Saturday, June 14 Afterthoughts

Dixie and Dorothy’s flight left at mid morning, so they went to the airport at about 7 am. Carol’s didn’t leave until 1:30, but she went with them so she would not have to navigate a strange airport alone.

The remaining eight of us were on a 5 pm flight. Since check out time at the hotel was noon, we thought we might as well go to the airport then and hang out there. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we did not realize that Frankfurt airport is designed to undermine the German reputation for efficiency.

In any other airport terminal I am familiar with, the chairs at the gates are open seating. Anyone can sit anywhere. But at Frankfurt, the seats at each gate are only available to passengers with boarding passes. And there are only a few chairs in the corridors. So hundreds of chairs sat empty behind locked gates while we wandered through the terminal with a few people seated, many of them with their carry on bags on adjacent chairs, others laying down taking up four or more chairs, and still others seated on the floor. We checked out a few stores, but mainly just wandered around waiting for our gate to open.

Finally, our gate opened and we got seats. Eventually, a young lady made the pre-boarding announcement, but she spoke so quickly and quietly and the acoustics were so bad, that you couldn't tell where the German ended and the English began. So, pretty much everybody jumped up and got into line when she asked for those requiring boarding assistance! Our rows were among the first ones she later called, but, by that time, there were only a couple of dozen people left seated, so we thought we might as well wait it out on chairs rather than standing up.

Our flight departed at 5:15 pm. We landed Toronto at 12:40 am Frankfurt time/6:40 pm Toronto time. Diane left us there to catch her Vancouver flight. The remaining seven of us bound for Regina departed at 9:30 (Toronto time, 3:30 am Frankfurt time, 7:30 Regina time) and arrived Regina at 10:30 Regina time. Here is the remaining group of seven after arrival in Regina.

Friday, June 13 Frankfurt

This was our coolest day yet as the temperature was only 10 degrees C with a low overcast sky and a cool breeze blowing when we left the hotel. It probably reached the low 20s by late afternoon when the sun came out.

We were on the road shortly after 8 for the two hour drive to our first stop, the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim. You need a day or two to cover this museum thoroughly, but we tried to capture the flavour in less than two hours. That is about all the ladies could take anyway.

From there we set out for Otterberg for a visit with Helmut K, who, with help from Peter N, compiled and continues to add to the Zichydorf Familienbuch. We underestimated the time to get there on the quiet country roads and driving through the small villages. Then, when we got there, we had trouble finding Helmut’s house due construction detours. We finally arrived half an hour late at 3 pm.

Helmut greeted us enthusiastically and we were soon eating cake and drinking coffee, followed by wine and schnapps, followed by sandwiches and more wine. The occasion was mostly joyful, but occasionally sad as Helmut recalled the aftermath of war, the loss of his father and grandfather, life and death in the Rudolfsgnad camp, loss of everything the family owned, and starting over with nothing in Germany.

Here are (l to r, please forgive any spelling mistakes) Helmut's wife Hannelore, their friend Giesbert, whose wife Renata had to leave earlier, Helmut, his younger brother Erhard, and Erhard's wife Leta).

We reluctantly wrapped up the festivities at about 6:30 as three of us have an early morning departure tomorrow and Johannes still has a 2.5 hour drive home after he drops us off in Frankfurt. We were checked into our hotel by 8:30, gathered in the restaurant for a goodbye meeting, then packed it in for the night at 10pm.

It is amazing how a group of virtual strangers can come together as friends in a short time in a common pursuit. Some of us found significant success in our genealogy. Others were thankful to merely experience walking where their ancestors walked, but we all enjoyed our time together. It seems like we only started yesterday as our days were so full that time flew by, but we are all eager to get home again and return to our normal lives.

Goodbye until next time.

Thursday, June 12 Ulm

This morning we toured the Schoenbrunn Palace. Some of us had been before, but it is interesting enough to do twice. It is fascinating to speculate about all the labour that went into crating and maintaining such an opulent residence in more primitive times.

We left Vienna at about 11:30, through Salzburg to Munich, where we dropped off Frank and Nora Ann, who are visiting Erich and family for a few days. We hit Munich at evening rush hour and paid the price. A couple of times we were slowed to a crawl on the highway for extended periods of time.


When we turned off the highway we got a little bit lost and had to stop and wait for Erich to find us. While we were waiting, Dean and Frank took the opportunity to examine a field of wheat. Like a St. Bernard dog, Erich came to the rescue with a cooler of water, soft drinks, and beer. He also presented us each with a map he had made of Banat with our tour stops all highlighted. What a kind and thoughtful man.

Then it was on to Ulm for the night. Since the tour is winding down and we didn’t have any closely timed appointments to meet, we let the timetable go to hell. We were more than an hour behind leaving Vienna and arrived at our hotel near Ulm at 9 pm, about 4 hours behind the plan. We grabbed a bite to eat and retired at about 10:30.

Today was probably the coolest day yet. High temperature was probably in the low 20s. Still comfortable, but not what we have been used to.

Wednesday, June 11 Vienna

There is not too much excitement (?) remaining in our trip as we are now on the way home and everybody is eager to get there. Our only stops are to break up the day or catch the odd attraction. Today we drove to Budapest and toured around a bit. We went to the Statue Park (Szoborpark) where they have preserved many of the large statues that are relics of Communism. These guys are each 25-30 feet tall!

Then we went on to the Citadel with its view of the city and its souvenir merchants. Some of the ladies have been looking unsuccessfully for souvenirs, so they were glad to find this spot.

From there we drove to Vienna, passing hundreds of wind turbines as we entered Austria. Sorry, but the picture just doesn't do justice to the view of a forest of wind turbines.

Our hotel in Vienna was a bit of a challenge. It seemed to be a collection of different buildings that were all tied together into a pension hotel. It was nice and clean, but boy, did it have stairs. We all went up about 25 stairs, then some had to go up another dozen or so. Others had to go back down another 25 to the other side of the building. Not much fun while lugging suitcases.

We had a very enjoyable supper with Barbara H. who has been working with Ray B. on the Georgshausen book translation. Barbara is the author’s daughter. They have been working with Henry F. who does the first raw transaltio, then they pass it on to Barbara who reviews it to pick up and interpret the local idioms that do not translate literally. Then Ray and Henry work on the English readability. They seem to make a great team.

Anyway, meeting Barbara was a great experience. Her father shared a lot of his Banat memories with her and she had great insights. After supper she came back to the hotel and some of us talked with her until our heads began to nod.

Several of us had the Wiener Schnitzel, even though it was pork rather than the authentic veal. It was very good anyway. As usual, the portions were enough for two, but most of us managed to choke them all down. I know I will have a few pounds to drop when I get home, and I don’t think I will be alone.

Tuesday, June 10, Szeged

I had planned to tour some of the sites of Timisoara this morning, but because of our adjustments from yesterday, we headed out on the road first thing in the morning. This proved to be a good choice as we had a leisurely and productive day today.

We began with a stop in Sackelhausen for the twins. This was a huge cemetery as it was a large village and one of the earliest established in Banat.

We went on to the Stefan Jaeger museum in Hatzfeld. Jaeger was a famous Donauschwaben painter who captured many scenes of every day life in the Banat. The museum holds a few of his original paintings and many copies, artefacts, and an exhibit that tells his life story.

Next stop was the Ostern cemetery where we found what seemed like a dozen of Frank’s family and a few other people of interest as well. Sorin found the man with the church key and we were able to go inside there also. We then went back to the cemetery and had a picnic outside the entrance with the groceries I picked up the previous night.

We went on to Grabatz for a short stop and then on to Lenauheim for a tour of the Lenau museum. Sorin had not been here before, but had heard of it and thought it would be worth checking out. He was right. Lenau was a famous Donauschwaben poet of the early 1800s.

The museum told about his life and times, had a collection of dolls dressed in the Trachten (village costumes) of most of the Romanian Banat villages, and had several artifacts. Frank hit the jackpot when he noticed a display of an 1828 document with one of his ancestors’ names on it. This paid off for all of us when he bought champagne at supper!

Equally important, the museum had passable bathrooms. Finding suitable bathrooms and food in these small villages is a constant challenge.

From the museum, we went to the cemetery looking for some of Betty’s relatives, but without success. This was our last cemetery stop, although we might stop at some on the way back out of force of habit. We dropped Sorin off before the border, spent a half hour of expected bureaucratic waiting, and were back in Hungary. We were in Szeged a half hour later and went looking for a restaurant that Sorin had recommended. We think we found it. Szeged is renowned for its fish soup so Nora Ann and I tried it. Several others tried the goulash. Both were very good.

Today was as hot as any day so far. At one point the outside air sensor on the bus read 34 degrees C.

I can’t conclude this section without commenting about Sorin. Although an engineer by training, he is a historian by passion. He lectured us about Banat from Deutsch Stamora to Timisoara on our first day and from Timisoara to Bethausen and back on the second day. Then he answered questions thoughtfully and thoroughly the rest of the way. Although you might expect a negative connotation from the word “lecture,” nothing could be further from the truth. His comments were always interesting and backed up with facts from his research. I find his research to be of the highest standards of truthfulness and integrity.

Monday, June 9 Timisoara

Today started well, but descended into disaster in the afternoon. We left pretty much on time at 8, but getting through the city traffic was slow going and we were about 45 minutes late arriving in Bethausen. We blitzed the cemetery, but the twins, who were really looking forward to this one, didn’t find anybody. Meanwhile, Sorin had found the man who could open the church, so we stopped in there for a while. So, even though our cemetery investigation was not very successful, they still had the experience of walking in their ancestors’ shoes.

We got back to Timisoara about 12, two hours behind the plan, and decided that the hotel was as good a place as any for a bathroom break. I suggested to Sorin that we should grab a sandwich before going out again but, being European (they eat a late lunch if they eat any at all), he thought we could do that when we got back from our next stop. It took more than an hour to get across town to the hotel, have our break, and get across town en route to our next stop. By the time we reached Blumenthal, we were 1.5 hours behind the plan. We would have to go through Timisoara again to get to our next stop and, considering the time of day, would arrive too late to do anything worthwhile, so Sorin suggested that we adjust our schedule to go further north to the Maria Radna Cathedral in Lipova, then take better roads back to Timisoara to call it a day and add the rest of today’s stops to tomorrows itinerary. Theoretically this seemed like a good plan, but we ran into road construction and were stuck for half an hour while nothing moved in either direction.

We toured the impressive cathedral and returned to Timisoara, arriving at the hotel at 7 to spend another evening in the restaurant. We were all quite famished, having not eaten since 7 am!

I was quite impressed at the improvement in the road since our last visit two years ago. The road east from Timisoara has been completely rebuilt for most of its length. However, you still have to pass through many small towns and construction zones, there are many slow vehicles on the very busy road, and the country road that comprised the last third of our trip to Bethausen was still pretty bad in spots. The road to Blumenthal had not been upgraded yet and was narrow and very rough. Roads in the city have not kept pace with the growth and modernization of the city. They just don’t have the capacity for all the traffic. Sorin said that the city is growing explosively. They have a labour shortage even more severe than Saskatchewan’s.

Today was another beautiful day with a late afternoon shower, but we spent most of it on the bus.

Sunday, June 8 Timisoara

We left the hotel on time at 8 and stopped in Plandiste at 9 to see Mihajlo. He had three more copies of a newspaper article that had appeared in the Vrsac newspaper about our trip, complete with a couple of pictures from our 2006 trip. He also had all the pictures he took with us on Friday on a CD for us.

We reached Vrsac about 10 and stopped for a while to spend some of our Serbian Dinar at a bakery before leaving the country. We got past the border in about half an hour with no trouble and, including the one hour time change, arrived in Morawitza at about 12:30. We met Sorin, our guide, there and toured the cemetery before going on to Gresscham, where Frank had arranged to meet his cousin Erich. Frank and Nora Ann stayed behind with Erich and would catch up with us later, while we went on to Deutsch Stamora.

I knew that there were some connections between this village and Zichydorf, but it was still surprising to see all the Zichydorf names in the cemetery. Even more than expected. We finished up there about 4 pm as Frank and Nora Ann joined us and a rain shower threatened. It started to rain as we drove toward Timisoara. Sorin said it has rained late on every afternoon or evening for the last 10 days and they have accumulated 80 litres of rain per square metre in that time.

We reached Timisoara and a heavy downpour began when we stopped for gas. We eventually reached the hotel about 6 and settled in for a long evening in the restaurant. It seemed kind of small and quiet and I think thirteen people all at once was a challenge for them.

And another thing

We had free internet in the lobby in Timisoara and some of the group were check ing the blog. They commented that it seemed that all we did was eat fabulous dinners and wander around cemeteries. Well, that's because that is what we have been doing! In the last week we hit at least 20 cemeteries and the food in the evening has been great. Lots of sampling of local cuisine. It takes pretty much the whole eveing every night. By the time we get in and get down to the restaurant, it is usually 7 pm. Then it takes an hour to order drinks, check out the menu, and order food. It takes a long time to take 14-15 food orders and prepare the food. Then you eat, maybe have dessert, ask for the bill, sort out who had what, and pay. By the time you are done, it is bedtime. Good thing it is all so much fun!

Excuses, Excuses!

I have an internet connection this morning (June 11), but nothing to post. The last three days have been pretty hectic - up at 6-6:30, to bed at 10 or later, busy all day. I have not had time to write anything. I should have some spare time on the bus today, so I hope to get caught up and maybe post on Thursday evening, June 12 when I should have a connection again. In the meantime, here are a couple of leftovers.

I don't think I ever properly introduced Johannes, our driver, or Stasa, our guide in Serbia. Here is Johannes on the left and Stasa on the right with Miles in the middle on our last night in Zrenjanin (June 7).

And here are soem storks in ther nest on the day we drove through Vrsac on our way to Kudritz. We saw lots of them over our several days in Banat, but only stopped this once.

Saturday, June 7 Zrenjanin

There was another thunder storm last night. This morning the power was unreliable. For a while there was no water pressure. Johannes was in the shower when the water stopped and the lights went out. Mary Ann was stuck in the elevator for a few minutes.

The day started with a low overcast changing to a high, thin overcast with sunny breaks by late afternoon. We had a couple of very light rain showers during the day, but nothing that slowed us down. We encountered another couple of light showers on the drive home in the evening.

I had planned a later start for this morning, but, because we are an hour away, we had to depart at 8:30. We arrived in Plandiste, where I had planned to withdraw the money for the cemetery from the automated teller in time for a 10 am meeting. However, the power was off again and we had to arrange to try again later in the day on our way back.

Some people wanted to search the cemetery some more and others wanted to walk the streets and look for houses, so we did those things until noon. Then we went on to Vrsac. After our bathroom and snack breaks, Stasa led us on tours of the town museum and a pharmacy museum as well as the town centre. Just as we arrived at the locked doors of St. Gerhadt Cathedral, who should appear but the organist/vocalist from yesterday’s mass. Somebody really is watching out for us. He opened the church for us and even gave a short impromptu concert for us on the magnificent organ. Then we drove part way up the hill to take some pictures of the town below before heading back at about 4 pm.

On the way back we got a little bit of a scare. The police flagged us down as we were going through the village of Boka. We were sure we had done nothing wrong, but we were concerned anyway. The policeman asked a few questions and sent us on our way. We concluded that these must be the same guys who were stopping cars in Georgshausen for the past couple of days. After seeing us drive by two or three or more times in different directions. Eventually they just had to stop us and find out what those crazy Germans on the tour bus were up to.

We arrived back at the hotel at about 6:30 and ate another fabulous meal at 7:30.

Friday, June 6 Zrenjanin

We got an especially early start today because we had a busy morning. We hit the road at 7:30, right on target. We first picked up Mihajlo Bancevic at the town centre. He is very supportive of our efforts to retain our heritage and he would be our guide for the morning. First working stop was the cemetery. We dropped off the gang to search, and I did a quick survey before Stasa, Mihailo, and I went to a meeting with the town administrators responsible for the cemetery.

I found that the cemetery is in much better shape than when we were there two years ago. The Wosching crypt, which had been in very bad condition was cleaned up very well. The fallen stones had been laid out in an orderly manner and the grass was well cut throughout the cemetery. They knew we were coming, so maybe they made a special effort, but the result was good for whatever reason.

At our meeting I had hoped to encourage them to somehow preserve the old headstones. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have already drafted a plan for renewal and we had witnessed the beginning. They now have three full time employees there. Priority number one is to improve everyday maintenance. Subsequent steps will see the repair of the old stones, repair of the fence, and construction of a concrete path to the old German section. I had made it clear that we would be willing to contribute to any improvement. We agreed that ZVA would purchase a gas powered weed wacker, the preferred tool for cutting grass in such situations.

We picked up the gang at the cemetery, where they had been fairly successful and received a lot of help from the staff, and took them to the cultural centre. There Mihailo had foreseen our need to use the washrooms and had also laid out some refreshments for us. He explained the functions of the centre and showed us their theatre which doubles as a movie and stage theatre.

We then went to a mass in the Zichydorf church that Msgr. Laszlo Gyuris had arranged specifically for us. He even brought a very talented organist/singer with him. And he made these special arrangements in spite of the preparations for a visit by the bishop on Sunday. Stasa had thought that the Bishop was visiting Vrsac, but it turns out that he is actually visiting Plandiste/Zichydorf. It would have been exciting to be there for the occasion, but we can't fit it into the schedule now without major disruption and this arrangement leads to a more intimate experience.

It was a very moving experience for all involved. Frank spoke in German with an older Hungarian lady that was in tears that we would come back to honour our ancestors in their old village. Father Gyuris spoke (in German, later related by Frank) about dedicating the mass to all the Zichydorfers who had lived and died there over the years. The musician played and sang old German hymns. We received the Eucharist in the church where our ancestors had done the same more than 100 years ago. During the mass I thought about all of our grandparents, great grandparents, and great great grandparents who had celebrated mass there together and how they never would have imagined that their descendants, unknown to each other not long ago, would come together as friends to celebrate in this church.

After mass we all visited with the locals and posed for pictures. The old lady that I mentioned earlier and who I had observed dabbing at her eyes with a tissue during mass told Frank she would never forget this day as long as she lived.



Here Father Laszlo shows us the jar of Saskatoon berry jam that we brought for him.

I discussed with Msgr Gyuris our offer to contribute to the restoration or maintenance of the church in some way. He said that the top priority is to stabilize the roof. The weight of the roof is forcing the walls out, allowing the roof to sink and the ceiling to crack. It is urgent that something be done to shore this up. He is working on putting together a plan which will be followed by fundraising from governments and individuals. I told him that we would help with whatever limited resources we could contribute.

From Plandiste, we drove to Weisskirchen/Bela Crkva. No one had a particular interest there, but I thought it would be interesting to see the city and archives. The archive building is actually fairly small and unimposing. We also found the church. By chance, the priest was on his way inside and allowed us in to look around. We then went to a restaurant by a lake for a late afternoon lunch/snack.

From Bela Crkva we drove to Kudritz. Stasa obtained the key from the custodian who asked what we were looking for. We told her that this was the village of my great grandparents and the name was Schussler. She grew excited and exclaimed that her husband’s grandmother was Rosalia Schussler. So she ran to get him and we had a little family reunion. The church here is more humble than the others we have seen and it is pretty neglected. They told us that there were only about 20 families left, and that only 4-5 people show up for the monthly masses.

From the church we walked down the street for a tasting in a wine cellar. The wine was good enough for us to buy a few bottles. We followed that with a stop in the cemetery before beginning the long trek back to Zrenjanin, arriving about 9 pm and eating our supper at 10. Staying in Zrenjanin will add an hour each way to our day tomorrow.

We had very good weather again. Warm, but not really hot. We ran into some rain showers on the way back in the evening and it started raining pretty hard and steadily after we checked in.

Thursday, June 5 Secanj

There was a bit of light drizzle this morning while we were driving, but nothing that slowed us down. Before long it was sunny and warm again, although not as warm as it has been, and humid. By the evening a light sprinkle began, developing into another light steady rain.

Stasa was on his cell phone all morning trying to make alternate hotel arrangements. There is some kind of conference in Vrsac and hotel rooms are scarce. We were keeping our hotel from last night in our back pocket as our ace in the hole. At about noon the manager called and said he had a call from another group and we had to put up or shut up, so we committed to him for tonight. Towards the end of the day we decided that we would go back to Zrenjanin for the following two nights. It adds about a half hour of travel each way every day, but we can get in there and we know it is very nice, although also more expensive.

We began our day with a stop in Samos for Mary Ann. It was a Serbian village and her family was only there briefly, so we only stopped to take a couple of pictures and moved on to Karlsdorf. We found the church and cemetery there and searched for Borschowas, but no luck Ray. It was a pretty big cemetery, well cared for, and there were still quite a few German stones in pretty good condition, but the lettering on the old stones erodes pretty badly over time.

Next stop was Georgshausen. We met up with Barbara Ann Daniels’ cousin who helped clarify some things for Stasa. We grabbed a snack and set out to take the many pictures we had promised ourselves and others.

We were operating with the information that they had built a school on top of the old cemetery. It turns out that there is a fairly reasonable explanation. In the early 1960s they decided to move the cemetery off the main street to a more secluded location. This is not the first time we have heard this reasoning, and not just in Serbia. Most, but probably not all, of the remains were exhumed and moved to the new cemetery where they were buried in a mass grave and marked by the crucifix on the left edge of this picture.

From Georgshausen (Velika Greda) we drove through Zichydorf (Plandiste) to Gross Gaj (Veliki Gaj). We had visited here in 2006 and had found a Serbian cemetery, but not the German one. We later learned that we had walked right past it, but it was now concealed by dense brush. We found the location and confirmed it with some locals that we spoke to. We hoped to penetrate the brush and find something, but we quickly grew discouraged. It was a large area and difficult to penetrate. We found no trace and eventually gave up. Maybe another time.

We then took a quick drive through Kriva Bara, where Mary Ann’s nomadic ancestors had briefly been, and on to Setschanfeld. We had been there on our previous trip, but an old lady we talked to wasn’t sure where the cemetery was and said it was totally overgrown. We decided we wanted a little more certainty, so, armed with a map that Mary Ann had found, we located the area and tried to investigate. But it was hopeless. There was a ditch around most of the perimeter and it was marshy and soggy everywhere else. It is totally overgrown by thick bushes and trees. This pipe stand may be a last vestige from the edge of the cemetery. In the town, we found that they had erected a monument where the church had once stood.

By now it was late afternoon and we returned to Secanj to close out an earlier than usual day. We first gathered outside for a drink, and then went inside for a feast of local fare.

Wednesday, June 4 Secanj

It took me a little longer than planned last night – 1:30 am. The wireless internet was quite slow. Blogging, especially uploading pictures, is quite a test of its capacity. It went very slowly, freezing up on occasion and screwing up on others. I finally got frustrated enough to give up. This morning I had a Eureka moment and looked for a wired connection, found it, hooked up, and finished my business lickety split. What is especially galling is that I had discussed that possibility earlier with Johannes, our driver, but was so focussed on doing what I was doing that I couldn’t see beyond it.


We began the day with a huge Serbian breakfast served Swedish style (smorgasbord), before touring the grounds of the bishopric and the church. Then we picked up our packed lunches at the hotel and we were off to Ecka/Etschka where Stasa had arranged with the caretaker for a tour. While we were there the priest arrived. He spoke passable English and was thrilled to practice it on some Canadians with Donauschwaben roots in his parish. He had to have a picture with us to post on his web site and offered to take us on a tour of the crypts where the nobles who founded the settlement were buried. One of the nobles was Sigmund Lazar, so it is not hard to figure out the origins of the village names of Sigmundsfeld and Lazarfeld. From there we made a short tour of the cemetery.


Next stop was Sigmundsfeld. Guess what we did there? By the time we left, the ladies were ready for a bathroom break, preferably sitting down rather than squatting. We went back to an old estate that had been converted to a hotel at Ecka. It had uge grounds in a park-like setting and an inviting patio in the rear where we enjoyed some refreshments as thanks for letting us use their facilities.


We didn’t want to eat our picnic lunches in their restaurant - I don’t think they would have liked it either – so we cracked them open at the cemetery in Lazarfeld. There was enough food for two huge lunches so we all saved about half for supper.

They were in the process of cutting the grass and there were several large stacks of hay around.

On to Kathreinfeld. We were there two years ago and it was a jungle. They told us then that there were plans to clean the place up, so we were quite hopeful, but soon disappointed. The site was unchanged. They told us that it had been cleared and that two busloads of German tourists had been there last year taking pictures. Sorry, I just can’t swallow that this is one year’s growth. I think they tell this story to everyone hoping that they will volunteer some money. But I guess you shouldn’t expect them to spend their hard earned money to clean up someone else’s cemetery.


We hit two cemeteries in Stefansfeld. A thunderstorm threatened while we were at the second, but it passed us by with hardly a drop landing.



We moved on to Ernsthausen where we were able to verify one of the stories commonly heard in Serbia, but that we had seldom seen. In this case, the new residents cleared the cemetery for their own use by simply bulldozing the headstones to the edge of a small lake.

We arrived at Setschan about 6:30, but could not check in because the power was out, probably due to the thunderstorm. Frank and Nora Ann accompanied Marta, who had ridden with us all day, on our bus to Zrenjanin, where she would take a scheduled bus home to Kikinda. Some of the group who had a particular interest in this town went directly to the cemetery and had some minor successes. The rest of us finished our lunches and our Hungarian wine on the patio out front. Celeste and I packed it in about 9 pm, but a few of the others persevered for a while longer. As the evening wore on, a cool wind came up, then a few sprinkles of rain, then a steady moderate rain. Looks like it will be a cool wet one tomorrow. Today was once again very warm and sunny until evening.

Our hotel room is quite worn and tired, but clean enough. The toilet seat is broken, one of the sink faucet knobs is missing, and there is no shower curtain. However, there is no shower curtain rod either, so maybe that is just the way it is here. I will have to check with the others tomorrow. Whatever the shortcomings, it may be better than tonight as Stasa received a phone call from tomorrow’s hotel. There are some workers staying there repairing the freezers in a large agricultural plant. Their work is not complete and they have to stay over, bumping us from our motel for the next three nights we had planned to stay there. Stasa is working on some alternatives. We will see what the morning brings. 11 pm – enough for tonight.