Monday Touring

We started the day in Tadten. First stop was at the city hall to visit with a cousin who is very interested in family history. While we were there, he pulled out a very old record book from 1905 and we found the birth record for my great uncle. He was born in February 1905. His birth record is written in Hungarian.

We could not view my grandmother’s birth record because she was born in 1889. The records that are stored at the city hall begin with the year 1895. Before that time, the records are kept by the church.

After our visit to City Hall we made a quick stop in the church. It hasn’t changed. This is the Church of St. Michael.

The family home of my grandmother’s is across the street from the church. Quick visit with Anna, my second cousin. Then we had lunch. Delicious homemade soup with beef, carrots, celery root, root parsley, and gashtels (dumplings).

After lunch, we were off to Frauenkirchen. One place I like to visit every time I come to this area is the Jewish cemetery. At one time, there were almost 900 Jews living in Frauenkirchen, but they were pushed out by the Nazis during the war. This cemetery is all that remains. It is quiet, simple, and very moving.

Then we stopped at the Basilica in Frauenkirchen. As a very young girl, my grandmother would make pilgrimage to this church. From Tadten to Frauenkirchen it is about 8 miles one way and they would walk.

I found this quite amusing. You can buy “Messe Wein” (Mass Wine) from a vending machine just outside of the church!

Onward to Weiden am See to visit another cousin. This is a popular vacation spot in the summer because it sits right on the Neusiedler See.The Neusiedler See is the largest freshwater lake in Europe. It’s very shallow, no more than 6 feet deep anywhere in the lake. The water source is rain, and the last few summers have been fairly dry. During the summer the lake is usually filled with sailboats.

And that was our day! We had a simple supper of bread, cheese, and ham and then enjoyed some nussstrudel and mohnstrudel from the local grocery store.

It’s Tuesday now and we are ready for another great day! (My cousin Martin and me!)