I don’t know if a post like this has been done before, but I am curious as to how many of you folks have gone to Europe to meet relatives for the first time and what those encounters were like. This was the central reason for my first trip in 1989. I met my dad’s second cousin and her husband with whom I had been corresponding for 14 years, first on behalf of my grandmother but then later for myself, but whom I had never personally met. They lived in West Berlin about a block from the Wall and spoke no English. My parents were with me, who spoke no German. My German grammar is horrid, but with the help of a dictionary and great patience on my German family’s part, I served as translator for four days for everyone. The trip took place 7 weeks before the border opened in November 1989, so we got to see how both sides lived, to really appreciate freedom, and to learn what life was like for these cousins who for 28 years had lived in this situation and also their experiences during the WWII years, as he had been an army officer and she was alone most of the time with two little children. They also helped me to find the former inn in a small town in former East Germany that was owned by my great-great grandmother’s family. I visited it in 1992 and found it is now an apartment building for workers in a nearby chemical factory. Both of these experiences were quite overwhelming and are two of my most treasured memories. It was such a privilege to meet these folks and especially cherished because the cousin’s husband, who had been the chief letter writer, died suddenly a little over a year later. If I had waited longer to meet them, I may never have met him and it would have been a great empty space in my heart to never have known him. His wife is now also deceased, but since then, I have met both of his sons and family and can continue my connection through them. So, if you care to share any stories, go to it.