If you are an avid family genealogist, you have probably dreamed of visiting ancestral European villages and meeting long lost distant relatives. Having researched my own family tree for years, and having had the good fortune of finding documentation for the genealogy of nine generations of my paternal ancestry, I was at that juncture.

I was at a point in my research where I longed to put visual images alongside dates, names, and house numbers. Helene Cincebeaux, T.A.C. Slovakia affiliate, (http://www.our-slovakia.com), was the link that provided that very opportunity for myself and 12 other American relatives.

Helene Cincebeaux designed tours that specialized in reuniting Americans with Slovak, Czech, and Moravian relatives. As Ms. Cincebeaux had glowing credentials and the tremendous experience of traveling to our desired destination of the Czech Republic 40 times before, we proceeded to plan a Moravian Homecoming Tour.

Our tour incorporated the treasures that the Czech Republic had to offer, with personalized itineraries and services which allowed tour participants to visit ancestral villages, village elders, and town halls. Whenever possible, they provided opportunities to meet up with relatives in the villages of our ancestors.

A more profound experience I cannot imagine. Helenešs experience, combined with behind the scenes coordinating and footwork of T.A.C. Slovakia owner Jozef Kaufmann, worked to provide myself and the other tour participants with one of the most memorable experiences of a lifetime.

The research that I had obtained over the course of two years included names of people, villages, and house numbers, supplying this duo with the information needed to write to the mayors of those villages. The mayors of two villages responded to their query, giving details about the properties described, in addition to forwarding this contact to the descendent of our common ancestors, providing the groundwork for what would be a grand reunion.

I remember stepping out of the bus on the first morning spent in our villages to a crowd of locals who were watching on as we all began to introduce ourselves and get acquainted. I remember the initial excitement of realizing this is it, this is why we are here.

As one of the younger members of the waiting group approached me and introduced himself, I recall distinctly the tour director declaring, "This is wonderful. Look, they have the same hair and eyes. They could be brother and sister." Our hair and eye coloring gave us familiar qualities that were recognizable by others on the tour.

After we had had a few moments to acquaint ourselves, the mayor of the village and the newly found members of our family walked down a dirt road to House #2 in the village of Kramolin. It was still on the outskirts of the village, and it was in the process of being restored, but it didn't matter to any of us. This was the very house that my great great great great grandmother had been born in and it was still owned by her brother's descendent.

This chain of events ultimately led to the meeting between us and approximately 20 relatives in the little ancestral village where my great great grandfather was born and lived prior to his immigration to the United States in 1878.

I distinctly remember standing in this little town meeting room, with tables of American and Czech relatives visiting through translators, sign language, and smiles. I remember feeling overwhelmed by the impact of that event, overwhelmed by the totally unexpected enthusiasm of those Czech relatives for meeting their American relatives.

And I remember wishing that everyone who has ever loved genealogy and the stories that go with it could experience something equally as powerful. As the evening came to an end, and our group slowly and regretfully climbed aboard our bus, we each knew that we had experienced a once in a lifetime event.

The opportunities to visit villages, spend time with relatives who were as excited at having us as guests as we were at being there might only come along once in our lives, and we had been a part of it all. Many of us began to contemplate the idea of returning again, to uncover even more connections and information about our shared histories.

And our relatives in the Czech Republic are awaiting our return as well, for they have invited us to stay in their humble homes, to share with us their families, their photos, their histories. Until this trip, I had not realized the potential of a genealogical tour. I had not realized that you could participate in a tour with the advantages of having someone else take care of travel details, and still indulge in genealogical quests.

As you can see, I learned a valuable lesson. Since my trip this last summer, I have begun to explore the possibility of taking similar trips to other parts of the world that have historical significance to my genealogy. I have spent time researching over the Internet, simply using a variety of search engines. I have done searches looking for genealogical tours, with emphasis on Scotland and German

I personally look for tours that have translation services available, as well as the ability to deviate from an itinerary, or at least to provide that for individual members, should they decide to visit villages and do research there.

I have found that those services are out there. I have discovered that, while our tour group was a wonderful experience, one that could never be duplicated for us, there are other options out there if you are willing to do the research.

The internet is the world at your finger tips. It provides access to every country, and every agency that has an inclination to draw customers from the world over. As time goes on, and more and more individuals utilize the internet to advertise their wonderful services, it will become even less difficult to find quality services.

If you are still questioning whether or not this is worth while, visit http://our-slovakia.com and take the 1999 summer video tours with us and see what our family was able to do while we traveled. You, too, will feel motivated to turn paper-and-pictures genealogical research into reality!