Stumbling Around Long-Lost-Relatives

This post is the long-awaited sequel to "Stumbling Around my Family Tree", written in January 2020.  Brent and I were supposed to go to Germany in June 2020 to meet my long-lost relatives, but the COVID-19 pandemic had other ideas, and our plans to meet were put on hold... indefinitely.  Finally, this August (2022), we made it happen.

When Brent and I stepped off the plane in Berlin, we were greeted by my cousin Dietmar, and his wife, Brigitte, holding a Canadian flag with our names on it!  I guess I was worried for nothing about being able to recognize them. Although they speak little English, and we speak little German, we had an amazing and wonderful visit with them.  They seem as excited to have Canadian relatives than I am to have German ones!  They even had special t-shirts made for us with a pairing of the Canadian and German flags, and "Family Meeting" the caption.

Greeting at the Airport.  Airport Stranger, Dietmar, Brigitte, Airport Stranger 2

We spent a couple of days with them in the area of their town in Brandenburg.  They took us to meet Dietmar's sister, also named Brigitte (Cousin Brigitte, to reduce confusion), her husband Georg, daughter Kerstin and son Derk.  Georg has a canal boat and he took us out for a cruise around Spreewald.  Dietmar and Brigitte also took us to Görlitz, Rakotzbrücke and Bad Muskau.  

Back: Dietmar, Brent, Kerstin.  Front: Cousin Brigitte, Georg, Rhonda

Touring Spreewald on Georg's Canal Boat
Brigitte, Cousin Brigitte, Dietmar, Rhonda, Brent, Georg

Brent, Brigitte, Dietmar and Rhonda at Rakotzbrücke (note the Family Meeting shirts) 

Then, the four of us drove together to the Rottweil area to meet the Catholic branch of the family.   When we got to Guido's home, the family members started gathering - every one wearing a "Family Meeting" t-shirt. We met Guido, his wife Gertrudis, his sister Claudia, and his daughter, Ira, and her husband, Mike, and son Erik. They hung the Canadian flag outside of Guido's house.

  

At Guido and Gertrudis' House (note the Family Meeting shirts, and Guido's Lederhosen)
Brent, Rhonda, Brigitte, Dietmar, Guido

Cousins Dietmar, Rhonda and Guido Contemplate the Mühlburger-Rolle (the Laggai Family Tree)

Guido had rented a large van so we could all travel together for the next few days, and we explored the Rottweil area together, plus the Black Forest and Lake Constance.  We also went off to the Biergartenfest in the area (Oktoberfest, but... early) two times.  One night, Guido, a chef, made Schwabishe Pizza in his back yard oven.

Ira, Brent, Rhonda, Claudia, Dietmar, Brigitte in Guido's Rented Van

Guido, Dietmar, Brigitte, Rhonda, Brent, Claudia on the Tower in Rottweil

Rhonda, Brent, Dietmar, Guido, Brigitte, Claudia at Biergartenfest (so many Family Meeting shirts)

Guido making Swabisher Pizza

Last Morning Together at Guido's
Back: Brigitte, Dietmar, Gertrudis, Claudia. Front: Brent, Rhonda, Guido

To say that Brent and I were blown away by how enthusiastic and welcoming my long-lost cousins were would be an understatement.  I have reached out to other relatives discovered through genealogy, but no one has been particularly interested.  Meeting the Laggais has been a very meaningful and special experience.  I think that their interest comes from our shared, unique last name.  My other family names, for example, Scheurer, Schneider, Mittelstadt, Müller, and so on, are much more common.  I think those folks have ample relatives to keep them entertained, but hey... discovering another Laggai, on the other side of the world, now THAT'S a big deal!

I'm amazed and grateful for the events that had to happen for us to even find each other.  As far as I know my great-grandma lost all contact with her family when she left Russia.  What I know, now, from Dietmar, is that many were killed, and his side of the family that escaped went to an area that ended up being in East Germany.  And, of course, the part of the family that remained Catholic did not leave Germany at all, but lost contact with those who, persecuted for being Protestant, migrated to the Crimea in the 1800s.

My mild obsession with looking for the origin of my great grandma led me to the Laggai name.  Claudia and Guido were open to responding to some internet rando from the other side of the world to explore whether we could be related.  Guido and Dietmar had found each other before, and Dietmar was also open to exploring the possibility that we could be related.  

Although I work in technology, I have never been a technophile, but for me this experience, and the enrichment of my life in finding these long-lost cousins, is, to me, an example of the power of what technology can do.  If it weren't for the internet, and for readily-accessible DNA testing, this simply would not have been possible.  I just wish I could tell my grandma, my great-grandma, and Dietmar's grandpa, what we've accomplished in finding one another over 100 years (150 years for the Catholic side) after the family was split.  

At the end of our trip, Brent and I spent a couple days in Berlin prior to our flight home.  Dietmar and Brigitte came in by train and joined us there for an afternoon.  We visited the Palace of Tears together, which was the border station between West and East Berlin when the city was divided.  Having lived in East Germany until the country was united, being in this place was particularly poignant for Dietmar and Brigitte, and we were so happy to have been there with them.  So happy that it was possible.  

Brigitte, Rhonda, Brent and Dietmar at the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin