Tag Archives: travel

Monday, December 19th, we celebrated Susan's Mom's 80th Birthday by going to Krefeld, their ancestoral town.

The Mother Chronicles 3 of 3

To Krefeld we go, the Stadtarchivs we go . . . hi-ho the dairy oh, to Krefeld we go!

Then it was time to get serious!

With our armor on (in the form of head gear), we set forth to Krefeld . . .

After our strenuous search in the Krefeld archives . . .

ends up our ancestors left the year BEFORE the archives were started! LOL What the heck, we had fun poking around anyway!

. . . we buckled down to celebrate my Mom’s 80th birthday!!! Yahoo! Happy Birthday Mom!

And . . . Happy Mother’s Day Mom as well as all you other Mom’s out there!

(including those with furry children ;-)

***Footnote: I feel compelled to write of the Sinti and Roma people. They were gypsies who tracked down and killed by the National Socialist Party (or Nazi Party). There’s a detailed site in German which discusses the small bronze figure, “Ehra oder Kind mit Ball,” by Otto Pankok which was completed in 1955 to represent the Sinti and Roma; it’s located on the Rhine promenade in the old city near the Film museum.

+Sj out

References

References
1, 2, 3 see cute doggie photo
. . . where mom cleans us up in gin rummy! Stay tuned . . .

The Mother Chronicles 2 of 3

From Nürnberg to Düsseldorf — with a card shark !!!

After a couple of days wandering around in Nuremberg, it was time to head to our ancestors’ old stomping grounds near Düsseldorf: North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

We had the good fortune of arranging a home exchange in Düsseldorf’s hip MediaHarbor district (oder MedienHafen). Mom was a good sport about the apartment with a view being a walk-up.

First stop? The pad for a round of cards!

A final stroll down the Rhine.

The Mother Chronicles 1 of 3

Mom arrives at the Nuremberg airport !

(oder Nürnberg auf Deutsch : )

In honor of Mother’s Day 2014, I decided to post these three entries called “The Mother Chronicles.” From my preceding post, you can learn the why and what fors.

Looking back on this now, I realize (even more : ) how darn lucky we were to be able to take this trip together. That we had the time, the funds, the place to stay, the health, the gumption . . . I could go on and on (but I  won’t : ).

Danke, mahalo, merci, grazie, gracias, aw kohn . . . suffices for now.So without further ado, here are shots from the first part of our trip together (after a brief visit to my sister’s for Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh) in Nürnberg, Germany — home of the infamous Weihnachtsmarkt, as well as many other things . . .

Enjoy!

Carnival southwestern Germany style!

Germany 2012 comes to a close . . .

Bringing Things Full Circle

Part of the impetus of this trip was to explore the tiny town of Krefeld, Germany with my Mother.

Why Krefeld?

In 1684, Paul Kuster, an ancestor on my maternal grandfather’s side, left that area of Germany (near the Rhine river) for the “free world.” One of thirteen families, the Kusters were part of the original emigrants to Pennsylviana, best known as Pennsylvania Dutch. Why Pennsylvania Dutch and not Pennsylvania German? Not sure. I googled it and found a site with a l o n g explanation of all the why and what-fores. All I DO know is that my grandfather fought for the United States in World War I and did not want to be associated with Germans at all!

How would he feel about his youngest granddaughter becoming enamored with the German language? No idea. He died when I was 6-months old.

My hostess during this final phase of my solo-trip found me through homeexchange.com. She wanted to visit Kauai and accessed the site through her girlfriend in Freiburg who was a member (and who btw has this lovely family you’ll see in the pix below : ).

“Krefeld?” my new friend thought, “Who wants to visit Krefeld????”

Incredulous that someone wanted to visit this tiny town near the border of the Netherlands, she contacted me anyway. One thing led to another, and in December 2011, my mother, husband, and I found ourselves in her COOL apartment in the Median district of Düsseldorf.

If you want to experience the Mother Chronicles, visit: the next couple of posts. : )))

So . . . at the end of my solo-trip, I found myself staying with and getting to know this incredible woman who I met through exchanging homes!!!  A woman who shared her apartment in Düsseldorf, just minutes away from our ancestors old stomping grounds, making it possible for my Mom to have an 80th birthday celebration full of dreams fulfilled.  Lucky us!

Thanks Christiane for your generosity and hospitality!!!

German Lessons Via Skype

Sj with her Mother making dreams come true. : )

Valentine's Day 2012 . . . went to vist a dear friend who lives in Italy. No, we're just good friends.

After visiting Henry & CERN, I flew to Italy!

Girlfriend time!

After devoting MOST of my time to increasing my German vocabulary, I found I needed a girlfriend fix. Women, you know what I mean. Nothing like girl-girl time to laugh, eat, and just plain enjoy each other’s company.

Thanks so much Glenn for sharing your home and hearth!!!Without further ado, fav photos from this part of my trip:

le creuset orange

Cern, I got to go to CERN !!!

Years ago, a young Jewish man left Yugoslavia just in time.

It was 1943, and in the words of Henry, the then almost 16-year old boy, “I just made it.”

A Quaker group was helping children (up to 15-years old) escape Eastern Europe. Once they arrived in the United States; it was up to other organizations to take over. Luckily for Henry, he was introduced to Joachim Prinz, an infamous rabbi who had stood up to the Nazis in Berlin. Now living in New Jersey, Rabbi Prinz introduced young Henry to the Michael Stavitsky family. Soon Henry was living with the Stavitskys and continuing his education.

Fast forward to February 2012. Henry, now in his 80s and a Professor of Physics at NYC, invited this lucky traveler for a visit to his home outside Geneva. One of the scientists working on the ISOLDE project, Henry periodically spends time at CERN.

How in the heck did this Southern-born and Southern-Baptist-raised woman receive this invitation?

Marriage. Purely a connection by marriage. I just happened to marry one of Michael & Evie Stavitsky’s two grandsons.In 1986, Henry generously flew to Tennessee for our wedding. Towing a heavy flaming-orange Le Creuset cooking pot, he and his wife Norma gave us one of our all-time favorite wedding gifts. (We’ve used it almost EVERY day of our over 20-year marriage!)

Though I saw Henry only once after our wedding, we maintained contact. Being a good Southern gal, as well as a proper Kappa Kappa Gamma, I made sure to include our distant aunt and uncle in our annual holiday missives. Good thing! Because this trip to CERN and my visit with Henry will remain one of my absolute solo-travel HIGHLIGHTS!

Thanks Henry for your generosity, good company, and yummy-yummy meals!

Ah, nothing like the sunsets off Kauai nei!

Hamburg, Germany

A place to visit. Alone or with friends. Your call.

Here are some more shots from my archives.

Hamburg, Germany – 2012

Susan and Dad at Daytona Beach, Florida 1960s

Gratitude

I just participated in a really inspiring writing workshop called Karma Free Writing.

For the closing, we were invited to post a video of us reading something we’d written (for the workshop or previously). What came to me instead, are the words to the five minute video shown below. The photos I selected from thousands of photos I’ve taken during my travels, as well as ones my husband and I have taken during our daily life.

Enjoy!

 

Susan Jane's Journey

Susan Jane’s Journey is morphing into sjlehoven.com land . . .

Sj's Journey photo with DadIn the way that one thing evolves into another, I’m not renewing my url for Susan Jane’s Journey but rather merging it into my new website and blog glob.

She was a good friend as I traveled to Asia and Europe in 2011 and 12. : ) Good times were certainly had by all.

The journey’s continuing, but now as Sj’s this and that. I see it as a culling down into the essentials. The essentials of who I am, Sj. And also, when you see the site, you’ll see that it has all that I am, as in all of my names. The personal tags that tell the world who I am.

But does that really say who I am? No, those are just labels. To find out who I am, and who everyone else is, we need to read between the lines. See the unsaid. Listen to the unshown. That’s where all the tasty nibbles lie, in the silence.

Like a good friend of mine said last week, silence can be very, very loud. Shrill even. Or peaceful. It’s as varied as we all are.

I invite you to join me on the journey. Or not. I’m going regardless. I enjoy the surprise of seeing what I bump into along the way. I especially like the bumps which turn into giggles and smiles. Even that bump in Railay, where I stubbed my toe, brought an unexpected surprise — one of my favorite days during that trip.

So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!

Red tile heart by Kathy Cowan

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Tile heart by Kathy Cowan
Home is where the heart is.* At least that’s how the expression normally goes. My husband has come up with his own version: Home is where the fart is. Think about it; he’s got a point.
For me, home has come to mean wherever I am at any given moment. During the past few years as I traveled, I found that once I entered my current lodgings and spread my green pareau on the bed, I was home. But then a funny thing happened. Little by little I found that I didn’t need to do even that. Whether I was lying on my Hawaiian sarong or sitting in a comfy chair in a coffee house, I was at home.
Yes, I’d found my way to my heart and my home.
I started this glob as a venue for writing about my observations while traveling. Solo traveling. On a recent trip with my husband, I realized that I just didn’t have the desire to write when I wasn’t alone. Why? Because it’s just such a different dynamic. But today on my bike ride, it came to me that I want to continue writing about my observations, my experiences. In the grand scheme of things, I’m still on my solo ride; we all are. We’re born alone; we die alone. We’re each on our separate journey of growth and discovery.
So, what the heck is this all about?
Just because I’m not technically traveling, I’m still engaged in life and observing what’s around me. And it’s fascinating. Just yesterday I saw a turtle while swimming at Anini Beach. Alone. Me and the turtle and all the fish. It was wonderful.
And later this evening, I’m joining our improv troupe, the InsPirates, for a private show. Even though I’ll be on stage with others, I’ll still be alone. It’s still up to me to listen and observe—both to them and to what the muse pours through me.
Yes, life is such an amazing journey.
Please join me as it continues in a different but similar way.
Isn’t that how each day is?
Similar yet different?
Each with its own flavor.
Yes, I’ve got some tasting to do!
*This expression has been attributed to Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79)