Mom's Trip Down Memory Lane Part II: Austria

After we left Croatia, we headed north through Slovenia to Austria. This is out of order for where Mom and her family actually lived, so I'll briefly go through the history.

In the fall of 1944 they were taken by train to Waldenburg, Germany (which is now Walbrzych, Poland) to a holding camp. I will cover more on that part of their journey when make our stops in Germany. They left in February of 1945 and went south to Winzer, Germany, along the Danube River. They stayed here until the war ended and tried to travel down the Danube River by barge. This became too difficult because many of the bridges were destroyed and the river was full of debris. So they traded some goods and bought a horse and buggy instead. They decided to stay in Germany and find a place to stay for a short time since Grandma was ready to have a baby. They stayed in Obernzell, near a mill in a small house for about 6-8 weeks where Rosie was born. After they were ready to travel again, they headed south. Grandpa was planning to go back to Yugoslavia. He continued to head south but heard more and more stories about what was happening to the Germans in Yugoslavia, now occupied by the Russian army. He decided not to cross over into Yugoslavia, which is now Slovenia, and found a small farmhouse/barn to live in near Radkersburg, Austria in Donnersdorf-Au, Austria. The town is now called Bad Radkersburg, and it is located right along the Mur River, which is the border between Austria and Slovenia.

So, here we are entering Bad Radkersburg on Tuesday, May 18th.

The town square.

Me, Mom and David in the town square in Bad Radkersburg.

There were two specific things Mom wanted to see while in Bad Radkersburg. First of all, her school. Mom and the older siblings attended school in Bad Radkersburg. They had to walk a couple miles to catch the bus which took them into town and to school. In the winter, it was very cold and Mom got sick a lot. So, they had her stay in town with a family so she didn't have to make the long walk every day during the winter. The second thing we hoped to find was the boarding house she lived in.

We found her school! We weren't exactly certain of the location, so we decided to ask at the information center to see if they would know. Mom described the place, and the man stepped outside, walked down the street about a half a block and opened a large door and led us into this courtyard. Instantly, Mom knew this was it.

Here she is telling us how they would walk into this courtyard, then up the stairs into the classrooms.

Mom, giddy as a school girl outside of the rooms where she went to school from 1945-1949.

Outside the doors which lead to the school. This looks different today, so we were very thankful that the man at the information center knew what Mom was describing and took us through these doors!

Street view.

Mom looking around the town square to get her bearings.

The year they arrived in Austria!

At the end of the town square, we turned south towards the river and walked up this street, Langgasse, where my Mom remembers staying during the winter to go to school.

Mom thinks that she stayed somewhere around here.

She wasn't certain, but she thinks she stayed in the yellow or pink house just across the street. Since her memory on everything else seems to have been great, I'm sure she's right.

After spending a little time in Bad Radkersburg, we headed out of town to find their farmhouse/barn in Donnersdorf-Au.

Mom and the sign for Donnersdorf-Au.

We also drove through Halbenrain, Austria, a small town nearby where Mom's cousin Danny Spangler worked as a tailor. He lived with them in the small farmhouse as well.

We found their farmhouse! All of the credit on this one goes to Mom's good memory and David's diligence. Mom described the little path they would walk to get on the bus. So David researched it all on googlemaps and found exactly where he thought their house would be. So when we came, we drove down the little path they used to walk (it is now a small paved road!) and right up to the house. Mom was so excited! It was just as she remembered it, but the orchard trees are now gone and instead it is surrounded by fields of corn. They lived here from late 1945 until May of 1949. Jake and Katie were born here.

Across the street was the large farmhouse where the farmer lived that Grandpa worked for. Mom is telling us about how they would harvest these pumpkins and in this courtyard they would wash the seeds which they made into oil.

We had parked in the drive of this farm and were taking photos and videos, so we thought we better knock on their door and explain ourselves. Plus, we had been having such great luck finding people and places we figured why not? The young lady on the left in the picture below, Marianne, answered the door. As soon as Mom explained that they lived here in the late 1940's, she called for her father in law. He came to the door and as soon as Mom told her story, he exclaimed 'Webel!' And totally remembered the family.

This is the moment just after he exlcaimed 'Webel!' Mom was so excited! He is the cousin of the original farmer that Grandpa worked for, but he worked on the farm his whole life and remembers the Webel family living there when he was a teenager (he's now in his 90's). It was another amazing moment to find someone living who could verify all of Mom's memories and who remembered their family living here 50 years ago!

I love this moment of recognition and joy!

Marianne was very kind and took us over to the little farmhouse/barn where Mom lived and showed us around.

Mom is giddy again :)

The inside has been remodeled, but the rooms are still the same. This is where Grandma and Grandpa and the children slept.

This is the kitchen window - you can't see it because of the light, but there are bars across the windows, and Mom was remembering looking out this window as a little girl.

Mom at the front of the barn attached to the house. This is where they kept their horse.

Mom at the back of the house. The barn area now houses chickens.

After looking at the house, Marianne suggested we go next door and see if the neighbor was home. She is the same neighbor that has lived there all of her life and she's almost 90, so she would have lived there when the Webels did.

This is the neighbor, and she remembered them as well! She told a couple stories about how Grandpa was very strict with all those children (no surprise there).

Mom shared the pictures and history book she had along. They had some good laughs.

David and I being the paparazzi. David got this entire trip on video and is editing and compiling it to tell the story as well.

Mom and the farmhouse viewed from the neighbor's house.

We were so thankful for Marianne and her willingness to talk with us and show us around. She was also very sweet and gave us some of their farm's pumpkin oil. Yep, you heard me - Mom remembered exactly right, they did make oil from the pumpkin seeds, and they still do today! Here's a picture of the oil and the website if you're interested.

After living in Donnersdorf-Au for about 3 1/2 years, the Jakob Webel family moved to Graz, Austria in May 1949. They lived in the army barracks there, which are long gone, so we didn't have a home to look for in Graz. They lived here in Graz for about 2 years, until March of 1951, when they immigrated to the US and arrived in Medina, OH. Dan was born in Graz while they lived here in 1950.

We did do the tourist thing and went to the town square and to the Uhrturn or Clock Tower, the famous site in Graz.

Mom in front of the Rathaus, or city hall in Graz, in the Hauptplatz, or main town square.

David and Sandy in front of the stairs that wind up to the Graz Uhrturn, or Clock Tower.

When we were here in Dec 2008 as a family, the clock tower was covered and being restored. I was so thankful we were able to see it this time! We also took the elevator up instead of climbing the stairs. Mom did great with all the walking on the trip, but hills or stairs were difficult for her. I was also sick the entire night before so doing a huge flight of stairs wasn't so appealing for me, either. Thankfully it was just an overnight thing and I was feeling better by the afternoon. Even more thankfully, no one else got what I had!

Mom and I in front of the Clock Tower.

View over Graz from the Schlossberg, the hill where the Clock Tower stands.

After grabbing lunch in Graz, we headed for the two towns in Germany that they had lived in briefly. They were only a little out of our way as we crossed Austria to Salzburg. More to come!