Home and Away's Guestbook



18th September 2023

Family History
Wow, well done on the research Bob! Hope your East Europe plans are coming together nicely.
20th September 2023

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.
18th September 2023

Maybe we are related - distantly
Hi Bob. I have only just read this blog so apologies for the delay. I too have been tracing my family history for many years. Mostly they have lived in Scotland or Ireland but my mother was from a Campbell line and among her ancestors are Archibald Campbell and Aoife Ó Duibhne. I had my DNA done a few years ago and it came back with no Scottish or Irish blood but 53% Scandanavian (i.e.likely Viking).
18th September 2023

Cousins!
Sir Archibald (Gilleasbaig) Campbell, 2nd Lord of Lochawe and Aoife Ó Duibhne, heir of Lochow were my 23rd great grandparents. The Campbells/Duibhne descended from Norwegian vikings who in turn were descendants of the Jingling dynasty of Sweden. So that is probably where you got your Scandinavian genes. I love hearing from distant ancestors!
28th August 2023

Northcotes
Hello distant cousin! I enjoyed reading your blog about your connection with the Northcotes. Our common ancestor is Arthur Northcote. I am descended from his marriage to Elizabeth Godolphin and later through the Stafford/Northcote connection. Fascinating stuff!
29th August 2023

And hello back to you!!!
I hope you have a chance to visit Devon as I did in the steps of our ancestors!
16th January 2023

Cross-country skiing
Thanks for sharing these very diverse and exciting trips. I am very impressed by your cross-country skiing, wow!
23rd December 2022

Ron passed away on 8/9/21. Covid curtailed our traveling in 2020 and then his health deteriorated in 2121. I miss him terribly. I have just started to travel again with friends. It’s enjoyable, but not the same. Thanks for asking about him. Pam
24th December 2022

Ron's passing...
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. You had a great retirement traveling the world together in many of my favorite places. I am pleased that you will be traveling with friends, but it is not the same.
9th October 2022

Vikings
I loved reading this Bob, especially the bit with the fates of the Viking kings and noblemen - goodness, what ends these people met with. I learned similar stories from the sagas of the Faroe Islands and Iceland. The Vikings were fascinating people, and I'm certainly going to look up the series "Norsemen". I recognise the burial mounds, the Odinsborg Restaurant where I also had lunch, and the Stockholm City Hall, from my own visit there a few years ago. So nice to connect the dots in our travels. I imagine you're well into researching your East European ancestral history now, it must be exciting to be planning another trip again. Glad you arrived home safely, and had an amazing journey it seems. Thank you for letting me follow along with you in your blogs 😊
18th September 2023

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.
8th October 2022

Castles and Fine Days
I continue to be impressed by the amount of castles you visited on this Scotland trip Bob! I didn't realise Scotland had so many. Dunbar Castle looks familiar from my own visit there last year. I think I'm even more impressed that you had 11 days in a row in Scotland without rain! That's quite something, lol!
2nd October 2022

Scottish Castles
Wow, so many Scottish castles. They are really beautiful, so dark and brooding, with many tales to tell within their walls I'm sure. I'm sorry to read about your second mishap on this journey, and I imagine driving with a clutch must have been difficult. I hope your doctor back home has been able to look into it. I'm so pleased to read you made it to Iona! What a beautiful and holy place! 😊
2nd October 2022

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.
27th September 2022

You seem to be
More Swedish than me, and my mum is Swedish ;)
27th September 2022

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.
25th September 2022

Horse Trials Judge
Maybe a white fib, but I think I may have done similar in your position. You needed better access due to your reduced mobility from the hotel incident, and some of these jobsworths' rules and bureaucracy are just ridiculous.
24th September 2022

Scotland
Wow, great photos Bob, what a beautiful part of Scotland! And what a bloody past too - so many skirmishes and battles there. I love that you became a "Horse Trials judge" for the day, well done you! Great that you got to see some Highland Games! And also that you were at Dunottar Castle - I remember your comment on my blog when I also visited the place last year. I also didn't walk the steep slope down and up again, but enjoyed the view from I think the same bench you were also sitting on!
24th September 2022

Horse Trial Judge
Was I telling a lie when repeating what he told me to say? I still wonder. Perhaps a very white fib.
23rd September 2022

Tracing the Ancestors
I'm glad you added extra time to your trip to save miles. The fun and knowledge you gained was well worth it. We are enjoying your adventures.
23rd September 2022

It was worth it to be able to visit the Viking Burial Mounds...
If I had another day I would have flown to Gdansk to see the city gate with another Scottish ancestor's coat of arms displayed there. Perhaps if and when we visit Poland we will start in Gdansk and end in Krakow. I also enjoyed reading your blogs about the Canadian Maritime provinces.
19th September 2022

Impressive Family History
The amount of history you recount here and the family connections involved are stunning! The number of sights you were able to see was impressive too. I visited Sterling Castle many, many years ago but only saw its exterior. Was also briefly in Perth and Pitlochry -- seems like I remember Pitlochry was known as being a wool center??
20th September 2022

Ancestors
Finding ancestors over the last three years of research was like finding buried treasure. I think Sterling was my favorite castle; for one thing it was open! I hope you can visit it again. My first visit to Pitlochry was in 1980, and at that time it was very much a wool center. Now there isn't much to recommend it. Thanks for reading my blogs!

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