Back to Europe … not that I’ve ever been there, but this trip is a return to the homeland of sorts … a genealogical adventure to search out the
roots of the Sakry clan that is now thriving in America. To return to Komprachcice (com-prah-cheeetz’sa), Poland, where my great grandfather Adam Sakry was born and raised, is an ”adventure
extraordinaire.” How could he have imagined what would all come to pass in the 120-plus years since he emigrated to America?The long and grueling trip by steamship is now replaced with a few hours of flight …
and those of us fortunate enough to live at a time when such world travel is commonplace forget how special, how privileged, our unique time is in all of history! My plane has just crossed over the State of
Wisconsin and is approaching the shores of Lake Michigan … there, in the few seconds it took to write this sentence, we are now out over the blue-green waters. Just an hour flight from Minneapolis and we’ll be
landing in Detroit to catch another plane to Amsterdam, and then on to Hannover, Germany.
At Hannover Cousin Marian Sakry will greet me. Is he a third cousin? A fourth? A fifth? Who
knows? I do know he is also very interested in this Sakry lineage. What’s in a name? What are our true roots … Polish? French? German? Why are there so few Sakrys remaining in
Europe? What became of all the brothers and sisters of the original Sakry ”brothers three” – Paul, Adam and Andrew – who came to America and began such a burgeoning clan? Was Minnesota soil that much more
fertile for raising large families than the economically stressed and war-torn homeland of Poland? Did the Sakrys who remained simply have very few sons to carry on the name? Or, did war and strife take a
devastating toll on the Sakry family in Europe? These are a few of the questions I hope to answer, or at least shed some light on.
Marian Sakry is also not sure why so few remain. He is anxious to meet his
American, Minnesota cousin even though he speaks very little English and I speak even less German! We will find a way to communicate and share our story.
Am I flying back in time? Or, ahead to a new day
that dawns much earlier in Hannover, Germany than it does in St. Cloud, Minnesota. I suppose the answer is all a matter of perspective, isn’t it? As the world turns, I look ahead also to my visit with
daughter Dee Dee in London. She is in the midst of a great adventure of her own as she completes a five-month, study abroad program with the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. My beautiful
daughter has expressed the same love of life and adventure that I have always felt. I am so pleased that she and her brother Brent are both such loving and happy people. Once again, all things come full
circle … and the circle of life begins anew!
The plane transfers in Detroit and then in Amsterdam went smoothly. Then it was on to Hannover, Germany in a small jet plane with two propjet engines. I saw the
hydroelectric windmills west of Hannover as we made our approach into this northern Germany City. I had my homemade ”SAKRY” sign displayed as I made my way to the baggage claim area. Sure enough there was
Marian Sakry on the other side of a glass wall waiving to me when he saw the name Sakry. Marian (pronounced Mah’ ree ahn) is a very gracious, generous man of 52 years. With his limited English and my
few words of German we were able to communicate very well. We loaded my luggage in Marian’s Renault car/truck vehicle and headed out on the autobahn for Poland!
We decided that since Berlin was right on
the way and only a few, maybe two, hours away we would tour this German capitol … and a city rich with history. The German countryside in this northern area of Germany is remarkably like Minnesota! Rolling
farm fields, trees and an occasional wetland or pond. It’s springtime here and the grass is already green. What is different from Minnesota is that urban sprawl is not the norm. Small villages dot the
landscape but very few single homes stick out among the rolling fields. It’s amazing to me how much open land and countryside remains in both Germany and Poland.
Berlin was very interesting. My first
reaction was that it was rather ”grey” (a bit drab) but it was a cloudy, cold day and that added to this appearance. Marian suggested taking a tour-bus look at Berlin and I’m glad we did. We sat in the upper
deck and I was able to get some great photos of this historic city. Some of the shopping areas were more colorful than the government buildings and my impression of this city being ”drab” began to change.
The
bombed remains of an old church stands right in the middle of town as a grim reminder of what World War II and Hitler ultimately brought upon this city and all of Germany. Another church with dark blue stained
glass stands open next to the bombed remains and we went inside for a quick look.
After our one-and-a-half hour bus tour we had a great German meal of sausage and kraut and potatoes in a vintage German pub. Then
it was back on the road on our way to Komprachcice, near Opole, Poland. We crossed the border (the Oder River) a short distance east of Cottbus, Germany. We had to wait in line at customs for maybe a
half-hour or 45 minutes. Poland is one of the few European countries that still stop you at the border. Most borders are completely open, just as we travel from state to state within the United States.
Also, Poland has not switched to the new Euro currency but you can always use your VISA card! (And we did.)
