Visiting Vienna (in secret)

My father often took the train to visit Vienna before escaping from the farm with Michal, sometimes legitimate, but mostly in secret. Vienna held a strong pull for him, it is the birthplace of my grandmother Jozefa.

My father initially shared a small room with three other Polish workers on the farm, but after an apprentice was drafted into the German Army, he was granted a private room, this addition behind the kitchen. One day the farm supervisor asked him to visit Vienna to purchase supplies. The supervisor signed his name on the business stationary and told my father to enjoy his day in Vienna.

Entering the Vienna train station, black uniformed Gestapo personnel were visible, but dad felt safe with the signed documents. I was shocked to be greeted in Vienna by my cousin Marc, who lives hours away but took a chance on spotting me in the busy station. It's been over 30 years, he was a young boy in Wales, but he somehow recognized me. We spent the next 8 hours talking, eating, and laughing.

Among the stops my father had to make in Vienna was St. Stephens Cathedral, Its spire visible as a landmark throughout the city. My grandmother visited here often.

There is no one photo that can capture the elegance and grandeur of the Cathedral's expansive interior. I made one last visit to the Cathedral on Saturday, the evening before my departure. The chimes indicated 6pm, just in time for evening mass.... A welcome surprise.

My father kept the signed document and would sometimes forge the supervisors signature on official stationary; thereby visiting Vienna on his free day (Sunday). One day he took his surprised Ukrainian friend Michal with him. My fathers German was by this time fluent so they agreed to let my father talk if stopped. This man was wandering in Vienna and his shirt caught my attention. He is Ukraine, a friendly quiet sort, somehow I feel he has a connection with Michal.

The center of Vienna is much different from how it looked to my father in the 40's, very commercial with tourists overflowing the streets, but there remain many hidden gems. This scene was like walking into Oz.

I will leave Vienna Sunday morning, July 19, and pick up from where dad and Artur were headed in 1945. After leaving Romania they stopped briefly for one night in Poland ... Their expectation was they would soon return as liberators, freeing Poland from Russian influence and control.. Little could my father imagine that it would be almost 50 years before he would return home again.