Almost 50 Years and Counting
When in Germany with Marc in '91', he and
Denvy went to Lahde, the name of a village on a picture of 
Denvy's
great-grandfather. The name Saxowsky appeared in the phone book frequently
and when back in Alaska wrote to several German Saxowskys. As a result an invitation was
extended by some families in Germany to visit. In December 1994, Denvy
and Gail, with Darron and Becky, and Denvy's mother flew to Germany where
they met Marc and a friend, Tina, who had been studying in Russia that
fall.
In
a rented van they drove around Germany spending several days in Lahde
where a family gathering of Saxowskys had been arranged. Denvy saw where
his great-grandfather was born and met several distance cousins. On Christmas
eve they shared dinner with Darron's birth mother, Joan, who was teaching
Zen meditation in the Black Forest. A quick drive north put them on a
ferry to Norway and then a flight to northern Norway above the Arctic
Circle where they celebrated New Years Eve with American friends on a
day when the sun never rose.
Twenty-one days after they landed in Germany,
they all were back in their respective homes. Marc had seen his host family
from his time in Germany; they had attended an opera in Berlin where a
classmate from Jamestwon College sang; and they had "stormed"
a castle that they playfully claimed as belonging to their ancestors.
All in all, it was probably one of the greatest
adventures for the family.