This Travel-Loving Black Woman Swears She Has Some Viking Blood in Her Veins

I would love to see Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and/or Sweden, preferably in July or August. Although I did visit Geneva, Switzerland in December of 2000, and this Georgia woman loved seeing snow-covered mountains for as far as the eye could see. I stood frozen, not having an inkling of how to dress, and just loved the magnificent scenery on the top of the French Alps, as I did a day trip to Chamonix.

It has been a dream of mine to sail down a fjord in Norway for the longest time, but my husband does not enjoy cold weather, having been raised in the Bay Area of California. Each year, as we decide where to go, Norway gets put further down the line. I want to see Finland, too, and if Russia weren’t at war, I would take a trip to St. Petersburg to visit the Hermitage. There are exhibits there that have never been seen outside of Russia.

What draws me as a former sociology professor and a feminist is that the economic and social equity policies in these countries make work-life balance easier than in the United States. Of course, these countries have only about 2-3 percent of people of color, so issues of race may not complicate motivations for equality of opportunity. I want to visit to see the beautiful architecture and museums that cover the maritime history of the Vikings, whom I consider great seafarers. I want to travel in a Viking longboat. In Vienna and Budapest this year, we went down the Danube in traditional boats, and I loved every wet moment.

Although we just arrived home last Monday from our latest European adventure, we are deciding where to go next year. England is high on the list, particularly the Cotswolds, Cornwall, and Northumberland, where they filmed the show “Vera.” But, I will try again to go to Scandinavia, even though it may be a little colder in May and June when we generally travel to see the grandkids and family in Portugal. We’ll see. Although I am black, I could swear my traveling and adventurous spirit exhibits certain Viking tendencies.

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