Rebel54

I do tell people to think very hard before they spit in that tube.....your life can turn into a Jerry Springer episode over night.

I have a LOT of exploring to do 🙂 I can't wait to start.

My mother is from a long line of Mennonites....her ancestors came from Russia and Prussia to Germany and then on to the US. Given that they had to live in groups that were not allowed to socialize with the locals when they were on the run for religious freedom....there may be a few branches on that side that are a little straighter than one would like.

Very interesting. I will get there one day in the near future. My ancestry search started in an effort to help my mother who was adopted at birth, locate her family. She's had a series of strokes and I wanted to make sure she had some of that info before it was too late. Trying to help her, I opened a whole can of worms that she wasn't expecting. Not sure if it's memory damage from the stroke or she's just not wanting to admit that she knew all along....but she was "genuinely" shocked when I told her. I don't think she would have been as willing to take the test had she known/remembered but who knows. My father (the one that raised me) comes from a long line of Native American and Irish. I had NO native American and a small amount of Irish....Clue one. Clue two..he didn't show up as my relative in the list of family and he did a test too. A little digging later I now have two dads and a half sister that I never knew about.

LOL I was a Vietnam baby. Marine on the way to his tour in Nam. Met my mom when she apparently was on a break from my "dad". A couple ancestry.com tests later at the age of 51 (me) and everything changes. I'm not shocked, mad or upset. It is what it is and explains a lot. Sounds like you have your own story to tell CPT.

I do plan to visit one day. Trying to convince my father to go with me but he's a bit wary of traveling because of the "world situation" with extremists and terror plots. Me, I don't let that stuff stop me. I refuse to be held back because of fear. I do want to get there before I am too old to enjoy going.

Have you ever been to this town? A few years ago I found out that my birth father was someone other than I thought he was. Since then have discovered my European roots. This church in this town was where many of my ancestors were baptized or married. One day I want to go check out this region. I wish I had known when I lived in Germany.

The last few days here in Brownsville have been cold. We finally got some sun today!

That makes me sad. I wanted to try them out. Avalon it is.

Hahahaha....why didn't I think of that....there's an app for everything. 🙂 My 2 year old grandson can almost work his mom's iPhone better than she can! This way of eating is pretty new to me so I need to learn to think outside the box. Shortly after we entered this journey I was doing a craft fair with my best girlfriend. She went to grab us something to eat and brought back hotdogs....before I thought about it I had eaten half. Pretty sure they weren't beef. It's a process. Having lived in Germany for three years I remember some of the amazing pork meals...but I just have to enjoy all the other amazing food that I can have. Everyone here has been very helpful in all my cruise planning. I love coming here and having this interaction. I might not be the only person that worries about certain foods but they don't want to ask so I hope this helps someone else.

I've tried some substitute meats but not a huge fan. I will just do my best to avoid what is considered unclean. When eating out one can only do so much. I usually manage ok in the US but I don't have the language barrier. You have been awesome :). I really appreciate yours and all the other suggestions.

No need to apologize. I've also seen what goes into sausage so I tend to keep to home made or Halal sausage that I can order and have delivered.

If you have access to a Bible...Leviticus 1 talks about what is clean and unclean food. There are some other things that I don't eat but pork and shellfish are the two main things. Also, many people know the story of Noah's Ark (two of every animal) but if you read the whole story it was 2 of every animal AND 7 of those that were deemed clean and acceptable to eat.

Thank you. My German is not so great so I will have to learn some specific phrases before I go. It's very hard to find sausage in the US in a regular store that is not encased in pork. I have found places that I can order from so when I'm craving some saurkraut and brats...I'm covered.

Good morning. I do not eat pork or seafood for religious reasons, but I am neither Jewish or Muslim. We follow both the Old and New Testament in our faith (keeping the Saturday sabbath and not eating unclean foods). There are several religions that follow this belief that are not Muslim or Jewish. If you are curious you can search Messianic Judaism. I am pretty sure I can dine on board without any issues. I really want to be able to enjoy some brats while there .... just don't want to break with my beliefs.

Also a great idea. I'll get used to this new way of eating one day.

Great suggestion. Not used to this new way of eating. I wonder if the ship has any options that are Kosher or Halal.....worth asking I think.

Thank you. I was hoping you would respond. Having lived in Germany for 3 years, I love me some bratwurst. I did get some venison sausage while we were in Prague last time. It was pretty good. Problem lies in sometimes they cut pork fat in and sometimes they use pork intestine casings. Not Muslim but it is a religious preference not to eat pork (or seafood). I make my own turkey sausage and beef bacon so I get some good stuff 🙂 . Going to be hard traveling through Europe and avoiding pork.

So sad.

So since my last trip to Europe, I have removed pork from my diet. Any form of pork. I know this will be a challenge when eating out since pork is so popular. Is it possible to get any sort of sausage that doesn't use any form of pork product in it....blood, fat, meat or intestine? I've learned to make my own beef bacon and turkey sausage isn't too bad but I'm a little sad that I won't be able to enjoy at least one wurst along with my daughter. Any suggestions?

Changed my cruise to June/July so hopefully the heat and river levels will be better.

I hadn't done a lot of research on the area back then and didn't really know the history. It made sense why all cruises were halted once I did some digging. All very sad.

During that time there was a lot of unrest and certain groups of people were being targeted and killed because of their ethnicity and beliefs. Ethnic cleansing, genocide...either word is horrible.

We were set for that cruise in 2019 but they cancelled them due to the ethnic cleansing. I would love to go one day.

I have had some for years, don't remember the brand. Got them on Amazon and they came in tubes like you get shammies in. Get them wet and wave them in the air and they get nice and cool. If you are getting on and off a bus...or a guide has a cooler with waters, try dipping in the cooler water for an extra refreshing feel 🙂