Our first joyous moment is we are grandparents once again and we have a new grandson. He was born August 8, 2026 to our son JD and his wife Alison in Downers Grove, IL.
We were miles away in Sweden when he was born and could hardly wait to get back from our Scandinavian adventure to meet him. We had planned this trip last year before we knew of his arrival but hoped he would be born prior to our departure since we were flying out of Chicago. They had moved to IL from West Des Moines in April when the house they were building was completed. We will be finding opportunities to go to Downers Grove to visit this newest family member. This is their first child, and we could not be happier for them.
If you wondered where I was last month, we enjoyed cooler temperatures in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland for 3 weeks. My husband has roots in Denmark and I in Norway. We went with a tour company called Collette who planned out most of our daily activities. People ask what was my favorite thing on the trip? I find that hard because of the variety of things we experienced in those days. We had amazing food options everywhere we went. I am not a seafood person and was concerned that might be an issue. I assure you it was not. They had plenty of entrees that did not include seafood. Plus, the selection of desserts was great, so I always had sweets to satisfy any cravings. We saw regions of countryside by train, plane, ferry, and bus. The large number of people riding bicycles in Copenhagen was astonishing. They said the population is 6 million people, and the number of bikes is 12 million. I believe that. Never step into the bike lane or you will be run over.
The natural wonders we saw in Norway and Iceland are something to behold and make you feel extremely small in comparison. How these countries harness their natural resources to help heat and power their countries is impressive. Tourism is alive and well in each of these countries. These countries rely on tourists to improve their GDP. We experienced an electric ferry that held many buses/semi’s/cars for a 15-minute trip across the fjord. We saw a cruise ship come into the Fjord and dock for the day in Flam so people could ride the Flam railway. The town only has 500 people and they welcome thousands of people to their little piece of heaven every day.
We attempted to find out information about a Danish cup given to my husband’s Great Great Grandfather in 1874. The National Museum of Denmark feels there is a letter in the archives that would explain the story behind why the cup was given to him. Problem was the man in charge was out of the museum until September. We have his contact information and plan to reach out to him soon. We hope to return someday to Denmark and find the plot of land that once belonged to his ancestors.
My Norwegian heritage on both sides comes from multiple locations within Norway. We did travel through Gol Hallingdahl Norway where my Great Great Grandfather was born. We heard stories that he logged when he was a teenager and with all the pine trees noticed in the area that made sense. They floated the logs down the river and he worked long days for pennies in today’s wages. The interesting fact on my family history is that my great grandfather and his father came to the states ahead of the rest of the family. After working and securing a proper home for his mother and 4 siblings they boarded a ship named SS Norge on June 25, 1904. On June 28th the ship ran aground on a rock reef and sank. Killing 600 immigrants who never would see their family and loved ones again. It was before the titanic but because many who were deceased were Norwegian immigrants it did not have much publicity here in America. My great-great grandfather was never the same and did eventually return to Norway to mourn the loss of his wife and 4 children. He did remarry a widow with one daughter, and my grandmother became a pen pal of hers for many years. There was a Norwegian book written called “The Norge” that has photos of those lost at sea in our family. I know we will return someday to Norway to explore more about those that once made that difficult journey across the ocean to allow me to be born and raised in America.
I will include a few photos of our trip but I can assure you that there were so many high points and interesting sites that if you have ever thought of traveling to Scandinavia I would highly recommend it. It also allows you to get out of some of the Iowa heat and humidity since they are all at higher altitudes and farther North. My husband loved the weather! I did wear extra layers most days and even had along my gloves!
Have a wonderful fall and I will be back next month with another interesting case to share with you. Enjoy your holiday weekend!