In the summer of 2019, Todd and I went on an adventure. One that started off with a long journey up to northern Norway and ended in an emergency room back in Ohio many weeks later. But we will get to that in another story.

Growing up, my family had several exchange students who lived with us and went to school for a year. Thus, I was lucky enough to experience other cultures at a young age and make life long friends.

Our trip in the summer of 2019 was a 10 day northern Europe cruise starting and ending in Copenhagen with stops in places like Estonia and St. Petersburg. Since we were going to be in Scandinavia, Todd and I decided to fly from Copenhagen to Bodø, Norway prior to the cruise and spend a couple of days with my Norwegian sister and her husband.

It was early July when we arrived and still quite chilly. However, the sun never went down the entire visit. This time of year, the sun stays out 24 hours. It was odd waking up at 2am and feeling like it was still early evening.

Our visit consisted of hiking the mountain just outside of Bodø after 30+ hours of getting there and no sleep. But totally worth it. Visiting our hosts elderly mother and enjoying Norwegian pancakes with fruit and/or brown cheese filling. Taking a rib boat to the strongest current in the world. And, visiting local goats outside an ancient church.

We had so much fun and adventure. This was mainly thanks to our hosts who were gracious and welcoming. We look forward to a return visit.

Since I had backsliden in my blog duties at the time, I was unable to share this wonderful trip with you at the time. However, I do have a nifty time machine and have your ticket ready. So come on board it’s a short ride.