I had heard a lot about Pommerania
in the last years... Grandpa had swarmed about his homeland and
had homesickness for Pennekow, the place where he grew up.
After Grandpa Ernst died 2004, a
jerk went through the family and we decided to visit the house of my
ggrandpa Albert in a small town in Pommerania. Four of my family applied
towards the east - for a trip into the past. With surely prejudices and a
portion of uncertainty we drove to Poland.
The landscape in northern Poland
is marvellous. Especially in these days, the large fields where a great
yellow contrast to the vlue sky. In addition kilometer-long avenues, covered
with trees, in this season deep green . The streets were good and besides
the main roads you felt the flair of old Pommerania. Slowly I understood,
what grandpa meant, when he talked about his home .
We stayed in Köslin. A city between Danzig and Stettin. Unfortunately it is
typical for the larger cities, that the reconstruction after WW II wasn't
very intensive. The old red buildings of bricks are salient. Mostly the
churches and post-offices are in a good condition.
We went to Pennekow. With an old map, in which all owner's where marked, we
drove the main street. Then we stood before our old house. It was larger,
than I remembered it from photos. Here were the roots of our Famile. A
wonderful piece of land.. Ggrandpa Albert was a grandener, although nothing
of his gardening remained. He worked much on the castle "von
Below", which lay course-rampantly grown in the forest - the stablings
had purged and the castle has to be renovated. Anyhow, it was a wonderful
building. I rang the doorbell, but unfortunately no one spoke German or
English, so that I could not enter the castle. In Pennekow we met Mrs.
Czerwinska, she was originally German and born in Stolp. She moved 1951 to
Pennekow and married a polish guy. Because me ggrandparents left Pennekow
1956, she met them and told us some stories about the passed time. It was
very interesting. We left Pennekow and visited all the places from grandpa's
narrations: like Schlawe, Stolp and Stolpmünde. We were inspired also of
the Sahara Poland in Leba. Lovely!
The way back brought us to the old Baltic Sea cities like Kolberg, Wollin
and Stettin. Especially Stettin must have been a rich city. I am very
strained, how the landscape will look in ten years...
I'm sure that this was not my last trip to Pommerania. I will come back...
