My visit to Germany culminated in a local newspaper article

Mardee, what a wonderful story!

My husband is into genealogy and we made a trip to Norway several years ago, so he could search for information. We found the farm and spoke to the current residents, that his great-great grandfather had immigrated from. It was a wonderful experience and a highlight of our trip to Norway.

Wow-das ist sehr cool!

As someone with Austro-hungarian roots, it sounds wonderful that you were able to find so much about your ancestor and become 'eine Berühmtheit' at least locally. Thanks for the link.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience. We did something like this about 10 years ago in southern Germany. Our result was meeting many relatives at a family party they had at a guesthouse for us and a photo book I made after we got back for many family members. Priceless!

Fantastic !

My compliments on using the language and your persistence with it, instead of lapsing into English when those challenging moments arose, one of the distinct advantages in communicating effectively with locals especially with your research aim.

Linguistically, not surprised that Ute and the young reporter chose to conduct the interview using German.

Did you have time for a day trip outside of Münster to see the town of Warendorf?

Mardee, this is just fantastic ! Both that you pursued and found such good information on your family, and that you participated in this local interview. That is so special !

Tammy, how cool! I wish my ancestor's house was still standing but sadly it was gone. However, I did get to see the church he was baptized and married in, and the baptismal font, which is 500 years old.

Heather, I really had fun, both before and during the trip with family history. That's pretty neat that you have Austrian and Hungarian ancestry.

Mona, that sounds like a wonderful experience! I also got to meet 2 distant German cousins (8th) when I was in Boppard. They live near Ahr and brought their 97 year old mother with them. It was a treat meeting them.

Fred, thank you! It was fun to practice my German and I was so glad I had the opportunity. No, unfortunately, I did not make it to Warendorf. I stayed at a Ferienwohnung in Ostbevern and made a day trip to Münster, but with all the family stuff going on, I didn't have much extra time to explore the area.

Kim, thanks! It was a great experience!

Mardee, das ist ja wirklich toll! What a lovely experience to have had, and a genuinely sweet article. It sounds like you were able to have a lot of really wonderful experiences and contact while here.

Azra, ja, das war es sicherlich! However, I do wish I would have followed your advice early on when you (and others) told me it would be better to stay in one place for longer, and not do too much traveling. :) Na ja, I exhausted myself but I learned my lesson. :)

Very cool, Mardee.

Now that is what I call a souvenir!

This is a wonderful post and an awesome story. Thank you for sharing it with us!!

@ Mardee....I know Münster, have visited it a few of times, stayed there twice. It is famous not only for its role in the Peace of Westphalia (Der Westfalener Vertrag) but also the cathedral and the university. The area of the "Aalsee" is tranquil and serene when watch the sunset there. Warendorf is of special interest known for its connection with horses, and if one is interested in an esoteric history museum, there is one which focuses on Prussian history.

On your carrying on in German: Übung macht den Meister. Viel Spaß beim Deutschreden !

In Ostbevern you were told that numerous visitors have inquired about their relatives, etc. It's to your credit that you used the local language instead of relying on your interlocutor's level of English to communicate.

Vielen Dank, Fred! Ute was a great confidence builder - she kept telling me that she loved how I spoke modern German. :) I like to pick up slang from German movies and shows so I think that was what she was talking about. At any rate, I will continue to practice and have fun doing so!

Mardee, re: scheduling and so on, my idiom of choice would be the following: "Hinterher ist man immer schlauer." (For non-German-speakers, something like "hindsight is 20-20.") And, to assist in your German practice, the coolest website for German idioms is this one.

In any case, it really sounds like a wonderful experience. And a very neat way to learn more about your family history. Also, I am just very impressed with adults who chose to learn German. I have a "Migrationshintergrund", so I know from watching my own family how hard a language it can be!

Thanks for the link, Azra! That does look like a cool site!