We returned from our 4 day road trip in which our goal was to see Smailininkai, Lithuania. My dad’s family was from Schmalleningken, Prussia which is now Smailininkai, Lithuania.
On the road was the two of us, dad and his brother, Mitch. We began the road trip by driving through Slovakia and the Czech Republic so Mitch could see both countries. Next, we drove into Poland. None of us had been to Poland before, so it was a great new experience for everyone.
We are not exactly sure what we were expecting Poland to be but we were surprised at what we saw. Poland is miles and miles of agricultural land! It is very similar to driving through Texas, according to dad and Mitch. In addition to the A.G. fields, much of the highway runs through the forest. On each side of the road are people selling mushrooms. Mushrooms grow naturally in the forest, and from the road people can be seen picking them.
Speaking of roads….Poland’s roads are in very poor condition. They are covered with pot holes and are a rough ride. There is however, road construction everywhere…fixing the roads. When we say everywhere, we mean everywhere! The traffic, as a result of this construction, is horrid. Something interesting is the number of traffic lights that seems to appear out of nowhere along the highway. The speed limit is 80 km and then a traffic light appears with no warning! You must be very vigilant when driving.
Our first stop in Poland was at Auschwitz. Auschwitz is a former group of concentration camps used by the Nazis during WWII. Seeing the sight was very unreal. We first took a free bus to Auschwitz II-Birkenau which was an extermination camp where the Nazis murdered at least 960,000 Jews, 75,000 Poles, and some 19,000 Roma (Gypsies). The Nazis attempted to destroy all evidence of the atrocities committed there before the Soviets came and liberated the camp.
Not everything was destroyed however and much of the camp remains. There are train tracks which run directly into the camp, where thousands of people were brought into the camp. Miles and miles of barb wire fence lock in the ruins of barracks that still stand. We walked through one of these barracks and it was appalling. A long trench runs through the middle of where the captives lived. The trench is covered with a metal top that has circles cut out of it. This, in the middle of where they lived, was the toilet for all of them to use.
We walked alongside the train tracks to the back end of the camp. This is where we found the ruins of the gas chambers. Among the ruins is a large monument for all of the victims. All through Auschwitz II there are plaques describing what you are looking at, along with pictures from the 40’s that show Auschwitz during that time.
After bearing witness to Auschwitz II, we took the bus back to Auschwitz I. Auschwitz I was the original camp and first served to hold prisoners of war. It was as the administrative complex for the entire camp. There are museums throughout the complex which give details to what happened at the camp and during the war.
It is surreal to walk through the camp and know that there were hundreds of thousands of people tortured and murdered there. When we left and I turned the handle to open the door to leave, I felt an overwhelming rush of sadness. I thought of all the people who never got to leave.
We left the camp after 2 hours (parking costs 3 Euros) and headed towards Warsaw. Before leaving for the road trip dad booked us a room in Warsaw at Portos Start. He got an incredible deal online, at only $46 per room… so we were not expecting much. We were very happily surprised, the hotel is very beautiful. The Portos Start, in an old communist-constructed building, has been completely renovated. An absolutely lovely restaurant and bar are located on the first floor.
After checking in, Dusty and I went to dinner at the restaurant. We had delicious Polish soup and crab pasta. The portions were extremely small but tasty. Dad and Mitch ended up having dinner later, and after getting to know the bartender, were offered a different dinner menu. It appears the restaurant has 2 different menus, one for tourists (which Dusty and I got) and one for the locals (which dad and Mitch got). Needless to say the “locals menu” was cheaper and had much larger portions. Dad and Mitch enjoyed schnitzel, for a tasty price.
The following morning we all paid for the buffet breakfast which was roughly $8 per person. The variety of food was very good, both hot and cold. After breakfast we were back on the road heading to Lithuania. We reached Smalininkai a few hours later and found the very, very small town. The town is quite charming with the Memel River running alongside it. On the other side of the river is a section of Russia. The river is not very wide at Smalininkai, so Russia is very close from the banks. Old houses and a few businesses run throughout the town along the main street and small side streets.
We arrived in Smalininkai without any hotel reservations in Lithuania. However, before leaving for the road trip dad found a small hotel online, in Smalininkai. After driving around town a few times, trying to find the cemetery and failing, we spotted the very small hotel along the main street and pulled in. (We were looking for the cemetery because we were curious if any Brannies were buried there).
A man came out from one of the two large houses on the property. He spoke little English but was happy to accommodate our stay in Smalininkai. He explained that we would be able to check in after one hour because the maid needed to clean the rooms from the previous occupants who were checking out.
We used the hour to drive into the neighboring, larger town, to use an atm. We then took our own small walking tour of Smalininkai. The town is very small, but we were able to find a bar and restaurant where we stopped for refreshments. I ordered a coffee, like usual, and was very surprised by the way it was served. It was completely full of grounds! We all got a good laugh and could not agree upon whether it was supposed to be like that or not.
We returned to the hotel and the owner came out to greet us. He explained that in the morning breakfast would be served in the main house. At that time he led us into the house to show us the beautiful dining room where the meal would take place. We got to speaking to the owner and found out that he is a history buff, especially about Smalininkai. He presented us with a number of local history books, which after looking at later, revealed nothing relevant to our search for Brannies ancestory.
We were then taken to the other house where we would stay. He led us to the second story and we walked into a large living room with a kitchen. This was nothing like a hotel it was a large house with multiple rooms, each with its own bathroom. We were extremely happy with the accommodations. We settled into our rooms and then walked back down to the restaurant. The menu was in Lithuanian and German, we did our best to decipher and ordered. Ordering 4 different items did not produce 4 different entrees. When they came out, they all looked like schnitzel. Lol They were all very tasty and we enjoyed them very much!!
The following morning we enjoyed our traditional Lithuanian breakfast. When we walked into the dining room there was food ready for us on the table. Breads, meats, cheeses and cucumbers along with coffee was followed by plates of hot breakfast including eggs and ham. We enjoyed our breakfast before the owner offered to lead us to the cemeteries.
The 4 of us thoroughly walked through the 2 cemeteries but found no “Brannies”. After taking pictures of the old Schlaminken train station we headed out of Lithuania and back through Poland. We drove all day and decided to stop for the night. A small hotel on the side of the road in Poland would be our home for the evening. The hotel was newly renovated and very cheap at only $23 a night!! Before calling it a night Dusty and I enjoyed dinner in the hotel restaurant. First we ordered traditional Borscht soup served with peroshi, it was delicious! Dusty then had steak and I had dumplings which were fantastic!
The next morning we ate in the restaurant again. I had a version of a crepe, filled with cheese topped with pineapple. On the road again, we eventually reached the Ukrainian border. It took us about one hour to make it out of Poland and into the Ukraine. It was very time consuming to leave Poland. The border guard checked everyone’s trunk, passport and car registration.
Driving into the Ukraine was absolutely unbelievable. The country is extremely underdeveloped and is like stepping back in time 100 years. The roads were crumbling under our tires and we passed carriages being pulled by mulls. The houses, everywhere we looked, were old and also crumbling. Stray dogs and chickens ran through the streets. We continued to make our way along the highway and eventually drove into Lviv.
Lviv is the largest town in western Ukraine. The architecture is beautiful but collapsing where it stands and the streets and sidewalks are decaying. Our GPS did not function properly in Ukraine and we got lost a few times but eventually, at 11pm, found the Hungarian border. Leaving Ukraine proved difficult. The guards were not satisfied with my dad’s passport as his form of ID and asked to see his driver’s license..??? The entire process was very odd, and took almost 2 hours!!
It felt wonderful to get back home to Hungary! The roads were smooth and the GPS worked. It was 6 more hours and we were home! It was a long road trip but full of great experiences!
