April In Paris

Good day, Bonjour, Góðan Daginn!

Yes, I am trying to learn Icelandic. Talk about a wild language. The weirdest thing is that the grammar is so much the same as English. When I learned French, I had to switch everything backwards - "The black cat" in English becomes "The cat black - le chat noir" in French, etc... Because Icelandic is a Germanic language (as English is) all the grammar in terms of sentence structure is almost exactly the same! It feels weird to be saying different words in the same order as English, but I'm sure that with enough practice I'll figure it out.

The other fun thing about Icelandic is the different letters: Ð/ð is the letter "Eth" having the sound of the voiced "th" in "Them"; the letter Þ/þ is the letter "Thorn" having the sound of the voiceless "th" in "Thing" and always, and only appearing at the front of a word; and the letter Æ/æ is the letter "Aie" being pronounced phonetically.

I have recently rediscovered that I love learning language. I think that it's really fascinating how humans have created so many different ways of communicating! I look forward to hopefully adding many new languages to my bank of knowledge over the years. I think once Icelandic is there, I'll try Italian!

So, the main purpose of this post is to tell you all that I am going traveling!!! And, as per Joshs' request, I am turning this blog into somewhat of a travel blog, where hopefully I will be putting up photos, and sharing stories as I head out on my trip!

Mostly, I will be traveling through Western Europe, and then finishing the trip in Iceland! A rough itinerary puts me in Paris to start - in April - Can you tell I was a jazz musician?

From Paris, I will be biking (pedal, not motor) up to the Normandy coast, and then down through the Loire Valley (maybe meeting up with my parents at some point here for a week or two), then down to the Mediterranean, where Spain borders France. I will then bike the winding highway that follows the sea all the way to Italy! From there, I look forward to seeing Tuscany in great detail, and then heading over to Venice. From there, I will probably catch a train to Milan, and then bike north through Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium (as far north as Ypres - can you tell I have a fascination with both world wars?), then east through the Netherlands, Germany (as far east as Berlin), then north into Denmark, where I will stop over in Copenhagen, before going to the northern tip at the Hirtshals port, where I will catch the Nörrona - the three day ferry to Seðisfjörður, Iceland, with a brief stop-over at the Faroe Islands! And then from Iceland home...

How long will this take one might ask?

As long as I want it to!!!

My intention so far is to just travel as I want - going from city to city at my own pace. Leaving when I'm ready to. I'm going to carry a tent, as well as try hostels, and this cool thing called CouchSurfing.com! I would like to be in Iceland somewhere in lateish September, so that I can accomplish the 750km bike trip along the southern part of the ring road (between Seðisfjörður and Reykjavík) before the snow flies! At which point I will probably stay my maximum amount of time there (up to three months), before coming home!

And yes, most of this (I hope) will be done on a bike! I suspect at some point or another I'll wind up taking a train. I think though - after considering the many different ways of getting around, that biking is the most intimate way to see a country (from my totally neophyte stand point), because you have wide open views. you're not restricted to being in this tiny little box. Also, it forces you to pack lightly, and take only the essentials. As well, it's FAR cheaper then driving, with the cost of gas in Europe being more expensive then here (although I suppose you leave Calgary, and the gas is going to be more expensive - maybe I should just suck it up.... nah). I intend to set no speed or distance records, traveling only 25 - 75 km/day. I want to maintain a leisurely pace as to soak up as much of everything as I can!

I don't know how often, or how extensive my posts will be, due to the limited access to internet that I may or may not experience depending on where I am. But I will do my best over the course of the trip to keep people updated. If you are a friend / family member, you can probably expect to be overwhelmed with thousands of photos when I return however (now you're all wishing I'd just stay over there...).

Anyways, for many people who are reading this blog for the first time, I suggest you stop here, and don't delve any further into previous posts - you will not find anything spectacular. Mostly just random HIGH SCHOOL ANGST, (yes, yes that is in CAPITALS - FLEE!! RUN AWAY!!!) tales of the fish store, and one post on my life philosophy.

I look very forward to sharing this adventure with all of you who are interested!

Góða nótt,

-Ryley