppy seed kolaches on a plate, Wikimedia. |
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We spent the next few hours looking at photos from Mr.
Holub’s life, and we saw his birth certificate. Marie translated as Mr. Holub
told us the details of his birth. His mother, Antonie Holubuva, lived in
Naceradec when she was pregnant with him. She did not marry his father but
married another man from the town of Louny and moved there with him. Mr. Holub
was actually born in Louny. Because he grew up in Louny, Mr. Holub
unfortunately never met any of the Naceradec Holubs.
Mr. Holub came to live in
Naceradec in 1977 when a relative left him this house and he has been here ever
since. He said that Holubs have always lived in this house. It will take some
more research to find how we are related.
We noticed that Mr. Holub was looking tired so reluctantly
we said our goodbyes and headed back to our hotel in Prague.
As I planned this post, I wondered what other companies
might offer heritage tours in other European countries besides the Czech
Republic. I did a quick search on google and found a few entries for heritage
guides, mainly for non-English speaking countries. Please note that I have
no experience with any company other than P.A.T.H. Finders International. FamilyTree Tours is the company of an American and a German and although the company “specializes in heritage tours to
German-speaking countries, they are able to design and assist in trips to other
European nations." (from FamilyTreeTours website.) Ancestral Attic offers heritage tours in Poland and other Eastern European countries while
Polish Origins has services for Poland and the Ukraine.
Hiring Ms. Marie Zahn, of P.A.T.H. Finders International,
turned out to be the best decision I made in planning this trip back to my
Czech homeland. If you are planning a trip to Europe to learn more about your
ancestors, I recommend that you consider hiring a guide to make your heritage
tour the best it can be.
Categories: genealogy professional
Categories: genealogy professional
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