I am back ‘home’ in Portland but, still my soul is floating around the earth. We have returned to our hometown and are putting down roots again….phone contracts, bought a used car, set up utility accounts and kids are now at Montessori but, we aren’t done with this journey or the next steps.
I write now to continue to document our adventures for posterity and for the boys. We will be processing all this for many a moon to come and with that, comes new decisions and directions. Although, I can’t say that too loudly near our youngest son or he will run screaming from the room….just kidding. 
So, Norway….we have some stories to tell. This was not on our big list when we made the ‘dream list’ at the beginning of the travel plans but, it came about and I am so glad that it did.
I do have two friends from my Leiden University studying days in the 90s that live in 
Oslo and they both offered advice, homes, meals and warm welcomes to our travel queries.
Also, my mother in law’s grandfather left Norway to find his way to this land as an immigrant in the late 1800s and thus we had a some family lineage to find and follow. 
When we announced that we would be going on this trip my mother in law was not keen on being away from her grandkids for a year so, we said, ‘Come join us somewhere!’
And so, they did. Being recently retired folks from Idaho they started at square one to get passports for the first time and they entrusted me to plan their path. 
For us, it was a luxury to be around family, familiar and warm faces with loads of hugs but, also an opportunity to share in this family finding journey.
My Norwegian friends offered to do a little genealogy research for us and when she presented us with an 80 page document before we arrived of all she found we were blown away.
This kindness and curiosity in our background was a priceless gift. We used this information to pin point places to visit. 
Kelvin ,the boys and I arrived in Oslo before the in-laws in to the welcoming embrace of Marianne and Tore. Marianne and I studied together and had been in touch over the years but, it was the first time we had seen each other in over 18 years.
She had recently opted to not run for reelection to the Norwegian parliament but, gave us intimate access to the Parliament and a tour I am sure you could not ‘book’ anywhere else. 
It was like seeing an old friend as we picked up where we had left off last time. Talking about our kids (she has three) and her new work she showed us what it is like to be a working mom and professional. 
My other friend Brita and her partner Eva (she’s the one that did the genealogy research for us without having even met us) also joined us on walks throughout Oslo to the Resistance Museum and drinks along the waterfront among other places.
All while high school equivalent students were running around the city in their flight suits and tricked out buses celebrating their transition to adulthood. Its called Russebuss and it is a fascinating tradition. 
I’am going to write more about this and the Norwegian Constitutional Day which deserve their own billing.
So, anyway…..family history found us driving (well Kelvin driving, really. We just all cheered him on from the back seat) for what seemed like 100s of miles and hours and hours.
This was not a problem as the beauty of Norway is endless. Even when you go through kilometers long tunnels through their mountains and pop out into a landscape worthy of the best visual calendar you could ever pin up on your wall. 
The glaciers (wow), the goats (oh, my), the lambs (have to mention the for Oakley as he pointed out every one of the 10,000 we saw along the way, the fjords (unbeliveable), the moose (meese?, what is the plural for that), the eye watering bright skies with stunning panoramic views as you just look up from your google map EVERY, 
SINGLE TIME!.
In Utvick, I think we stayed in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to when including the view outside and the chick decorations inside.
I felt like we were in a magazine spread but, did not need a fresher of make up. The sun would barely set and the glow would hover on the horizon in the wee hours of the night. 
We chased down family graveyards, enjoyed several of the many ferries, and just watched the nature around us. Stunning and beautiful. Have I gotten the point across?
You will love it if you go and do get out of Oslo, lovely city yet, there is so much to this enormous by European standards country.
If you do, hug a lamb for Oakley because he couldn’t get across the stoic momma ewe. As much as we tried.
Goat Rush Hour Video – Check it out!
World School Room
Goat Rush Hour
Paradise Airbnb
The Fjord
Not even Mid Summer and loooong daylight
This includes celebrations of street fairs, music, food and drink but, it also has what could possibly be the worlds largest swap market/yard sale.
We arrived in Brussels on a blustery March day after a daylong journey from Hamburg, Germany via Koln. It is delightful to experience the German precision timing of the trains complete with markings to let you know exactly where you need to get on your train compartment.
Our continuing world schooling agenda was punctuated by a visit to the 
We had been doing this for awhile. Learning please, thank you and the first 10 numbers whenever possible. In Belgium, my effort stalled when we met French speakers as my French is very, very, very, very weak but, folks were very accommodating to my Dutch.
Ahhh, it was delightful. The sampled frites, organic markets, gorgeous chocolate and sumptuous coffees not to mention the beers. Connecting with long time friends and hopefully, creating some connections for our kids in making friends that I hope will last their life times. That is part of the purpose of this trip.
I learned things I never knew before or at the least expanded on my limited knowledge about Hamburg.
As we wandered around with our walking guide we learned another extraordinary fact was that Hamburg was bombed relentlessly during the 2nd world war. So much so that bombing raids in July 1943 by the Royal Air Force killed over 43,000 civilians and injuring 37,000 more with another million having been evacuated after the raids. It virtually destroyed the city.
Anyway, like the rest of us…Hamburg is much more than it’s worst story and we did find this city to be delightful. Even though many buildings were destroyed there were a lot of unique structures to explore.
