Butterfly in Norway

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Snowing in the Sun

March 08, 2023

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Do they speak English in Scotland?

After a week there, I have to say that it’s hard to tell. Our first exposure was on the plane from Bergen to Aberdeen, with a group of young people heading home. They were chattering away with each other, and we had NO IDEA what they were saying. Ed listened to conversations on the busses in Aberdeen with the same results. I had safety class with 16 people, just 2 or 3 non-Scots, for three days, and frequently had to stop and ask what something meant! Aberdeen is called the granite city, and is either described as “silvery”, or as “all grey”. Those who believe the cup is half full point out how clean it is, and how nice the buildings look. The color reminded me of Nowa Huta! Aberdeen has more individual houses than the giant apartment blocks in Nowa Huta, and there are flowers everywhere to brighten it up. Yards are really well-cared for. Dunottar Castle is a ruined castle on a piece of rock that cracked away from the mainland, standing proudly against the sea. Ed says the walk from t

Rallarvegen! Bicycling across the top of the world.

I've wanted to bicycle Rallarvegen since one of the operators described it to me way back in 2008. This is the road beside the train tracks from Bergen to Oslo and from Myrdal downhill to Flåm. They used it to build the railroads, and now it is a fabulous bike/hike trail. Here's the map, from the NSB (railway company). See the two glaciers? Omnsbreen and Hardangerjøkulen? Finse, our start point, is between them. Finse is the highest point on the railway across Norway between Bergen and Oslo. I have never considered getting off the train there. It is above the tree line and all you see is flat, with snow. There's a first time for everything! I joined Luca on the 7:57 am train from Bergen (off the left side of the map). He's from Italy. We met online on the Vibrant Hiking Club FaceBook group. He works weekends, and I'm now retired, so we could go on Thursday and Friday. I'm liking being retired. Work doesn't get in the way of having fun! We rented

Walking in the Steps of My Irish Ancestors

Where did Edward McGrath and Ann McKeon come from? They lived in County Longford, in the Midlands in Ireland, back in the second half of the 1800s. Edward was a labourer, a person who worked for a farmer and was allowed to live in a cottage on the farmer's land. Ann had 6 children, with my great-grandmother, Mary 'Annie', being the eldest. She and the kids emigrated to America over a decade or so after Edward died in 1874. I wanted to know more! Was there a cluster of relatives living near them in the old country? What happened in their daily lives? Exciting news arrived in my email last month: a family history center just opened in County Longford! The Killian Homeplace Family History Center , on a beautiful restored farm, will help you discover your Irish roots. They have especially deep knowledge about County Longford. Ireland is just a hop, skip and a jump from Norway. I am all over this! I contacted Eilish Feeley there, and asked to come on Saturday, 22 July. I sent

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