It’s been a long day, or “days” according to changing time zones. It began as I shut the front door to my house Saturday morning, and walked to meet the airport shuttle just down the street with all I should need for the trip strapped to my back. A few hours later, I stepped off the bus at Sea-Tac, where I breezed though check-in and security and found myself with time to kill at my departure gate.
The Travel Bug
So far, this year has been pretty light in boating activity for me. I’ve completed a few projects and had a few day cruises, but otherwise haven’t been away from the dock a whole lot since fall. I can blame the weather and competing obligations, but the reality is there aresome other things I like to do.
I’ve been saving my pennies and making plans to do some traveling this spring, and now less than a week from departure I feel as though I’m on the threshold of adventure.
Back in 2011, I took a month to visit Norway, with a stopover in Iceland. The first such travel experience for me, It was an amazing time, and I vowed to return. No better time than the present, I say!
The ultimate destination for this trip is Trondheim, Norway where I will spend May 17th, or Syttende Mai, which is Norway’s national day. This year is the bicentennial of Norway’s constitution, and I’m excited to celebrate the occasion with family in the city that my great-great grandparents called home.
I’ll be visiting some of the same spots that I did last time, and look forward to seeing some familiar faces. I’m also anxious to check out some places I didn’t make it to, making stops in Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden along the way.
As time allows, I intend to make posts about my travels to share some of my experiences and photos of the places I visit. I invite you to follow along!
Back to Reality…
The day traveling home was a long one- about twenty hours. A train ride was followed by a bus ride and two flights before I landed in Seattle. Two more busses and I was home. After being back from my trip a while, I have done my best to adjust to "reality". I say I've done my best, but it hasn't been easy. In retrospect, the time seemed to fly by, and it's hard to believe it's over. I guess the best way to get over one adventure being over is to begin planning the next one!
In the meantime, I finally downloaded my camera memory cards and have uploaded pictures.
Thanks for following my journey and the positive comments I received. It was fun to share the adventure along the way.
Click the photo below to check out my photo pages!
It's time to switch back into "boating mode", as there is still a little bit of summer left!
Reykjavik, then on to Oslo
Had a great second say in Reykjavik. Spent a lot of time walking around the city and checking out the sights. Visited the National Museum of Iceland, which was very interesting, with an amazing collection of Viking artifacts.
In the evening, I joined some other travelers staying at Kex for a movie. We saw "Monsters" at the nearby cinema. The movie wasn't very good, but it was fun addition to the overall experience. It was interesting to visit with others and hear of their travels.
Morning came quickly for a 5:30 am shuttle ride to the airport. Even though my 7:50 flight was delayed until 10:10… After checking in and going through security, I found a place to catch a little nap. Fortunately, I woke up in time for my flight.
It was stormy in Keflavik. The climb out was bumpy, but once we pierced the clouds, the ride was smooth in blue sky above the clouds. It was a quick two hour and ten minute flight. After collecting my baggage and going through customs, I was greeted in the main terminal by my cousin, Petter holding a sign with my name on it.
Although I've been in contact with Petter for a couple years now, we've never met. We connected a few years ago in the process of some genealogy research. It was great to finally get to shake his hand.
On the way to Petter's home, we went through downtown Oslo. We were quite close to the building that was bombed last week, which was closed off to public access with armed military presence. Outside of the Oslo Domkirke was a growing memorial with people leaving flowers, candles, and written messages of condolence. It was a powerful scene.
I appreciated a good nights sleep, battling some jet lag. After getting up and moving we returned to the city. We arrived just in time for the national moment of silence in memory of Friday's attacks. You could hear a pin drop.
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.
