My travels started in 1978, the first time out of New Zealand which included a month in England and another month travelling around Europe with a Euro rail pass which even then was a great way to get around, no hassles buying tickets, Bed & Breakfasts ( Pensions) were very cheap and mostly central.
Included in my European trip I decided to explore Czechoslovakia to try and find out more about my ancestors who came to New Zealand in 1863. There had not been many of my family return to find our routes. An uncle of mine, Max Becker and some of his family had been there just before me so I new that it would not be an easy achievement with Czechoslovakia still Communist ruling. Being a bit of an adventurer I decided to take the chance, after all these people were the same nationality as me.
Most important I had my special visa to enter the country and a small amount of Czech. Money I took a train from Germany and entered the border town of Furth im Wald and with my visa checked I was soon experiencing a very rough train trip to Plzen, a lack of maintenance of the rail tracks was just one of the many problems I was to encounter. Arriving in Plzen just after dark I thought I could book accommodation from the station, not likely so I walked the dimly lit streets towards the main centre of the city, with the help of a local I was guided to an old crumbling Hotel called Slovan which he promised would be okay. Inside was magnificent with brightly coloured ceilings and lots of beautiful paintings.
Next morning I took a local bus to the village of Stod ( or Stabb ) as it was called last century, this was the area where my family came from . there were many old cottages lining the cobbled streets, a few uninteresting shops and no one spoke English, maybe they were frightened to , I now wish I had taken German lessons then instead of years later like I did. I found the Catholic Church of St. Peter & Paul which was in need of repair badly, it was locked, unusual for a church. After locating the Priest who did speak English I was able to explore the inside, there was a beautiful Alter and lovely marble statues with lots of gold fancywork. There was not much he was able to tell me about my family as he was from another part of the country but he did suggest I take a walk to the cemetery , I did this and also found the man who looks after it and with sign language, ( I was getting good at this ) he showed me the plan of the graves and names but I only found some Rauner and Bayer , no Fitzthum’s
I did have a contact, a music teacher called Josef Janousek who unfolded to me the sadness of the village people, as they were controlled by the communists they were probably too frightened to make contact. Josef came back to Plzen with me where he had a lovely meal and nice wine, we discussed further the plight of the Chech people and how their lives were lived under strict ruling.
This being my first time away from N.Z. I decided this wasn’t the country for me and made arrangements to get out and back to Germany. So much for me expecting to discover long lost family but this was not to be at this stage. Even on leaving the country I had to spend every bit of my Chech. money, even down to buying matches to get rid of it.
Continuing my journey through Switzerland and Italy I had an amazing experience on a train to Rome, there was a man and his wife in the compartment I was in, the lady asked me where I was from, she spoke good English, great. She wanted to know where I had been and I explained how I was not very happy with my trip to the country of my ancestors, to my amazement she informed me that she came from near to the village of Stod and how her mother had taken her to Germany only to be caught up with W.W. 2, her family name was Karl, a familiar name back home, she recalled how her grandfather used to talk about family migrating to N.Z, I did manage to get her contacts with lots of Karl’s when I returned home, I did keep in touch with Gertrude and Walter Jung, corresponding for many years and was able to spend time with Gertrude on both her visits to N.Z.. Sadly they have both died now but I will never forget how I first met them.
Having discovered a family of Fitzthum’s in Kassel, Germany and writing to them I was amazed to find out they had originally came from the same area around Stod but had also left for Germany pre-war. My first visit was in 1997. There was Franz & Margrit and their daughter Petra whom I stayed with, I also met Franz’s brother Anton and his wife Margarethe. What wonderful people, their hospitality had no end and I was showered with gifts , my stay was far too short but I still had quite an amount of travel to go.
I made my way back to Frankfurt and caught a plane to Prague, the city I had longed to see having missed out on my first visit to . Now of course it is a free country made up partly Chech. Republic and Slovac states, Prague is franticly trying to catch up with the western world, it has a new-sophisticated Airport and the latest in communication systems in the world. Luckily it has been almost untouched by the horrors of wars so it is still rich in artistic and historical beauty, the older part of the city has a very picturesque town square with a wonderful old astronomical clock and the huge gothic church of our Lady. There is also the romantic Charles Bridge with it’s many artists and stalls selling jewellery and craft. , and the old Royal Palace and the St.Vitus Cathedral ( the 7th largest in the world ) which has some very beautiful stained glass windows. Equally full of history is the ancient Jewish quarters. It surely must be the most beautiful city in the world and I have waited all this time to visit. While in Prague I just had enough time to take a bus trip to Karlstejn Medieval Castle, built by Charles 4th around 1348 A.D., the castle still has lots of original furniture and paintings. Close by is a very picturesque old village it’s specialty is wooden puppets and toys and lots of Bohemian glass .
Sadly the night before I leaving I was robbed in the Metro underground railway by a group of professional thieves, they were Gypsies who are a huge problem in the city and pry on tourists. They stole $400 U.S. and D.M’s and a credit card, which was useless as it had my picture on it, luckily my passport and remainder of my money was in my money belt inside my trousers. This did spoil the end of a fabulous visit to Prague.
Now, my next visit to Germany in 1999 allowed me to visit the Fitzthum family again in Kassel, these wonderful people had organized a week of showing me further beauty spots around the city which is close to the old East German border. Among my surprises was a trip into Chech. Rep.to visit the beautiful old Spa Town of Marianske Lazne or Marienbad which it is commonly called. This tourist town has many wonderful old Hotels, each with it’s own character, the mineral spa’s buildings are so lovely with their masses of wrought iron work and panted in nice pastel shades of the Victorian era. The spars have been giving relief to people with heart disorders, skin problems, arthritis and stress, evidently very popular with Hitler. The town is also the original home of the Kolonada Chech Wafer and I was able to stock up with supplies for family back home. Another original among the never ending porcelain crockery is a drinking vessel shaped like a teapot, it is used for the mineral waters, just lift the spout to drink, there is a huge selection to choose from. On our return to Germany we stopped to take a look at the beautiful Wallfahrtskieche church, built in 1685, a circular building , almost Russian style with three domes dominating the horizon, also along the way we stopped at a country market, most of the stalls were run by Asians. The road was littered with many sellers of colourful mostly garden statues including gnomes of all sizes, we passed through lots of lovely little villages, all with their tall church steeples and it was nearly harvest time for the fields of golden sunflowers, this was a very full but rewarding day thanks to my great friends.
I had planned on another visit to Germany including Russia the year 2001 but sadly I decided to cancel my holiday which would have started in England and most of the places I wanted to see were plagued with foot and mouth disease among the farm animals. I had thought of going straight to Germany but decided I still want to visit these English places and would need to go back there next year, being retired now one has to look at the economic side of travel, of course now I have something to look forward to next year.
Photo. Stod. Czech. Rep.
Cheers
JIM
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