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.