freewalkers

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Discovering Alice in Wonderland

On the 10th day of my New England Reunion Bike Tour, I was waiting out the rain in Lee, Massachusetts. I set out for my last meal in town before I was to leave the next morning. This area is known for its history and its embrace of mystery and new-age trends. Here’s what happens when my course collides with local forces. The Salmon Run Fish House. It sounded out of place here in Western…

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A Protester in Training: How Activism Became My New Form of Fitness

Like running, protesting requires practice, discipline, and belief that your effort matters—even when you feel alone. After joining six protests over the past two months, the experience finally started to feel familiar. I began to understand what it was all about. There’s a reason, a rhythm, and even a reward to protesting that I hadn’t grasped before. Still, something instinctual pushed me into…

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Scalpel vs Chainsaw

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Confessions of a Reluctant Protester

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Haunted by Images: Review of "The Rest is Memory" by Lily Tuck

Visiting Auschwitz was a profoundly emotional, yet strangely analytical experience. Your senses and mind struggle to comprehend the unimaginable atrocities that unfolded there. Being physically present in such a place heightens your awareness in ways no history lesson ever could. But sometimes, a single image can evoke emotions almost as powerfully. Since that visit, I’ve often felt haunted by…

[freewalkers]

Three Days in Kraków

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Review of American Ramble: by Neil King, Jr.

Walking solo through history and discovering what's changed over the years. Follow Neil King, Jr on his journey from Washington DC to NYC on foot.

The following is a review of a 2023 book by Neil King, Jr, about his very personal solo walk from Washington DC to New York City in 2021. It was a book that I related to very personally. I've done many long walks in past years and lately have changed most of my serious personal journeys to long bike rides. But I have to admit the feel of pushing one's self, even as I get older is still alluring…

[freewalkers]

Eating Polish

[freewalkers]

Witnessing Auschwitz

Our trio of American explorers in Poland ends with a somber visit to the Auschwitz-Berkenau museum and grounds. Truly a place of shock, silence and wonder. We all wonder if this could possibly happen again.

We decided to add a visit to the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau as a final point of interest on our genealogical trip to Poland. It was about an hour and a half cab ride north of Krakow. As you can imagine, touring a concentration camp is not a pleasant task, but it was an important one for a trip themed around life and death. All of our sources suggested purchasing tour tickets well in…

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The Family Dragnet

It was tome for our family research to be tested here in Poland. We visit several towns and villages, mix with the locals and feel what its like to be a detective.

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Notes from the Field

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Discovering Relative Gold

There's much to learn on our second day on the road in Poland looking for traces of relatives and feeling like detectives.

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Let the Hunting Begin!

Our first day of hereditary hunting in Poland.

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Visiting Rzeszów: Polish City with Promise

We visit a moderately sized charming city in southeastern Poland before we take off on our genealogy hunt.

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Welcome to Bureaucracy

There's suspenseon dayy-1 as we make our way on to our plane to Poland.

Newark Liberty Airport – June 9, 2024 To start our journey, Ethan and Ethan Luke arrived at our house in Morristown in time for lunch and a small family gathering wishing us a bon voyage! A car service picked us up in a stylish big black van which probably made us look like a neighborhood celebrity. It were high-flying until we reached Liberty National airport terminal B at about 6:00 for our…

[freewalkers]

A Time to Discover

Join us as 3 generations take a 10-day genealogical tour in southeastern Poland including Krakow and Auschwitz to learn about our past.

I’ve been itching for a challenge in these post-pandemic years, even as I get older. Something to match my curiosity and level of difficulty that makes the effort worthwhile. It was time for something intellectually and socially challenging rather than physical. What is it about understanding your ancestry that makes it so compelling and frustrating? We learn little bits of obscure information…

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Searching for the Kennedy Spirit

The following essay first appeared on the Freewalkers.org website about ten years ago (April 2014). It is a slightly edited version describing my unique opportunity to walk in the Netherlands with 7,000 others in this well-established annual event – The Kennedy-Mars Sittard – on the 50th anniversary of the famous “50-Mile Hike.” The Freewalkers.org walking organization was built upon the spirit…