Clay in My Boots: A Romp Through My Genealogical Past

Carol and I had a nice walk in the main park of Warsaw ...  Shared some Gelato... ... enjoyed Chopin Went to Old town ... I eat Borsht ... yum!

Arrived at Platinum Residents then checked-in at Michael’s conference. Then ... Palace on the Water and a surprise wedding.  ... and surprise hike on a “peoples’ choice path.  Sunday Chopin in the Park was a lovely way to enjoy the evening. 

We spent the day in Lazienki Park wandering and people watching. Place on the Water. Ice Cream treats. A little unintended hiking. And Chopin. Dinner in OldTown in the middle of. Bike race. 

Heading to the airport. On airplane, very short delay. It’s a double-decker! Never been on a double-decker before? Oh, no legroom or headroom ... NOT! Got a bulkhead aisle ... it’ll be just fine. Carol and I will have a blast. Wow! Our plane was equipped with a GoPro.  First comes the take-off ... then past Gaithersburg and on to Paris. https://youtu.be/3WTxJj2PhbE After a most restful night on the plane, we arrived in Paris and immediately enjoyed the sites during our 90 minute layover. Along the way, we took a brief excursion to the North Pole. We needed to grab something to eat, since we slept thru breakfast. Our choice was to get EXK or get Naked? We choose to get Naked, and have croissants. OMG .. the pistachio and chocolate croissant was amazing! Our flight from Paris to Warsaw was uneventful, but the 5-6 lines (deplaneing, security, border control, coffee, and replaneing) did make us masters of the queue! No GoPro on this leg of the journey, just good old fashion window port...

At the airport getting more excited by the minute. Carol

Heading to Warsaw, Poland I can't believe its finally time to leave for Eastern Europe. Today, Aug 4th, Carol and I leave for Warsaw, Poland!  Our Air France flight departs at 6:15pm from Dulles Airport with a connection in Paris with a 2 hour layover. We should be arriving at Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport at 11:50am, Central Europe Time (GMT+2) ... that's 6 hours ahead of Rockville/Derwood. Phyllis should be up with the dogs at 5:50am. I tried to pick light for 18 days of travel. But, I'm expecting heat, cool nights, rain, and mosquitos ... I'll compress stuff after I get back from Torah Study. Warsaw, Poland Jewish Population: 1900:  219,000 (29% of 756,426 population) Family Members: None History: Before World War II, Warsaw was one of the most diverse cities in the Second Polish Republic. The majority of Polish Jews lived in the merchant districts of Muranów, Powązki, and Stara Praga, while most ethnic Germans lived in Śródmieście. Over 90% of C...

So excited! Only 1 week until I will be leaving for my trip to IAJGS in Warsaw. However, I've cut it short to allow time to tour the Auschwitz Concentration Camp on Monday and to get an early start on my visit to Ukraine & Lithuania. Below is my itinerary for Tuesday and Wednesday:

Kaunas, Lithuania Surnames: ALTSCHULL, SHNAYDER Jewish Population: 1897:  9,468 (60% of 15,780 population) Family Members: Rabbi Barukh Leyb Altschull, 5x GGFather (father of Reizel Kriger) B ~1760 Latvia; M Khana Reyza Altschul ; D 1855 Vilkija, Kaunas Gershon Shnayder, 5x GGFather (father of Morkhel Shnayder) B ~1785 Kaunas History: Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and the historical centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the centre of a county in Trakai Municipality of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. The town of Kovno was established in the year 1030 by the Lithuanian prince Koinas. Jaroslav, a Russian prince, ultimately defeated Koinas, however. Koinas originally established a fortress and palace on a peninsula in the area where the river Vilya joins the Nemun, in the west.  This eventually became Kovno. From 1031 until 1280, no written records regarding Kovno exist. For the dura...

Varniai, Lithuania Surnames: SHENKER, KATS, KHAZAN Jewish Population: 1897:  1,226 (39% of 3,121 population) Family Members: Malka Kats, 3x GGMother (mother of Gitel Shenker) B 1822 Varniai; M Zelman Shenker; D 1855 Varniai Shmuel Kats, 4x GGFather (father of Malka Kats) B 1776 Varniai; M Dvora Kats Dvora Kats, 4x GGMother (mother of Malka Kats) B 1778 Varniai; M Shmuel Kats,  Girsh Kats, 5x GGFather (father of Shmuel Kats) B 1741 - Varniai Iosel Shenker, 4x GGFather (father of Zelman Shenker) B 1797 Varniai; M Gene Shenker ; D 1831 Varniai Khaim Khazan, 5x GGFather (father of Iosel Shenker) B 1779 Varniai; M Bashe Khazan Bashe Khazan, 5x GGMother (mother of Iosel Shenker) B 1788 Varniai; M Khaim Khazan Berel Khazan, 6x GGFather (father of Khaim Khazan) B ~1750 Varniai History: The settlement dates back to the sixteenth century. At that time, a settlement called Medininkai, on the east bank of the stream, included the residence of the Bishop o...