We had an untraditional Father’s ay….or maybe it really wasn’t in celebration of Father’s Day, but it was in there somewhere.

So, in an effort to learn more about our roots and connect with people we went to a meeting of the Donauschwaben.

You see, my father comes from a group of Germanic people who settled in a small village in what is now Croatia.  When they lived there the borders changed frequently and the languages spoken were many.  Even the German they spoke has significant differences from High German.

It was good to hear about where my Father came from and it is amazing how much material some people have collected. There were several maps, including one which showed where there house was.  I don’t know if I will ever be able to get a copy of this map, but I certainly am going to try.

People came from quite a distance to attend this meeting. There were people from Michigan, Windsor, Cleveland….That was really interesting.  There were presentations on DNA, traditional housing construction, migration, and of course they served some food I haven’t had since my Oma passed away.

I am pretty sure we will be going to the next meeting they have.