I have been doing genealogy for a few years now, and one of the most rewarding things I have done to date is to take trips to visit the places where ancestors have lived and died. In just a few days, I leave for the farthest and most grand trip yet, which will include visiting the places that my ancestors lived in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, in Alsace, France, and areas of Rhineland-Pfalz and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
The trip was conceived after a lot of research, tracing generation by generation until I was confident of who these ancestors of mine were, and where they lived. Planning the trip then became its own challenge. There are the direct logistics of travel, of course, but also ensuring that I have completed adequate local research to know what places in those villages might actually be associated with the ancestors.
The buildup to this trip has included communicating with archives, ordering books about local history, and so, so much searching online. I have also been learning and practicing my German for almost a full two years… it is time to put it into practice.
Wish me luck!!! I hope to post updates as I go.
RELATED POSTS
View all
