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First Stop: Reykjavik.

I'm up and moving after my first wake up of the trip. It's a beautiful morning here in Reykjavik, Iceland. I'm staying at the http://Kex Hostel in downtown Reykjavik. It was an old biscuit factory that opened as a hostel / hotel a few months ago. It's a great place, with a real cool vibe. It's complete with its own bar, cafe, and even a barber shop. This is my first experience staying at a hostel, and I'm really enjoying it.

I was the first to rise in the dorm this morning (sharing a room with five other guys). I think a few of them are sleeping in, while some didn't get to bed in time to sleep in.. I feel like I'm adjusting to the time change pretty well. I caught a short nap yesterday afternoon, which hit the spot, and went to bed at a reasonable time last night. Even though I was tired, I had to convince myself it was time to sleep. I woke this morning feeling pretty darn good.

Yesterday, which actually spanned a couple days and time zones, started out with a walk down the street from my house to catch the airport shuttle to Sea-Tac airport. The flight from Seattle to Reykjavik on Icelandair was nice- right at seven hours, which passed relatively quickly with the help of the in-flight entertainment. Nice plane. My best descriptor for the flight attendants would be "glacial"- cold and slow moving. But in general, a good experience.

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Continue reading “First Stop: Reykjavik.”

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Doing Something a Little Different…

For the past several years, since owning a boat, I have set time aside during the summer to go cruising for a few weeks. This summer will be a little different… Early on, I was planning to cruise to Desolation Sound, but figured it was a good time for a different adventure – what I anticipate will be an amazing journey.

This journey began long ago. Actually a very long time ago. My Great Grandfather, Carl Monrad came to America from Norway in 1907, eventually settling in Concrete, Washington. My family knew very little about his life or family in Norway, as he- like many immigrants simply didn’t talk much about the life he left behind. So I grew up knowing that I had roots in Norway, but all my connections were through black and white photos and some old books written in a strange foreign tongue.

A few years ago, I began doing some genealogy work which I have written about HERE. In the course of uncovering more information, I connected with several relatives living in Norway. We’ve exchanged e-mails, spoken on the phone, and over Skype and some real friendships have developed. Friends and family have told me how much I need to visit Norway and meet these people personally, and I always said, “Yeah, I need to do that some day…”. Finally, I decided that this summer would be that some day, so on February 26 – my 39th birthday, I purchased a round trip ticket for a trip to Norway.

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In a couple weeks, on July 21, I will leave on my trip. I’ll be flying Iceland Air from Seattle to Reykjavik, Iceland where I will spend a few days before continuing on to Oslo, Norway. For now I have a pretty loose itinerary, with invitations to visit family in various parts of the country and a list places I’d like to see. I’m planning to visit Oslo, Trondheim, and Bergen, and wherever else might peak my interest along the way. I’ve got four weeks, and I plan to pack a lot in to them, taking lots of pictures and making lots of memories.

I’ve never taken a trip like this, so I am looking forward to an exciting new experience. I’ll do my best to post a travel log here on my website, www.mvblackbird.com, so interested family and friends can follow the journey.