Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.04.2012, Qupperneq 11

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Lögberg-Heimskringla • 1. apríl 2012 • 11
The word “serendipity” has always held an odd fascination for me. The
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
defines it as “the faculty or phe-
nomenon of finding valuable
or agreeable things not sought
for.” Our trip to Greenland/Ice-
land was serendipitous from
beginning to end.
All four of my grandparents
were born in Iceland as was
my husband Bob’s paternal
grandmother. As we were
making plans for our trip to
Iceland, scheduled for the
summer of 2006, we received
information about a cruise
leaving from Reykjavík to
explore parts of the eastern shore
of Greenland and Scoresby
Sound, dates coinciding with
the land tour we had booked
in Iceland. We could not turn
down the opportunity. The
day following our arrival in
Reykjavík, we boarded the
M.S. Explorer, a small vessel
built for challenging marine
environments (including ice)
and were off on our cruising
adventure.
The first evening on board,
we gathered in the library/
lounge area for general
information sharing and getting
acquainted. Our “resource”
staff introduced themselves and
imagine our surprise when the
meteorological/ice expert, Thor
Jakobsson from Reykjavík, told
us he was born in Wynyard,
Saskatchewan in 1935 when
his father was minister of the
Unitarian Church there. The
family returned to Iceland in
1940 and his father became the
first minister of the Reykjavík
landmark, Hallgrímskirkja.
When the cruise “filmmaker”
introduced himself, Bob and I
exchanged glances which said
“I don’t believe this.” His name,
Sveinn Sveinsson, was my
father’s name and this Sveinn
had even done some filming
with the Icelandic community
in Mountain, North Dakota
where my father was born and
lived until his family moved to
Alberta when he was ten.
During our amazing and
exciting days on the Explorer,
the trips by Zodiac to explore
Greenland’s shores and the
informal visiting times on
board ship, we became better
acquainted with Thor and his
wife, Johanna Johannesdottir.
It was almost eerie how much
Thor resembled my Grandpa
Sigurdsson in stature and
mannerisms. We discovered
later as we toured Iceland, he is
known throughout the country
as “our TV weatherman”. We
also had many interesting
conversations with the other
Icelanders on board, Sveinn
and his filming assistant,
Ludvik Blondal. The next
serendipitous discovery was
that Thor was well acquainted
with Bjorn Sigurdsson whose
great-grandfather was my
grandfather’s brother. In fact,
he phoned Bjorn from aboard
ship to set up a time when we
could meet and Ludvik offered
to drive us to Bjorn’s farm the
day after we docked back at
Reykjavík.
That day was certainly one
to remember. It happened to be
Ludvik’s 40th birthday, he had
borrowed his sister’s car for the
journey (he actually lived in
Blönduós in northern Iceland),
and we were off on a beautiful,
sunny morning. On the way to
Bjorn’s farm (Úthlið) we drove
past Svínavatn, the farm where
my maternal grandfather,
Ofeigur Sigurdsson, was born.
The sign was still at the side
of the road. Úthlið is just off
the highway on the way to the
famous Gullfoss and Geysir.
Bjorn and his two daughters,
Disa and Ena, were awaiting
our arrival and we were thrilled
to discover that we were
also going to meet Bjorn’s
brother, Jon, sisters Sigrun
and Kristin and her husband,
Werner. Fortunately for us,
all spoke English! Bjorn’s
wife, Augustu, died a couple
of years before our visit. The
extended family members
were staying at their summer
cottages located on Bjorn’s
property which includes many
cabins for rent, hot pool,
horseback riding and other
attractions for vacation fun.
We visited over good strong
coffee and Icelandic goodies.
What an enriching experience,
connecting with cousins on
their home turf.
The following morning we
began our nine-day bus tour of
the island and the serendipity
continued. We spent a night
along the way in Höfn and our
tour guide, Unnur, mentioned
that the former Prime Minister,
Halldór Ásgrímsson, had come
from a family influential in the
fishing industry in that area. My
ears pricked up because I knew
that his great-grandmother
and my great-grandmother
were sisters, making us third
cousins. I told Unnur about
this connection and a couple of
days later she informed me that
the newspaper, Morgunblaðið,
had a two-page article about
him. I was able to purchase a
copy.
Through Canadian cousins
who had visited Iceland, I
knew of another third cousin
(this time on my father’s side)
in Egilsstaðir, a town on our
route and a planned morning
coffee/gas stop. I phoned Silla
a couple of days in advance
and she and her seven-year-
old daughter met us at the Esso
Service station where we had
a very brief but memorable
visit. Egilsstaðir is only a few
kilometres from the birthplace
of my paternal grandfather,
Johann Sveinsson.
A few days later, not far
from Akureyri, we stopped
at Arnarstapi to view the
monument to the acclaimed
Icelandic poet, Stephan G.
Stephansson. Again, we could
hardly believe our good fortune
in visiting this place. My
grandfather, Ofeigur, and the
poet farmer both homesteaded
near Markerville, Alberta and
became great friends. Ofeigur
spear-headed the movement
to have the Stephansson
Memorial at Markerville built
and dedicated in 1950.
The thrill of visiting
Þingvellir, now a UNESCO
World Heritage Site and the
location of the first Icelandic
Parliament, was enough in
itself but as we travelled from
there toward Reykjavík we
passed a farm with the sign
Karastaðir, the birthplace of my
maternal grandmother, Astridur
Tomasdottir. Our driver stopped
the bus to let us take a picture
to add to our serendipitous
album. (Unable to create our
own route, on our bus tour
we did not visit areas where
my paternal grandmother,
Steinunn Jasonardottir, and
Bob’s paternal grandmother,
Margret Eiriksdottir, were
born. Another time. )
Back in Reykjavík, we
contacted our cruise friends,
Thor and Johanna, who invited
us to their home for dinner on
our last evening in the Land
of Fire and Ice. They rejoiced
with us in the wonderful events
of our trip and provided the
perfect ending to our adventure.
Thor showed us the computer
program tracing ancestry and
showing relationships. Entering
his own name and names of our
nearest ancestors, we learned
that we are related – going back
eight to ten generations.
One of our favorite
souvenirs is a book, Iceland,
Magic and Mystery, a beautiful
collection of photographs and
commentary by another relative
of mine, Gisli Sigurdsson,
brother of the afore-mentioned
Bjorn. Unfortunately, we did
not get to meet Gisli who is
also noted as an artist in oils.
Our CD of The Arnesinga
Choir is another precious
keepsake, made more special
by the fact that our tour bus
driver, Bragi, his wife and two
of their daughters are members
of the choir.
So ended our serendipitous
time on the fascinating island
which was home to our
grandparents. We continue to
make interesting connections
and unearth stories from the
past, hoping we might have yet
another opportunity to visit.
From left, Bob Thompson, Winn Thompson, Bjorn
Sigurdsson
Serendipity
Winn Thompson
Wakaw Lake, SK
Monument honouring Stephan G. Stephansson
From left, Johanna Johannesdottir, Winn (Sveinsdottir)
and Thor Jakobsson
Photos: Winn thomPson
in the shadow of
the Arctic Circle