Was I named after Empress Alexandra (pictured above), wife of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia? It is a question I have been asked time and time again. It was not something I ever discussed with my mother. How do parents decide on names for their children? I had a few
Every now and again I dive into the large plastic tub which holds the many letters my father kept. Most of them were written by his two sisters but there is also a rather large stack of letters from my cousin Wolf Lackschewitz, who I have written about previously. Wolf,
I love family trees. One can gather so much information from them if they have been done correctly. And if there are blanks, that just means there is so much more to research and discover – so many opportunities to disappear down multitudes of rabbit holes. Bliss! “Like a tree,
The geographical history of Europe often blows my mind. Areas, regions and even entire countries are seemingly juggled between various governments, with borders being drawn and redrawn at will. Both sides of my family have been impacted by the geographical history of the land which is now known as Latvia.
I fly out tomorrow night, destination London for a couple of days before heading to Germany to attend my father’s family’s 2019 reunion. Every two years the Fircks family meet somewhere in Europe. They catch up on family gossip, tour the local area, eat, drink and talk about all things
Chrysanthemums are the traditional flower for Mother’s Day in Australia. They are also the birth flower for November, which was coincidentally my mother’s birth month. There appear to be many different meanings for chrysanthemums. Some say they symbolize optimism and joy, although some believe the yellow chrysanthemum is meant to