I know that this entry is a long time coming, but I feel like I finally have a minute to sit back and process all that I experienced when David and I visited Ardfert, Ireland. For those of you who are unfamiliar, my grandmother, Catherine (Harris) Corwin was born and raised in Massachusetts, USA and then moved to the Pacific Northwest after she met my grandpa, Philip Corwin. Her parents and grandparents were from Ireland. Growing up, that’s about all I knew about my families heritage on that side. While David and I were in Ireland this July (wow that seems [View Full Entry]

---

---

Yesterday was the single most incredible day of our trip yet, and possibly the most incredible day Chelsea and I have ever shared together. The day started like any other day in Munich with Starbucks coffee and breakfast bagels. We boarded our train to Salzburg, Austria (that’s right Austria, NOT part of our original agenda) at 1030am. Our decision to go to Austria came about because so many people we have encountered on our trip have recommended it as a not-to-be-missed county. Chelsea, being the travel wizard that she is, knew that we had one extra day of train travel [View Full Entry]

---

---

Munich is in the heart of German Bavaria. The city and all the buildings are very nice and in many ways, Munich feels indistinguishable from other major cities we have visited such as Dublin, Oslo and Frankfurt. The more time you spend in Munich however, you began to see that everything is NOT how it appears. As you look around you began to notice that the historical towers and buildings look a little too well-preserved. If you look closely at the walls of buildings you began to see the bomb damage, evidence of the evil reign and empowerment of the National [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hey everybody! Long time no write. Chelsea and I have been without internet access for 3 days in the medieval town of Rothenberg o der Tauber. It really did feel like the dark ages! We now have access in our hotel in Munich, but before we get to Munich I will fill you in on a little Rothenberg. Rothenberg is a small walled town, parts of which date to the year 1000AD. It has a fascinating history that includes being a cross roads of medieval trading routes (both the main East/West route from Paris to the Orient, and the main North/South [View Full Entry]

---

---

We made it safe and sound to Germany! Our last few moments in Norway were good, one train, one bus, one airplane, one rental car later and we are in a great little hotel in Frankfurt. Wow, Germany is a great country! Within 20 minutes of landing we had our luggage (nothing broken, whew!), another 20 minutes and we had exchanged our Kroners for Euros and had our rental car! Speaking of rental cars…..I am driving a 2008 BMW 320d!!! It is a 6 speed manual, has a HUGE sunroof, a turbo-diesel engine, and is definitely one of the nicest cars [View Full Entry]

---

---

Night trains; interesting in theory, but a little less than ideal in practice. Last night, David and I took a night train from Trondheim to Oslo… it was fast, efficient, and free (thanks Mary and Danny), but not (in my humble opinion) conducive to sleeping. The chairs recline to a decent degree, but that means that the person in front of you can recline their chair so it’s practically laying on your lap… and what’s a person supposed to do with their legs then? I have yet to figure out this particular dilemma, but quite possibly by the end of this [View Full Entry]

---

---

I am getting ready for bed at a farm called “Lillenes.” My name is Lilleness (with 2 “s”), the second ‘s’ was added when my great grandfather, Iver Jakob Lilleness Sr. emigrated to the US. Today on Smøla (the island my family comes from) we visited the gravesite of Iver’s father, Jakob Johnson Lillenes, my great-great-grandfather. It is overwhelming to see a gravestone that goes that far back into history. Speaking of Smøla, it is quite the place! The landscape and terrain is unlike anything I have seen anywhere else. The main island is surro [View Full Entry]

---

---

We have now spent 2 nights in Stallvik, a small town on a beautiful fjord in Norway. According to the relatives, if we were to go directly west from here we would run into Greenland! We are really up there! It is strange in the summer here, it never gets dark at night and it is an odd feeling to see daylight at midnight. It was quite the adventure getting to Stallvik though. We spent ALL DAY on 3 different trains and ended the day with a 1 hour ferry ride. We saw some interesting characters on the train…there was the [View Full Entry]

---

---

That is what David just told me, right after he asked if it would be appropriate to cut his fingernails in the waiting area of the train station. Just incase you are wondering, I said it was inappropriate and that I would not sit by him if he did. Too bad it costs 10 KOR to use the bathroom here (2 USD!) Guess they are only going to get longer!! So we just left Jevnaker early this morning and are now beginning a fun-filled day of travel (and apparently personal hygiene)! For the past three days, David and I have been [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today we had quite the adventure getting into the city! We were trying to follow directions from my relative Tim, but we got confused on the bus to go to the Viking Ship museum and the Norwegian Folk Museum. At one point we asked a bus driver for help, and she pulled the bus over to talk to us (with about a half dozen other people on it!) and even involved 2 other passengers while trying to figure out how we should get there. It was quite the scene! Needless to say we got off that bus quickly, embarrassed about holding [View Full Entry]

---

---