Dear Family and friends;
We are comfortably installed in a modern cabin (TV and all) in the woods of the Zobten mountain, the closest nearby elevation (to Breslau) in Lower Silesia (almost 800 meters high). Here we have been installed royally to spend a week by ourselves in the woods. Our hosts and exchange partners, the Bogdanski family from Wroclaw, drove us up here today with provisions for a week which look like for a whole month. They also left us their cell phone to contact them in case we get cabin fever and want to return to Wroclaw (Breslau) earlier.
After ten very intensive days and nights with this nice Polish family, we are relieved to have a breather from their world. Stanislav, our kind host, has been receiving 4-6 hours daily of English language (conversation) instructions from both of us. If you think that learning a foreign language is difficult, try teaching your native language to a person with boundless curiosity and endless questions, but limited background in English.What a struggle it is to communicate! We of course, have not been able to reciprocate in learning Polish, in part because he is so anxious to learn English. We are sorry to say that our Polish is still limited to hello, good buy and thank you very much.
Zofia (66 years old) and Stanislaw (70) are both retired teachers but now run a small profitable import business which they own. Zofia works most of her time, it seems, seeing to our material well being.
Ziggy remembers the Zobten very clearly from her childhood, since it was visible from the home where she grew up. She also fondly remembers a skiing trip up there when she was ten years old.
Stanislaw succeeded in finding the childhood home just on the outskirts of Breslau where Ziggy's family had lived for 12 years. It survived the war and looks much the same as 60 years ago, including the same pretty iron fence. This large house with a large lot around it is now being used as a Kindergarten. One childhood friend of Ziggy's still lives in that neighborhood, and we were able to contact her and will visit her on our return from the mountain trip.
Stanislav and Sofia have spent a great deal of time, energy AND MONEY, to show us not only Breslau but some of the interesting castles and towns and churches within a 40 mile radius. The most impressive of the castles was the Hochberg Castle near Waldenburg. The owner was a coal mining baron and built himself a fabulous castle on a hill top surrounded by woods. It reminds us of Hohenschwanstein after which Disneyland was modeled.
Among the churches, the most memorable one was a protestant church in Schweidnitz (Swidnicy). It was built in a Catholic region in 1657 after having received permission to build it only under very rigid conditions and limitations: it had to be outside of town, finished within one year, without nails or any metal. Of course it was expectated, that such a feat was impossible to achieve, and that such conditions were impossible to be met, and so permission was given. The result is truly astonishing and unlike any other church we have ever seen. It is built in the shape of a Greek Orthodox Cross with a large open inner congregational area. It's organ is said to be one of the best. We simply cannot describe this magnificent and unusual church. In 2001 Unesco declared it a World Heritage monument.
Recently we went with our hosts to the magnificent Wroclaw Opera House and saw Puccini's La Boheme. It was sung in Italian, with scrolling Polish translations above the stage. The spacious yet intimate Opera House was recently renovated and is one of the most magnificent that we have ever seen. The seats were surprisingly comfortable with ample legroom ( which is so important for Richey). The view and sound were splendid, even from our first balcony seats, the voices and acting of the Polish cast were first rate, all in all a wonderful experience.
Our host family refuses to let us pay for anything by saying: you are our guests and we are the hosts.. For the first time on this trip we are living with the host family, sharing three ample meals a day with them except for a couple of days when we have taken the bus alone into town (Breslau). All in all a truly enlightening, delightful and very unique new experience. In September the family, 4 persons, plan to stay in our Condo and visit Los Angeles and Southern California. We will simply have to find ways to reciprocate for this generosity and very special experience.
A few remarks about Breslau and Silesia, which had been settled and developed by German settlers in the early Middle Ages and remained German until 1945. During the WWII Hitler had turned the city into a fortress to fend off the advancing Russian Army. Breslau held out until the very end of the war and was destroyed 70 % in the process. Silesia itself was not badly dagaed in WWII. As the Russian troops approached, many Germans fled to the West, including Ziggy's family. In 1946 the remaining Germans were evicted from their homes and shipped to different parts of West Germany. Silesia then was handed over to Poland who resettled Eastern Polish families in the villages and homes left behind by the Germans . Our host family resettled in Breslau where they raised their children and grandchildren.
In the intervening years three generations of Poles have occupied Silesia and consider it their home and heritage. They have virtually restored Breslau to its former splendor and glory and rebuilt public buildings, churches, and universities according to their original architectural plans, a truly impressive feat. With the help of our host family we have seen many of the great sights in our first two weeks here. We find buildings and the people friendly and very hospitable.
The longer we are here the less pain Ziggy feels about the loss of her homeland. She can now enjoy this beautiful area, the many wonderful monuments to human ingenuity, and the warm, friendly and appreciative people. Unlike many displaced German Silesians, Ziggy has become reconciled with the loss of her homeland and the historic permanence of it. She is indeed thankful for the appreciation and love which the Polish Silesians demonstrate towards the natural and artistic splendor of the region.
The plans for our European adventure continue to evolve. At this time it seems to us that Poland will be our last home exchange. After finishing our stay in Breslau in Mid-June, we will return to Stuttgart to say farewell to our fabulous host there, cousin Werner Hamberger, to our sister Madi and brother Walter in Stuttgart. We'll also say farewell to South Germany and travel up North to see our relatives in Hamburg and on the North Sea.
Richey is toying with the idea of returning to LA about August 1. A month later, in early September, Ziggy plans to fly from Amsterdam to Minneapolis. There her sister Hildegard will celebrate her 80th birthday with the large family of brother Harro. Richey plans to drive up from Los Angeles to Minnesota and join the birthday celebration there. By present calculation we should be back in California later in Autumn.
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