Wednesday, September 06, 2006
"I sought trains; I found passengers." -Paul Theroux
This post will probably be most interesting to people related to me, but bear with me.
My great-grandpa Krey emmigrated from Denmark during the first World War to avoid being drafted by the German army. After the war, he married my great-grandma and brought her to the U.S. Great-grandma Krey had two brothers. One died in France during WWI (they never found him). The other brother survived the war, stayed in Denmark, and raised a family. And his family still lives there today-many of them in Haderslev, Denmark, the same town where great-grandma Krey was born and grew up. I had never met any of these relatives ...until this trip, when I said, "Here's looking at you, Grandma Krey," and made a little pilgrimage to Haderslev.
So after a (rather long) train ride from the Netherlands, I stepped off the train in Denmark and there were my Danish relatives smiling and waving the Danish flag. And that was probably one of the best parts of my trip so far.
Let me just say how ironic it is to think about my great-grandparents leaving familiar Denmark, coming to the U.S. and trying to learn the language and customs. And now here I am in Denmark, not knowing any Danish, thinking of home back in the U.S.
Luckily for me, I have probably the nicest, most generous relatives in the history of foreign visits, so I ended up getting a little taste of what it's like to feel at home in Denmark.
Pictures
1. Family
(back l-r : Mikael, Soren, Poul Henning. front l-r: Ole, Pernila, Gudrun, Svend, Susanne)
2. Church in Haderslev where great-grandma was baptized, confirmed, and married.
3.Original 18th Century baptismal font at the church.
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1 comment:
Dang, that's a cool story. Sounds like a ton of fun. Once again, I am a bit envious. Trains and nice countries, and good hosts. I bet its exciting to learn family history first hand. Jamie
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