My Ancestor's Journey

04/06/2025

The Nienabers made it to Bremen! 🙋🏻‍♀️😉 And chose the perfect day for walking in their ancestor’s footsteps… ☀️ 😎

After exploring their ancestral German hometown of Löningen and the surrounding farming communities Wachtum and Lodbergen in Lower Saxony, John and Jerryl Nienaber from Kentucky took the short drive to the city of Bremen.

On our emigration-themed tour together we first walked the few footsteps from their hotel to Bremen’s medieval market square. Here, we saw the 621-year-old town hall (Rathaus) and Roland statue (both built in 1404!)…. structures which their ancestor who emigrated from Bremerhaven in the 1850s likely would have seen as well. ☺️

Then we continued to the old harbor at the river Weser, through the Böttchestraße and the medieval Schnoor quarter. En route, we saw several sights that still look the same as 200 years ago when their ancestor passed through here before taking the trip of his lifetime to America.

01/05/2025

🍎 Happy 1st of May and sunny greetings from the village of “Jork” in the so-called “Altes Land” – Germany’s largest fruit-growing region just outside Hamburg.

Here, the apple blossoms are stealing the show right now! 🌸🚲

May 1st is a public holiday in Germany – Tag der Arbeit (Labor Day) – and while it honors workers’ rights and is also a day for protests, many people celebrate this day as the beginning of spring. 🌞

If the weather is nice (like it is this year!), people love getting outside, biking through the countryside or picnicking with friends. 😎🍓

When I was a teenager and we had 1st of May off school, we always walked about 8 kilometers (around 5 miles) from one village to the other and took the whole day for that.

There was a party in that other town. But needless to say: the way was our destination! And we had a whole handcart full of alcohol! Now I think, pulling a handcart with alcohol is a typical north German tradition! 😂

✨ If you’re dreaming of walking in your ancestors’ footsteps next May, now’s the perfect time to start planning your own ancestry-inspired trip to Germany!

To get some great ideas on ancestry-inspired activities in Germany, start with my $0 Trip Planning Mini Guide – it’s totally payment-free and will help you take that exciting first step. 🇩🇪✈️ ❤️

Just write a comment with the word "start" in the comments below and you will immediately receive the link to your Germany Trip Planning Mini Guide via a direct message. 📥 🚀

09/04/2025

On our last day of ancestral time travel, my guests explored their ancestral German hometown “Haselünne” on the river Hase.

On a guided tour at the living history museum of the Freilicht- und Heimatmuseum Haselünne e. V. , we got a good glimpse into the town’s past as a key trading town for schnapps and barrelmakers (which also was my guests’ ancestors’ profession).😉🥃

If you are also dreaming about visiting your ancestral German hometown and following in the footsteps of your emigrant ancestors, check out my travel consultation and itinerary creation service “Ancestral Germany Hometown Package”:

https://myancestorsjourney.com/tours/ancestral-germany-hometown-tour-package/

08/04/2025

The journey into the past continues… Today, we re-lived the emigration experience of their German ancestors with our guided tour at the German Emigration Museum in Bremerhaven.

On another guided tour, we learned about the often gruelling living conditions of the farmers and peasant farmers (“Heuerleute”) in 19th century northern Germany at the living history museum in Cloppenburg.

07/04/2025

New Americans in town! And they brought the sunshine with them from London! 😎😉😅

03/04/2025

Skip the crowds, keep the charm! 🤫 Here are 5 medieval town alternatives to Rothenburg ob der Tauber!

Instead of heading to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (the town where ALL the tourists go to!), explore these 5 alternatives of less touristy, but not less stunning, half-timbered towns in Germany! 🤗🇩🇪

Without the crowds, it might actually feel like you are traveling back in time to the Middle Ages! 🥰

Read more about these 5 medieval gems at: https://myancestorsjourney.com/blog/

Which of these medieval towns is on your travel list for Germany? ��Let me know in the comments! 👇

07/03/2025

New blog post: Skip the crowds, keep the charm! 😉 Here are five incredible alternatives of less touristy, but not less stunning, half-timbered towns in Germany beyond Rothenburg ob der Tauber. 🤗

Which of these medieval towns is on your list for your ancestry-inspired trip to Germany? Let me know in the comments below! 🤩

07/03/2025

New blog post: Skip the crowds, keep the charm! Here are five incredible alternatives of less touristy, but not less stunning, half-timbered towns in Germany beyond Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Which of these medieval towns is on your list for your ancestry-inspired trip to Germany? Let me know in the comments below!

Here are five incredible alternatives of less touristy, but not less stunning, half-timbered towns in Germany beyond Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

06/03/2025

🚢 In 1909, a young kitchen maid called Marie, left her employer in Berlin, then the capital city of Prussia and the German Empire, for a new opportunity as a nursing maid in Brooklyn.

Due to much stricter checks at this time, she had to quarantine for several days in an emigration hall in Hamburg and finally boarded an ocean liner steamship to New York City, USA. 🇺🇸

Her journey is one of three example emigrant stories featured throughout my brand-new course about emigration history called "Roots Revealed".

Want to find the answers to all your burning questions about your ancestors’ emigration journey in just 5 days? 🔥

✍️ Then simply write the word “embark” in the comments below, and you’ll get all the details about the 5-Day Mini Course (currently at a heavily discounted price!) straight to your DMs. 📩

04/03/2025

🌊 In 1871, the Müller family, vineyard workers who struggled to make ends meet, left their home in the “Kingdom of Baden”.

They endured a grueling 3-week voyage across the Atlantic, finally settling in rural Illinois near St. Louis, USA. 🇺🇸

Their journey is one of three example emigrant stories featured throughout my brand new course about emigration history called "Roots Revealed".

Want to find the answers to all your burning questions about your ancestors’ emigration journey in just 5 days? 🔥

✍️ Then simply write the word “embark” in the comments below, and you’ll get all the details about the 5-Day Mini Course (currently at a heavily discounted price!) straight to your DMs. 📩

02/03/2025

Your ancestors’ journey was one of courage, sacrifice, and hope. 🇩🇪✨

Don’t let their story fade! Discover why they left, the struggles they faced, and how you can follow in their footsteps on your most exciting trip ever!

✅ Feel their heartbreak and understand why they had no choice than to leave everything in their home country behind.

✅ Uncover the hardships of their long and uncertain journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

✅ Make your own trip deeply personal and empower it with the knowledge of exactly where to walk in your ancestors’ footsteps.

⏳ Their story is waiting. Start your journey today! ⬇️

Travel back in time and get to your final destination in just 5 days!

With the new 5-Day Mini Course “Roots Revealed” by “My Ancestor’s Journey”

Learn more about the 5-Day Mini Course by heading to https://myancestorsjourney.com/mini-course/ or comment with the word “embark” underneath this post.

01/03/2025

🌊 In 1834, Johann Heinrich, a 19-year-old farmhand, left his home in the “Kingdom of Hanover” (northwest Germany) behind.

He walked for days to Bremen, braving the long Atlantic voyage of 10 weeks on a sailing ship, and finally starting a new life in Cincinnati, USA. 🇺🇸

His journey is one of three example emigrant stories featured throughout my new 5-Day Mini Course on the emigration journey from Germany to the USA.

Want to find the answers to all your burning questions about your ancestors’ emigration journey in just 5 days? 🔥

✍️ Then simply write the word “embark” in the comments below, and you’ll get all the details about my brand new 5-Day Mini Course (currently at a heavily discounted price!) straight to your DMs. 📩