We preserve hi(stories).
Travel Your Past – our name says it all:
We join you on a journey into your past. To that end, we have two special propositions for you.
Your Life Story
We listen, when you are telling of your life. We record your memories and experiences to retain your life story as a piece of living history for subsequent generations.
Your Family History Expedition
Searching for your roots, we follow the traces of your ancestors in Germany, jointly research your family history, and map out an unforgettable trip to the homeland of your forefathers.
„When we die all that remains are the stories.“
Salman Rushdie
Your Life Story
Narrated, recorded and printed
Testimony of the Past
Every person has a unique story to tell. Memories from childhood and adolescence, of love and friendship, of successes and disappointments are the fabric of your life story.
Special episodes and personally significant moments are documented in your life story. Precious encounters and insights are shared and retained for subsequent generations.
Your personal experiences put historical events into context. Only when looking back can the pieces of the jigsaw be put together, meaning is revealed and understanding grows. Your life story is a testimony of the past, a piece of contemporary history, a treasure which is precious and needs to be preserved.
The Life Story Interview
The foundation of your life story is the Life Story Interview which typically consists of three phases: recall, tell, preserve. The interview tracks your life. You determine where your story should begin. Only you decide what is told. The interviewer joins you on your life’s journey but always keeps in the background, listens, inquires, supports and encourages.
At the end, the recorded interview is transcribed. The interviewer’s questions and comments are omitted to create a fluent narrative. The clean copy, approved by you and, if requested, illustrated with your photos, is printed. You will receive a hard copy as well as an electronic version of your life story and, of course, the original recording of the conversation.
Download Flyer
„We always knew our father’s parents were from Germany but to walk the streets they and their parents walked, to sit in the pew in the church in which they worshipped, to find in a museum the exact pieces we inherited from our grandmother – it was magical! Andreas made our history come alive for us, and filled in so many gaps in our understanding of our ancestors. Truly a trip of a lifetime …“
The Gebuhr Family, USA & Canada
Your Family History Expedition
Investigated, encountered and documented
Encounter Your Family History in Real Life
Old family photos, grandmother’s heirlooms, an anecdote about the great-great-uncle – often old remnants from the past arouse interest to learn more about the family’s history and German ancestors. Conversations with your relatives bring up long forgotten memories and reveal unforeseen relationships. The internet supports your genealogical research and the virtual travel through time awakens the desire to explore the old homeland.
In search of your roots, you will discover many small facts which bring your forefathers’ existence to life, but the momentous events which shook the world will also find their way into your personal family history. It is about understanding and getting a sense of your origin – after all, knowing your roots is also important for your own self. This feeling intensifies in a special way if you are fortunate to experience it on-site, in the native country of your ancestors – on a trip to Germany. Reconnect with your family history in real life. It is magical!
Truly a Trip of a Lifetime
Typically, a journey into the history of a family consists of three phases: investigate, experience, preserve. Before the trip, we verify and amend your family history based on available documents and prepare an itinerary which covers places of special significance for your ancestors and in German history.
During the trip, you are accompanied by your personal tour guide who presents essential information regarding your family history tied in with the social and political circumstances of the time. The experience is enhanced by visiting relevant museums, archives, and monuments. On your journey into the past you will also enjoy the amenities of exclusive travel arrangements and distinctive features typical of a particular region. You experience a unique combination of culture and scenery, of past and present, of country and family.
After the trip, you receive a written documentation with your photos and copies of historical documents and pictures.
Download Flyer
Contact
Are you interested in one of our services?
Please call or write to me.
Andreas Eder
Rückertstraße 1, 65187 Wiesbaden
(0611) 447 985 1
Andreas Eder on a Personal Note
In 2006, in addition to working as a self-employed consultant, I began researching the history of my family. Fascinated and equally surprised how much I could find out about my ancestors’ lives, my desire to prevent my forefathers’ history – which is also my history – to fall into oblivion grew. The moving moments which always occurred when I presented the results of my research to close and distant relatives lead me to a decision: I wanted to provide other people with the opportunity for these deep emotional experiences as well and join them on their journey into the past.
We preserve hi(stories) – that is the notion behind Travel Your Past. We are offering individual services for all those who would like to look back – on their own life as a living testimony of the past or even a little further back, on the lives of their ancestors during a trip to the family homeland.