Czechia, East Germany, Eastern Europe, Polska, Slovak Republic, Ten Things I Learned

Ten things I learned during our Eastern European October…

Featured photo was at St. Mary’s Basilica in Krakow…

Once again, I find myself at the end of one of my travel series. Whenever I write my blow by blow accounts of my trips, I always like to end with a “ten things I learned” post. It sort of neatly sums up the new things I learned during my travels. No matter what, I always learn something new, even when I return to places. I learned a lot on this trip to Karlovy Vary, Vyoske Tatry, Krakow, and Dresden. It might even be hard to narrow down just ten things! So, without further delay, here’s my list of ten things I learned!

10. Poland has better roads than Czechia does.

Or, at least that’s the impression I got as we traveled through Czechia and Poland. We started our trip in Czechia and traveled across the country to reach Slovakia. On the way back we came through Poland. We encountered a lot less construction and fewer detours in Poland. However, it did look to me like Czechia and Slovakia are working on improving things.

Poland also is more likely to offer premium gas than Czechia and Slovakia are. My husband commented that he was able to find higher octane gas in Poland that he could not get when we were in Czechia and Slovakia.

*Approaching Katowice, Poland… smooth sailing!*

9. Slovakia is a country with ambition.

My first trip to Slovakia was in 1997. At that time, it still had Peace Corps Volunteers in service. My next visit was in 2015, when we spent the day in Bratislava during a trip to Vienna. This year, we visited an area where there’s a lot of tourism. I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and beautiful the country is, and how tourist friendly the high Tatras are.

*There’s plenty to do in the high Tatry mountains of Slovakia. Bachledka, alone, will eat up a good portion of a day.*

8. Fall is a wonderful time to visit Eastern Europe.

In 2021, Bill and I went to Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia. I was mesmerized by how beautiful the fall colors were, and how few tourists there were. It was amazing. Well, I’m here to tell you that Czechia and Slovakia are also incredibly beautiful in the fall season. I got some lovely photos, especially in Slovakia. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, but there were no crowds! I would highly recommend visiting Slovakia, especially, in October.

7. Krakow is an incredibly Catholic city.

I knew that Poland is a religious country, and I knew it’s very Catholic. But I didn’t realize just how Catholic Krakow is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many nuns and priests in one place.

*There’s a reason why this Catholic themed tour group came all the way from the USA to tour Krakow!*

6. Krakow is the place to learn about Pope John Paul II.

Not being Catholic, I don’t actually know that much about popes or the Catholic religious tradition. But if you go to Krakow, you will not be able to avoid seeing Pope John Paul’s visage. In retrospect, maybe we should have visited one of the three museums dedicated to the pope’s life. One of them– the Archdiocesan Museum– was located just across the street from where we stayed. That address was where the pope lived and worked as a priest from 1951-1967.

*Pope John Paul II is everywhere in Krakow!*

5. Becherovka Liqueur is made in Karlovy Vary and has an interesting history with Germany.

Bill and I had tried Becherovka when we lived in Germany the first time, from 2007-2009. On our visit to Karlovy Vary, we paid a visit to the “Home of Becherovka”, where we learned the fascinating history of this distinctive drink. We brought home two bottles of it, as well as a few flavored varieties.

4. If you visit Karlovy Vary, you must try the water.

I knew about the mineral water from the first time Bill and I visited Karlovy Vary, back in 2009. But this time, we bought special containers so we could try the warm, salty, mineral waters that are said to bring health and youth. While it’s not the tastiest water I’ve ever had, it was definitely interesting to try the different taps. They were all different.

*One of many different places where you can taste Karlovy Vary’s famous water…*

3. If you can’t find parking in Karlovy Vary, try visiting one of the other regional spa towns.

Of course this suggestion is only useful if you drive a car to the city, which isn’t necessarily a requirement. Trains and buses serve Karlovy Vary. On beautiful Saturdays, it may be hard to find a place to park, in which case you can enjoy a scenic drive through the surrounding countryside. Maybe you’ll even end up at Chodovar Brewery’s Ve Skale cave restaurant for lunch!

*Always a worthy stop, especially if you like beer!*

2. Dresden is still a very beautiful and unique city.

Bill and I visited Dresden the first time in 2008. I remembered it well from that trip, but it was great to go back again in 2026 and see the incredible architecture there that survived World War II. It’s especially essential to visit the Frauenkirche and see how the church was rebuilt after it was mostly destroyed by Allied Forces bombs. It’s simply incredible!

And finally, 1. If I had to do it over again, I’d spend two nights each in Karlovy Vary and Dresden, and four nights each in Vyoske Tatry and Krakow.

This is not to say that Karlovy Vary and Dresden aren’t worth visiting, or even that they aren’t worth three nights each. But Bill and I had already been to those cities, and Vyoske Tatry and Krakow are quite far from where we live. I would have liked to have had a little bit more time to explore these less familiar places and do more things. I really hope we can go back to both places at some point in the future.

Below is a small taste of what we saw in the four distinct places we visited…

There’s more I could write about what I learned. For instance, on our trip, I met a Black Russian Terrier for the first time, and learned the interesting history of that dog. I saw signs at a Catholic basilica requesting people not to visit. I encountered a Catholic tour group from the United States. I saw Polish breakdancers, and German demonstrators… I saw beautiful young Polish women with the same look, seemingly either being trained for a job or auditioning for one. I encountered many beautiful carriage horses, and gazed at several gorgeous churches. I ate good food and drank lots of beer…

It was truly a GREAT vacation, even though I got sick afterwards.

If you’re looking for something different and affordable, especially if you’re Catholic, I would highly recommend a trip to Krakow… If you love the outdoors, Slovakia and Czechia might be just what you need. If you love history, visit Dresden. This was a great itinerary with something for everyone.

Our next trip will be next month. We’re going to… Switzerland– AGAIN! But we are going to, Adelboden, a town we’ve never been to before. It has incredible views, and I am really looking forward to the hotel. So, I look forward to writing about that. Thanks for following along on this series! See you next time.

Someone’s video about our next planned trip together… Can’t wait to make my own video.

East Germany, Eastern Europe, Polska

Our Eastern European October… part eleven

Our last stop, Dresden!

It was finally October 10th, and we were due to move on to our next destination, Dresden, Germany. Bill and I visited Dresden for two nights in November 2008. The occasion was our 6th wedding anniversary. At the time, we lived near Stuttgart, having been sent there by the U.S. Army. We had little money in those days, so it was a big deal when I booked the five star Hotel Suitess. It was our first five star property.

I remembered enjoying our two nights at the Suitess, and I knew it was in an excellent location. It was also a lot less expensive than the five star Hotel Kempinski. So, in the interest of nostalgia, I booked the Suitess again.

But I was pretty sad to be leaving Kanonicza 22 on October 10th. I loved staying in the Prince Suite, with it’s gorgeous baltic blue, brown, and gold theme. I’d love that color scheme for my own house. On the whole, we really enjoyed Krakow, Poland. I hope we can go back. On a related note, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many priests and nuns in one place, outside of Vatican City!

We had our last breakfast in the apartment after packing most of our bags. Bill schlepped them to the garage, leaving me with just my purse and rolling suitcase.

Then, once we were finished with breakfast, we made our way downstairs, said goodbye to the lady on duty, and walked back to the huge garage where our car was. I would absolutely book Kanonicza 22 again, given the opportunity. it was my favorite of all of our lodging on this trip.

Below are a few more shots of Krakow before we said goodbye… What a beautiful city!

When we left Krakow, the skies were sunny and bright. But soon, as we headed west toward Germany, the clouds came out. I don’t have a lot to write about the drive, except for the difference in the quality of roads between Czechia and Slovakia versus Poland was quite obvious. Poland was a lot easier to drive across, even with its tolls.

It was pouring rain when we decided to stop for lunch. We were at a Polish McDonald’s. Things have really changed since our first Polish visit in 2008. I remember going to a McDonald’s in Jelena Gora, mainly because it was the only place where we could find parking. None of the staff spoke English and they had to present us with a picture menu so we could order. Now, everything is done on a touch screen, and so many people speak English!

We happened to be at McDonald’s at the same time a large tour group of teens were there. Fortunately, we managed to order just before their arrival. It wasn’t until later in the trip that I realized just how lucky we were in our timing. But I’ll get to that in a future post. There was a cheap hotel next to the McDonald’s. It looked like one of those places that is totally automated.

*That kid looks how I have been feeling since we got home.*

It wasn’t long before we were crossing the German border. We were required to drive through a repurposed rest area that had been turned into a security checkpoint. Since we have German plates and look very much like Germans, we were waved through with no fanfare. I made a joke about how “hot” one of the cops was. Fortunately, Bill is a good sport about such things.

The rain continued as we arrived in Dresden. It was still familiar to me after so many years away.

Hotel Suitess is located in a pedestrian area, but it’s permissable to pull up in front of the hotel to check in. I remembered when we visited in 2008, there was a valet waiting to park the car. This time, we had to park outside and go into the hotel to check in. I noticed that they had also done some renovations. In 2008, there were two ways to enter the hotel, and the check in desk was at the bar in the hotel’s parlor. Now, the desk is set up in what used to be a corridor leading into the hotel. It seemed a little strange to me.

The lady who checked us in was nice enough. She didn’t offer us a welcome drink, though, and that was something I remembered that happened in November 2008. I had read in recent reviews that the standards at Hotel Suitess weren’t really what you’d expect at a five star hotel, so I wasn’t surprised about the lack of a ready valet or welcome drink. It was a little disappointing, though.

The receptionist asked us if we would mind forgoing housekeeping during our stay, since it was only three nights. She said this was for “environmental reasons”, but personally I think it’s more likely that the hotel doesn’t want to employ people to clean. It certainly didn’t give off five star vibes, although we agreed to skip housekeeping. I didn’t realize it at the time, but not getting the room cleaned resulted in a slight discount on our nightly rate. At least there was that, then.

I booked us an executive suite, which came with a bedroom, sitting room, refrigerator, and three TVs, including one in the marble bathroom. The room was big enough, but it looked like some of the frills from our earlier stay were gone. The bed was not made up with anything beyond pillows and duvets. The desk, while massive, wasn’t near any electrical outlets. The bathroom had a tiny shower and narrow tub, and no Hermes toiletries, as we had enjoyed in 2008. And this was our view…

*We had two big windows that overlooked two courtyards…*

I could see some traces of the hotel’s former glamor. The artwork in the room had little lamps over them. The color scheme was beige and gold, just as it was in 2008. But I got the impression that the place could use an overhaul. Below are some photos of the room.

*The blue pillows are ones we brought with us, because European hotels usually don’t supply pillows we like.*

And below is a picture I took during our 2008 visit…

*Notice the decor is the same, but the bed is more completely made up. We also got turn down service in 2008. We didn’t get that in 2026.*

Hotel Suitess was okay for three nights, but it’s definitely gone downhill since our first visit. If we go back to Dresden, I’ll probably go ahead and spring for the Kempinski, or try a different hotel. There are quite a few good ones to choose from now. The Suitess does have a spa area that I thought we might use, but as it turned out, we skipped the spa. I never got a chance to see if the whirlpool was heated. It wasn’t when we were there in 2008. And yet, I was still impressed in 2008… How things can change!

After we checked in and had a chance to rest for a few minutes, we decided to venture out. It was close to dinner time, so we went to the restaurant next door to see if we could get a table. They were fully booked, so we walked across the market square and wound up at a place serving typical Bavarian cuisine and Hofbrau beer, with wait staff curiously dressed in dirndls and lederhosen. A lot of the restaurants in Dresden were Bavarian themed, even though we were in Saxony.

We were lucky to get a table at the Hofbrau, because the tables were all reserved after 7:00 PM. We were there at 5:30 PM, so we had plenty of time to eat and enjoy a couple of brews.

After we ate dinner, we visited the shop across the way and bought a few things to tide us over until it was time to head home on the 13th. Below are a few more photos I took before we turned in for the night. Neither Bill nor I are big night owls, especially nowadays. And driving is tiring… but it was nice to be in Dresden again.

Tomorrow, I will write about our first full day in Dresden, Germany. It really is a beautiful city, and more people should visit it.

Bavaria, booze tourism

With a mere flip of a coin…

Yesterday, Bill and I decided where we will be visiting next. Bill’s mom, Parker, is coming to visit us during the first full week of February. As is our habit, we are taking her on a short trip. Last time she visited, we went to Alsace, in France. The time before that, we were in Berlin. When she visited during our first Germany tour, we went to Oberstaufen, near the Austrian border…

This time, we decided we wanted to go to Bamberg, a Franconian city in Bavaria known for its smoked beer and fabulous architecture that wasn’t ruined in World War II. I had heard a lot about the town over the years, but never got the opportunity to plan a visit. But, we have four nights… and Bamberg isn’t a big town. A lot of people spend a weekend there and are good with it. So I thought maybe it would be better to go to Nuremberg, which is about a 40 minute train ride away from Bamberg… I started looking for properties that would accommodate us.

Then I realized that Nuremberg might be overwhelming. It has a lot of fabulous museums, and a beautiful downtown area. But a lot of its original buildings were destroyed in World War II. I also figured that if we went to Nuremberg, we might never get around to Bamberg.

So then I thought maybe we should visit Würzburg, which is also a well-known Franconian town in Bavaria, with lots of history, beautiful buildings, and wine! Würzburg is about an hour train ride from Bamberg. At that point, we decided to take Nuremberg off the table for this trip and focus on Bamberg and Würzburg, which is only about a 90 minute drive from where we live.

I spent several days agonizing… because I really wanted to see Bamberg, but the more I read about Würzburg, the more I figured it was worthy of a visit, too. And then I saw a very attractive rental property, which I thought would be great for us. Weingut Am Stein is a functioning winery that has a guest house next to the vineyard. It’s very close to the train station, offers parking, and we’d have separate bedrooms. I went looking for something similar in Bamberg and, although I found a couple of appealing hotels, I found that booking two hotel rooms in a nice place would cost about as much as the house would.

Still… I wanted to be fair, so Bill and I flipped a two euro coin. Heads for Bamberg– tails for Würzburg. Bill flipped, and we got tails. So I booked the guest house for four nights. Truth be told, I’m not surprised it worked out this way. The minute I saw that property on Expedia, I had a feeling I’d end up booking it. Although the idea of staying in a cozy hotel with a nice restaurant is very appealing, it’s not so practical. I also heard that Bamberg is best when you just want to relax and take in the atmosphere. February isn’t exactly Biergarten weather, but I could totally see us holing up in a wine bar. The guest house is right next to the Weingut, which has a wine bar and a restaurant (which I hope will be open).

We will visit Bamberg on this trip, and if it’s as enchanting as everyone says, Bill and I will plan to visit it properly at a later date. I do like the smoked beer… have had it before, but it would be nice to try it fresh from the brewery. We can do that on this visit. We’ve already been to Rothenburg, which is another Franconian town that is very tourist friendly. But my German friend, Susanne, says that we should visit Bayreuth, too. Sigh… yet another town to add to the list of places to go!

I did watch some videos to help inform me. And I look forward to writing up this trip and collecting a lot of photos. Both towns are notably beautiful, and not actually that far from Wiesbaden. So stay tuned!

I like this guy’s channel. He’s done some great videos about German towns!

And one or two about Würzburg…

It sure is nice to have this problem. We’re definitely spoiled for choices as to where to go on short breaks. I wish we had another day or two, so we could properly do both towns. I did consider booking hotels for two nights each in both towns, but the house at the vineyard just seemed too appropriate. I don’t like booking a house for two nights, either. Anyway… it’s bound to be a blast! I think it will go down as a great trip… but then, most of our trips are awesome. I may not be the world’s most successful person, but I have managed to have a lot of fun in Europe with the best travel companion, ever!

Special thanks to Christian Horvant on Wikipedia for allowing public domain use of his photo of the Marienberg Castle in Würzburg. I look forward to taking some of my own photos when I visit, but I doubt we’ll have such pretty weather!

Polska

Big business in Poland, part nine

Thursday morning was cold, rainy, and kind of depressing. It was the perfect day to visit an art gallery. Just around the corner from the Sofitel was the City Gallery promoting the works of Bronislaw Wojciech Linke, an artist who was born April 23, 1906 in the Polish community in Tartu, Estonia. From 1917 to 1919, he witnessed political turbulence; first he saw the February Revolution, then the German army fighting with the Red Army and Estonia’s struggle for independence.

In 1919, Linke, along with his father and brothers, were repatriated in Kalisz, Poland, which had been destroyed in 1914. It was one of the first cities in Poland to be decimated when World War I began. In 1914, there were 68,000 people living there. A year later, only 5,000 remained. By the end of World War I, the city had been mostly rebuilt, and most of the former inhabitants were able to return. Sadly, after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Kalisz suffered another setback. It was annexed by the Germans and by the end of World War II, 30,000 local Jews and 20,000 local Catholics were murdered.

Linke graduated from a Gymnasium (a type of German high school for especially bright students who plan to attend university). Then he left his family and began working on perfecting his art. He studied industrial design in Krakow and painting in Warsaw. He was a graphic artist for the pre-war magazine, “Szpilki” and an illustrator for “Dziennik Ludowy”. Despite all of this, there was only one solo exhibition of his art. That was at the National Museum of Warsaw in 1963, which was the year after Linke’s death in Warsaw, Poland. Since then, with the exception of the April show at the Museum of Independence in Warsaw, there have only been small retrospectives of his work in Poland.

I was really just trying to kill some time when I stumbled on this free exhibit at the City Gallery in Wroclaw, which is running from November 8th until December 7th 2019. I’m glad I stopped in, especially since pictures can say things that words can’t… and since I don’t know Polish, art is a more effective medium anyway. Here are some photos I took of Linke’s art. As you can see, he had a lot to say about war, which he did with his art. And he wasn’t just saying it about Germany, either… Russia and the United States got a mention, too.

I spent about twenty minutes or so in the gallery. It wasn’t a particularly large exhibit, even though there was also a video presentation in Polish. I probably should have spent longer, since the helpful leaflet about Linke’s work includes more information about his history. The artist and his wife, Anna Maria, were forced to flee German occupied Warsaw in 1939 because he had been listed as an enemy of the Third Reich by the Gestapo. Adolf Hitler and his cronies weren’t fans of Linke’s work, which often depicted Hitler in caricatures and were published in the Polish and foreign press.

The Linkes escaped to Lviv, a city in Western Ukraine, then were sent to a camp in the Dubowa Village in the Republic of Chuvashnia, and then to Orsko, where Linke worked in industrial plants and painted propaganda and advertising banners. In 1946, the Linkes were repatriated in Warsaw, where Linke died on October 6, 1962. For more on Linke, click here.

After my visit to the art gallery, I decided to have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, an American chain restaurant that specializes in typical American food and memorabilia from rock stars. I really struggled with the decision, since it’s such an American institution. I’ve only been to two other Hard Rock Cafes– the one in Oslo, Norway, and the one in Berlin. We went to the one in Oslo because it was 2009; we didn’t have much money; and the Hard Rock Cafe had one of the most economical menus in Oslo, which is a very expensive city. We went to the one in Berlin because a couple of people in Stuttgart had requested that I pick up a couple of souvenirs for them, since they’re collectors of Hard Rock merchandise. I went to the one in Wroclaw because I felt like eating something American.

As it turned out, I really enjoyed my lunch at Hard Rock Cafe Wroclaw. I ordered “twisted mac and cheese”, which was fusilli pasta with a creamy, slightly spicy cheese sauce and grilled chicken. It was served with garlic bread. I know I shouldn’t eat such carb loaded things, but it was such a nice change of pace, plus it was very comforting on such a dismal, grey day. A bonus was that I got a great view of the square, as workers were putting the finishing touches on the Christmas market being set up to begin on Friday. One thing I didn’t like, though, was that Hard Rock Cafe had kind of a lame beer and wine list… but there were plenty of fun cocktails for those who are into that sort of thing.

I did some more writing and reading during the afternoon as I waited for Bill. When he arrived well after dark at about 6:00pm, we went looking for dinner. Wroclaw is interesting, because there are three Greek restaurants located almost right next to each other. They’re all on the same side of the square. Even weirder, two of the restaurants are called Akropolis. The other is called Greco. We ate at Greco in 2008 and weren’t all that impressed with it, so we decided to visit the first of the two Akropolis restaurants. It turned out to be more like an Italian restaurant with a few Greek accents. Our waiter seemed really tired, too. I was a bit disappointed in it… but at least the inside was cute.

Salmon on a bed of spinach with a side of lemon sauce.

This is also the only restaurant that billed a service charge. I’m not sure what the charge was for, but it was about 22 Zloty. Not sure if that was the tip or what, but it seemed a bit shady. I used to work at a place that had a service charge, but it wasn’t a tip. It was used for linens.

We stopped by the hotel bar one last time to say goodbye the friendly bartender. I spotted this funny label belonging to a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, which is usually one of my favorite wines.

The label was more interesting than the wine was…

Next post, I’ll wrap up our last day…

Rhein

The Oppenheimers…

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that Bill and I went to Mainz to meet an old friend of mine from my days as a waitress in Williamsburg, Virginia. On our way to his hotel, I happened to notice the plaques (Stolpersteine) featured in today’s post. I haven’t spent a lot of time in Mainz yet, but I did recently discover similar plaques in my own neighborhood of Breckenheim, a suburb of nearby Wiesbaden. That discovery led me down a rabbit hole of a fascinating tale about a local family who escaped the Holocaust.

*The Stolpersteine (stumbling blocks) in my neighborhood.*

The plaques I discovered in Mainz were in memory of the Oppenheimer family. Father, Wilhelm Gabriel Oppenheimer was born in 1888. His wife, Anna Metzger Oppenheimer, was born in 1896. They also had a daughter named Rosemarie Oppenheimer, who was born on December 9, 1924. Together, the family lived at Schillerplatz 5, which today is a tony address in downtown Mainz, very close to the center of the city.

Just as I did for the Kahn family in Breckenridge, whose plaques I found in August, I looked up the Oppenheimer family’s history. The Kahns were lucky enough to escape the Holocaust and relocated to the United States. The Oppenheimers, unfortunately, were unable to avoid deportation. The three family members are commemorated in Stolpersteine.

In 1939, Rosemarie Oppenheimer left Mainz via Frankfurt on a children’s transport bound for the Netherlands. She had joined other young refugee children at a Quaker school in Eerde to learn how to farm. Oppenheimer and the other youngsters were trained by a Jewish teacher. She had hoped to eventually continue learning in the United States, but World War II prevented her escape.

On April 10, 1943, Rosemarie and other children were deported to Vught Concentration Camp. Vught Camp, which was constructed in 1942, was the only official Nazi camp in northwestern Europe. It was originally divided into two sections– a transit camp designed to hold Jewish prisoners before they departed for Westerbork, another camp– and a security camp, where all of the Dutch and Belgian prisoners were held. Rosemarie Oppenheimer was in the security camp.

On July 17, 1943, Rosemarie was transferred from Vught Camp to Westerbork, another transit camp in northeastern Netherlands, where she stayed for a couple of months. Westerbork was constructed by the Dutch government, and was supposed to serve as a camp for Jewish refugees who had entered The Netherlands illegally. It was used as a staging camp for the deportation of Jews, and from there, Rosemarie Oppenheimer was deported on September 21, 1943. Her final destination was Auschwitz in Poland, where she was ultimately murdered on September 24, 1943. She was just 18 years old.

Rosemarie’s parents, Wilhelm and Anna, also died before they could escape the Nazis. In 1939, they fled to Belgium, but they were captured and sent to Mechelen Transit Camp. The city of Mechelen had a railway hub between Antwerp and Brussels; it served as a convenient place for Jews to be rounded up and deported. Most of the people who ended up at Mechelen were later sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Mrs. Oppenheimer was deported in 1942 and died at Auschwitz. Mr. Oppenheimer died on his way to Kosel.

Rosemarie’s older sister, Hilde, was born in 1921. She had gone to the school in Eerde, ahead of Rosemarie, and was accepted as an apprentice in England in 1939. Hilde was in a group of students who went to England before the war made travel so much more difficult for Jewish people. Unable to get back to the Netherlands, Hilde remained in England and survived.

It would be so easy to miss these “stumbling blocks” that appear in this area. I walked past the ones in my neighborhood for months before I happened to notice them one day while waiting for traffic to clear. I have made it a point to look up the histories of the people behind these inconspicuous memorials scattered around the Frankfurt-Mainz-Wiesbaden areas. They were real people with fascinating and often tragic stories.

Given what’s been going on at the southern border within the United States, I think it’s important to read about what happens to people who are declared “illegals” and deported simply for being who they are. I have to admit, reading about the “transit camps” and “detention facilities” for World War II era “illegals” kind of makes my blood run cold. You would think we would have learned something from World War II. Clearly, a lot of people haven’t.

Uncategorized

Spotted on today’s walk around Breckenheim…

It’s amazing what you miss when you don’t pay attention. I recently started taking my dogs on a different walking route. It’s not ideal for dogwalking, since it requires passing through our narrow streeted village, but it does allow us to avoid the busy main drag for at least part of our walk.

Usually, when I’m walking through our village, I’m focused on keeping the dogs out of the street. Our old village has a lot of traffic, especially considering how small it is. Consequently, I don’t always pay attention to the small stuff I could be stumbling across on our daily strolls. Today, I happened to get hung up at a driveway due to a small traffic jam. An Asian couple were maneuvering their large station wagon out of a gated entrance to our narrow street. They happened to intercept an annoyed looking German guy in his van. This was further complicated by a yellow German Post truck coming in the other direction.

I halted the dogs so the three vehicles could get around each other in the tight space. Then I noticed five bronze plaques on the ground. Here’s the second of two pictures I took of them.

I determined by their names that they were likely a Jewish family and had once lived in Breckenheim. I discerned that they left Breckenheim for the United States. Judging by the dates, I could see that they were driven out of our town due to Nazism.

I just looked up these plaques online and found them listed. According to the plaques pictured above, they all left for the United States, but according to the Wikipedia article I linked (in German– Chrome is your friend), Rosa Kahn actually died in a place called Jacoby’s Nursing and Care Institute in a town that was once called Sayn, but is now known as Bendorf. Judging by my cursory search, Bendorf is located not far from here– it appears to be near Koblenz. Jacoby’s Nursing and Care Institute was a Jewish owned nursing home that was expressly for Jewish people who suffered from “nervousness” and “mental illness”.

Established in 1869, Jacoby’s Nursing and Care Institute ran until 1942, which is also supposedly when Rosa Kahn died. In 1938, all but three non-Jewish workers had to be fired. From 1940, the hospital was part of the Nazi persecution of Jewish people, but it was originally intended for Jewish people who suffered due to people who were ignorant about their beliefs.

Meier Jacoby, a local merchant who started the institute, justified building it, writing “I had often heard that nervous people who grew up in strict Jewish homes reluctantly enjoyed kosher food, that they probably refuse to eat such food or that they believe they have sinned by eating the food that they are teased by less educated patients and guards, especially because of their beliefs, etc. – circumstances that must certainly adversely affect the nervous and mental patients.” Jacoby took in some patients and hired a doctor to oversee their care. Until Nazism took over Germany, it was a good place for Jewish people who needed psychiatric care.

The Jacoby family were themselves able to emigrate to Uruguay via the Soviet Union and Japan. The main building of the hospital was demolished in the 1960s, but a couple of buildings still remain standing in Bendorf, including the ballroom and the synagogue. Sadly, it appears that toward the end of its existence, the nursing home was used to concentrate Jews for deportation to extermination camps. Between March and November 1942, 573 people were sent to camps in the East, while between 1940-1942, 142 people were too sick to travel and died at the hospital. Those who died at the hospital were buried on the grounds, but had no marker for their graves until the late 1980s.

Once the patients were deported, the hospital was used as a hospital for military troops, then as a replacement for the Koblenz hospital that was damaged in the war. In March 1945, the hospital was briefly taken over by American troops, and then in July 1945, French troops took possession. From 1951 until 1997, the site was a boarding school. Since 1999, it’s been a Catholic run nursing home for people with disabilities.

On November 17, 2002, incidentally the day after my wedding, a memorial was erected to honor the 573 people who were deported to Auschwitz and murdered there. Additionally, a plaque with all of the names of the people who died is hanging in the Wintergarten in the facility.

Isn’t it amazing when one story leads to another? I found out all about this simply by stopping and noticing five little plaques on a driveway that I pass all the time while I’m walking my dogs. Maybe some weekend soon, Bill and I can take a day trip to Bendorf and have a look around.

I highly recommend reading this detailed account of the Jacoby Nursing and Care Institute on Bendorf’s official page. The site is available in English, or you can use Google Chrome (2025– the page is no longer working).

Edited to add: my German friend found more information about the Khan family and it turns out Rosa Kahn did manage to escape. She and her husband celebrated their 50th anniversary in New York on February 22, 1943. Breckenheim was a Jewish community for many years before Hitler came to power. Perhaps another woman from the neighborhood died at the nursing home. Wikipedia is not always the end all, be all of information, but at least I learned something new.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: World War II