Now that we are home, and almost readjusted to the nine hour difference of Pacific Daylight Time, I wanted to drop you a note to tell you what a wonderful experience the Genealogy Tour and Prussian Poland Tour were for Marilyn and I. Although we only spent one day with Michał we found him to be extremely pleasant and accommodating. He was strategic in chatting up strangers in our designated ancestral villages asking about Nitecki and Wesolowski’s living and dead. Perhaps unsurprisingly, some were still in the area and we took a photo with a man in Klodawa with the Nitecki surname who is sure to be a distant cousin. We talked to the parish priests in Zbojno kolo Rypina and Novogrod who took time from starting their services for us. The priest in Novogrod, where my grandfather listed as his residence before coming to America, said my grandparents couldn’t have gotten married there because the church burnt down in 1900 and a new one was not built yet in 1902.
After spending almost two weeks with Mateusz we wanted to nominate him for sainthood. He is an excellent guide and proved adept at handling ‘guest’ issues along the way. He made the trip enjoyable and we had a good time with his drone. He was a good example for us of what a young family man in Poland values today and what the future holds for a great country with a great culture. Matauesz was knowledgeable about each of the venues we visited and helped us make the best of some challenging weather conditions. We should have brought warmer clothing but we made do and Marilyn bought a warmer coat when we arrived in Gdansk.
We were in awe at each of the sites we visited, the vistas presented by them, and the powerful histories behind each. We met many helpful and genuinely friendly people along our journey.
America and several European countries have politicians who have sold their citizens and cultures out in exchange for money and votes. Hopefully Poland can preserve its culture, family/church focus, and what we saw as an ultra safe environment, even in the largest cities. That is not the case in America. We are choking on too much freedom.
Five stars (*****) for both Michal and Mateusz!