[Cz-L] June 1 in Czernowitz -

June 1

We walked back to Isopescu 8. Zoya was waiting for us in front of the building. A robust, grey haired man saw us and we knew that we were waiting for each other. He brought us upstairs and into the apartment, unlocking a double set of doors. We entered a small foyer which led to the kitchen, yielding left. To the right was a den. Next another room and to the right of this the bedroom. The bathroom was connected to the bathroom, although there was a smaller toilet room connected to the foyer. The wooden floors were original. The tiled stoves in each room were immaculate - one green, one blue, one brown, and one beige. I might not have been drawn to these as much as I was, were it not for Marianne Hirsch's discussion of them in her book. I walked around multiple times trying to absorb as much as I could. I started taking still photos and then made a movie. I tried to burn images in my mind which will hold. I walked down the stairs into the small garden behind the apartment building imaging the joy that my mother took in taking care of the plants which grew there.

We talked with Boris and later with his wife Ludmilla. Boris Filipov retired from a managerial position in the textile field (at age 60). Ludmialla teaches pathophysiology at the medical school and conducts research in immunology. There son in NYC. He worked for Lehman Bros. but now in another area of banking. He is quite successful and just took his parents, wife, and child on a trip to Italy, including a stay at the Villa D'Este in Lake Cuomo. Ludmilla told me that there is a family, Feuer, who lives in building. The man around 60 years old and practicing dentist like his father. His father is 90, lived in the building even before WWII and has moved to Israel within the past several years. Ludmilla will speak with Dr. Feuer to contact his father and see if he recalls the End family. Later when I spoke with my mom, she recalled the family but thought that she did not know them personally. However, she did recall Margaret. By the way, Boris' pension amounts to around $150 a month and the the doctor's salary is close to $200 a month. Amazing how people can exist on so little and how much we take for granted.

After visiting the apartment, we walked behind the old Volksgarten gazing at the villas, each of which seems to be unique from the other, as the Austrians had wanted them to be. We walked through the Volksgarten a bit, entering at across from the track and exiting on the side where very several large, impressionable buildings, including an old maternity hospital, guard the passage. I pulled off some lilacs and will press them to bring home for my mom. Now I understand why she hs always loved these flowers. I also made a small video in the park to capture the sound of the birds chirping which she often spoke about when I was a child on early spring mornings. We walked back towards the center of town and stopped at the Vienna Café. It is truly a beautiful restaurant as Mimi has stressed. What's more, if you don't eat meat, the selection of vegetarian dishes is splendid. We made it back to the hotel just in time to wash up, bring our bags downstairs and set off for Lvov with Demetri and his Mercedes Green Van.

The ride back to Lvov was numbing, as it was on the way from Lvov. There is such an enormous amount of fertile land, rolling green hills, and scattered dense forests. I cannot understand why we got in the way of others who needed to send us to our death. It is very difficult to overcome the feeling that so many innocent people were sent away from the towns along the way, as well as east and west. I could not help but wonder how many of my people may have tried to hide in the forests I saw off the road and were hunted down like rabbits. As is said, "I cannot forgive, only the dead can forgive for what was done to them".

We made it to Lvov where it is hot, humid, and gritty. The main square is extremely lively and very crowded with young people eating in restaurants and wondering around. I sense an air of discomfort. The sense of calmness and peace of Czernowitz is gone. Most probably, it's all in my mind. However, I have been told that you are only paranoid until proven wrong. So be it, but tomorrow we go on a real seek and search exploration to track down my wife's family roots up through WWII in Rudnyki.

After a day and a half here, I am off to Vienna to visit my great grandfather's grave and to meet up with my sister, as well as an old friend. He died in Vienna in 1917 while there to help take care of the positions of the Sadagora Rabbi during WWI.

Thanks again to everyone who helped, knowingly or unknowingly in making my trip possible, informative, and successful. In particular Zoya is the shining star and Demitri a man of high quality. If any one wants to make the trip to Czernowitz who ahs not already done so and needs advice, I am glad to serve as a junior, novice, and non-authentic resource.

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Received on 2011-06-01 16:38:16