Home and Away's Guestbook

Of course, you inspired me!
Thanks!

Thanks for sharing...
and thanks for sharing your own story. Linda's second foot operation went much better. I'm thinking that she might be OK to travel in November. I mentioned possibly going to Eastern Europe then, but she thinks it will be too cold. I make serendipitous decisions when all things come together. Great to hear from you, too!

Plans...
I was planning to visit Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary next April or May. However, I just met with my nephrologist who thought I may need to be put on dialysis by then. So now I'm planning to visit in November if I get my new passport back by then. I haven't told my wife yet, so might meet some resistance. I may have to shorten my trip to 10 days instead of 2 weeks in the bargaining.

And hello back to you!!!
I hope you have a chance to visit Devon as I did in the steps of our ancestors!

I am deep into researching my Eastern European ancestors.
Here is what I found: By following the trees of both Mary of Egmond and Guelders, Queen Consort of King James II of Scotland (our 17th great grandparents (ggps)) and Margaret von Oldenburg, Queen Consort of King James III Stewart (our 16th ggps), as far back a millennium ago using geni.com I found a treasure trove of the Emperors and Dukes of the Holy Roman Empire (Germany, etc.), the Kings of Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Serbia, and the Emperors of Byzantium. Shortly after returning from Sweden I visited the B&N bookstore where I found the historical fiction book "The Last Crown" by Elzbieta Cherwezinska, which links all our ancestors together. This was a fortuitous beginning of my research into Linda and my Eastern European ancestors. This book tells the story of Queen "The Haughty" Świętosława (known in Sweden as "Sigrid" and in Denmark as "Gunhilda") Mieszkówna of the Piast Dynasty (34th ggm). She was the sister of King Boleslaw "The Brave" Chrobry, the first king of Poland (34th ggf). Firstly, Queen "The Haughty" Świętosława married King Eric "The Victorious" of Sweden (35th ggf), with whom she had a son, King Olaf III "The Treasurer" of Sweden (34th ggf). When King Eric died early in their marriage, she had several minor royal suitors, including King Harald Grenske of Grenland (34th ggf)...not Greenland. These minor king suitors went to Sweden to woo her. She scorned them as being beneath her station, and had them assemble in a hall, which she then burned down! King Harald Grenske was the father of King/Saint Olaf II Haraldsson, King of Norway (33nd ggf). His widowed mother Queen Åsta Gudbrandsdóttir remarried King Sigurd Syr ("Sow") Halvdansson by whom she had another son named Harald "Hardrata" Sigurdsson, who later became King Harald III of Norway (33rd ggf). The Haughty Queen's son by her first husband, King Olaf III Ericson (The Treasurer) of Sweden, had two daughters; Princess Ingegerd who married Prince Yaroslav "The Wise" Vladimirovich of Kievian Rus (33rd ggf) and Princess Astrid who married King/Saint Olaf II Haraldsson of Norway. So Queen "The Haughty" Świętosława granddaughter Astrid married the son of the suitor she murdered. King Olaf II, in his youth participated in Viking raids upon England. When attacking London held by the Danes, the Norwegian Vikings needed to destroy the bridge across the Thames. Olaf suggested using the long ships to pull the wooden piles. This destroyed the bridge and all the defenders on it. This may have been the origin of the nursery rhyme "London Bridges Falling Down." He later became a Christian and as king sought to Christianize Norway, which irritated the Jarls (Earls) who along with their people clung to their Norse gods. As a consequence he had to flee to the safety of his brother-in-law Prince Yaroslav "The Wise"'s court in Kievian Rus, who offered him any position he wished. However, he decided to return to Norway where he reclaimed the kingship, which was contested by King Cnut "The Great" Sweynsson of England. Denmark, Sweden and Norway (27th ggu). King Cnut had the allegiance of the disgruntled Jarls. King Olaf II was killed in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. His life story is recounted in "The Greatest King" by Desmond Seward. King Olaf II's younger half-brother King Harald III "Hardrata", known as "The Last Viking" was wounded fighting by King Olaf II's side. He escaped to Kiev where he was welcomed by his cousin Prince Yaroslav "The Wise." He then traveled to Constantinople where he was commander of the Varangian Guard who protected the Byzantine Emperor. He returned to Norway after 16 years during which he accumulated great wealth where he was crowned king. In 1066 King Harald III "Hardrata" was killed in the Battle of Stamford Bridge by the army of King Harold II Godwinsson of England (29th ggf), who himself was killed in the Battle of Hastings by William the Conqueror (26th ggf) a couple weeks later. His story is recounted in "The Last Viking" by Don Holloway. Secondly, Queen Świętosława married King Sven "Forkbeard" of Denmark, Norway, and England (28th ggf), the son of King Harald "Bluetooth" Gornsson of Denmark (29th ggf), with whom she had two sons. The oldest, Harald II, became King of Denmark and Norway. The younger son was Cnut. She told Cnut that if he wanted to be a king, he would have to conqueror another country. So, he invaded England. He became King Canute "The Great" of England. With the passing of his brother Harald II, he also became King of Denmark and Norway, a position contested by King Olaf II in the Battle of Stiklestad. So, Polish Świętosława was the Queen or Queen Mother of four countries, but not Poland itself! Now back to Queen Świętosława's brother King Boleslaw "The Brave." His granddaughter Richeza married Béla I Arpad (32nd ggps), a Magyar who was the first King of Hungary and progenitor of the Arpad dynasty. Béla I's son was Saint/King Ladislaus I of Hungary (31st ggf). Their grandson Prince Álmos Arpad married Princess Predslava Sviatopolkovna Rurik of Kiev (30th ggps), the daughter of Prince Svyatopolk II Izyaslavich of Kiev, Grand Prince of Kiev (31st ggf). Their son King Bela II "The Blind" married Princess Jelena Urošević (29th ggps) who was the daughter of King Uroš I Petrislavić of Serbia and Queen Anna Diogenissa (30th great grandparents), the daughter of Emperor Constantine Diogenes and Empress Theodora Komnene of the Byzantine Empire (31st ggps). Emperor Constantine was the son of Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes and Empress Anna of Bulgaria (32nd ggps). Last, but not least, we are related to Köten Khan of the Cumans (25th ggf), a nomadic tribe from the steppes who decided to settle down in Hungary, as did the Magyar Arpads. His great granddaughter Erzsébet of the Cumans married King/Saint Steven V of Hungary (22nd ggps). As you can see, relationships between European royalty are intertwined, complex, and spanned the continent of Europe. I had "fun" untangling the relationships! I previously wrote you about my ancestral connections to the Faroe Islands. I hope I don't bore you to death.

Scottish Castles
I saw my doctor and nothing in all the tests indicate any problem. Thus far no symptoms upon returning home. Must have been the cramped flight! I really enjoyed seeing all the castles and also walking to the Iona Abbey. I've also enjoyed following you as you progress around Scandinavia.

More Swedish...
My Swedish ancestors are many generations back so I'm only 4% Swedish. I'm sure you are more Swedish than me! Thanks for reading my blog.