Traveling is a great way of letting go of bad energies, recharging batteries and broadening horizons. Even though going on vacation to relax is great, it does not quite compare to the adrenaline that you get when exploring the exact places where your ancestors used to live. There are people out there who are truly passionate about the history of their family and want to learn more about where and how those people used to live.

There is something captivating about hearing stories of past generations in your family, but seeing your great grandparent’s house with your eyes is a surreal experience. Luckily, nowadays people are fortunate enough to be able to travel and explore every single inch of the world in their attempt to learn more about the history of their ancestors. However, there are certain aspects that one needs to consider before starting their journey.

1. Research Your Ancestors

One of the first and most important steps of this journey is definitely doing research. There are multiple ways of learning more information. There are physical sources that you can check out or online sources. Both of them are great for finding out information that will guide you. For example, you can check old photo albums and ask your extended family about which places you should visit first. On the other hand, newspaper archives give you fundamental information such as where they lived, what were their triumphs and legal notices.

2. Make a Family Tree

Family trees are another important aspect when tracking your family history. With the information found in newspaper archives or in other legal documents, you can proceed to create an exact family tree. You can include relevant information for your journey. It does not have to be extravagant or complicated, but it has to be precise and simple to understand and use while traveling. You can obviously take it with you and add other pieces of information that you find during your travels.

3. Get in Touch with Your Extended Family

Before planning a trip to another country or even continent, it might be a good idea to get in touch with your extended family and ask them for more information. Older people might give you exact addresses or give you an idea of which place you should travel to first. Don't be afraid to ask them about the history of your family. Be careful about what they are saying and write down relevant information. They might even want to join you and offer some help while you are out there.

4. Bring a Journal With You

It is always useful to bring a journal with you where you are going in order to write additional information that you find while you are there. At the same time, it might be a good idea to bring some of the old pictures that you have so that you can make a comparison between how a certain building looked back then and how it looks now. This is easier when visiting a smaller area. Nonetheless, when visiting a bigger town,you can still get a feel for how people used to live in the past by visiting museums and old churches.

Traveling is one of the best things that you can do in life. It is never too late to find out more about the history of your ancestors. 

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