My Second Trip to Pommern,
West Prussia, and Mecklenburg/Vorpommern
Sept. 8-20, 2004
Planning
I wanted to go to Schlochau in 2003, but none of my cousins could go
at that time. I did not want to go alone. I need someone to drive
while I give directions and look at the maps. I had met two guys
from Poland at a party here in Minnesota. They ran a bed and
breakfast near Brusy, 6 or 7 kilometers east of Kreis Schlochau.
What a chance meeting!
My trip would take me Kreis Schlochau, but I stayed at the
guesthouse Zaborski where you see the red star, in former Kreis
Konitz, West Prussia.
They had a website and I could make reservations by e-mail. Stanley
speaks German, English, Kashubian, and Polish. Could I rent a car?
No, but they would drive me around for $50 a day plus gas. I planned
four circular trips around the county over four days. Anywhere from
30 to 50 villages a day. Ambitious. I would hop out and take pics of
the town, cemetery, and church, if any; and then on to the next town.
Quite a bit of thought and discussion went into photos and storage.
I purchased two gigabit cards for my digital camera that would allow
me to take 1000 pics each card at a fine resolution. These pics go
onto my website (www.geocities.com/schlochau) when I get back to the
states.
September is supposed to be a nice time, weatherwise, to see Europe.
I would be in Schlochau on 9-11. My flight would take me from
Minneapolis, Minnesota to Amsterdam, then to Berlin. From Berlin,
friends would pick me up and we would drive onto Naugard, and then I
would go onto Schlochau.
At the airport in Berlin I met Gunthard Stuebs, creator of the
Pommern-L e-mail list, and Pommernkontakte. I mistook him to be my
driver into Poland. When he saw me looking around for Gunthard, he
said, "You don't know who I am do you?" He is a wonderful person.
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