Friday, August 20, 2010

Back to Norway already?

So, given that we're on the road again, I should probably get back to updating the blog. Not only on the road... but on the rails.

Tonight, we're taking a train from Vancouver to Seattle. Tomorrow we're flying from Seattle to Bergen. Norwegian summer only eight months after we were there last. Usually I make a trip once every three years or so... So this trip wasn't entirely planned.

To explain this one, I have to start at the beginning. Long ago, the previous millennium... The year 1999. The first time my feet touched the ground in Norway. The year it became a part of my soul.

A big part of that, of course, was meeting my Great Uncle Ledvin. The man who gave me a respect and pride for the family name. Another part was the family reunion we stumbled into... Such an absolutely amazing event unlike any I'd ever done.

You have to remember that we didn't announce we were going to Norway. We had no real plans to go to Norway. As much was on that trip, it was a random twist of fate.

No one knew we were coming, we just showed up. With perfect timing as it turned out... The following weekend after we arrived was a massive family reunion. Over 200 people, all related to me. It was crazy, it was intense... I had no idea.

I've never had so many pictures taken of me in my life. The long lost Canadian relative. There was a lot of explaining... Who I was. How I was related. That in fact I was just as close blood as were most of them.

Overall it was a fabulous experience... My first, which of course led to many more, including last winter's trip.

During that trip, ten years after the first, I started hearing the whispers. Another family reunion... Eleven years since the last. My Great Aunt Asta mentioned it... The idea started forming in my head instantly... And before we'd even left Norway, the cogs were rolling in my head planning the next.

I knew from the first mention of it that it was something I really couldn't miss. The last one was such an amazing experience that there was really no way I'd miss this. Plus, it's not like they were very often... Every eleven years?

So then it just came down to details. Originally, I toyed with the idea of going alone. Keeping the expenses down. It was a logical plan... A good theory. Though it didn't take me long to realize it wasn't much more that that. I could probably get away with a solo trip to... Umm... Well... Not Norway. So things morphed... And that's where we are today...

The train. Vancouver to Seattle. Day one of Norway 2010 (part 2).
Tonight we'll stay with friends. Tomorrow we'll fly Icelandair to Bergen, arriving Sunday midafternoon.

At this point I'm looking forward very much to a good jump in the fjord!



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