April 2010 - Feb 2011 Dedicated to Sofia Hultin

        Sunday Feb 13 2011

                          Hello Everyone! This is my first Post to my first Blog ever! I was Born in Calexico, California but was raised in Elkton, Maryland. I've lived in Seattle Washington, Gettysburg Pennsylvania and Newark, Delaware... I've been told ahhh you gotta start a Blog! Tons of people but the one who really pushed me to do it was my loving Swedish Cousin Sofia! So this Post is dedicated to you ;) .... For people who don't know too much about whats going on in my Life I'll fill you in.... in April 2010 I Quit my Job at Fedex and embarked on a long Journey! First I took a ROAD TRIP! I went from Coast to Coast and then back to the East Coast. The Trip took about 5-6 Weeks and along the way I was able to see some Beautiful Landscapes, Relatives, and Attractions... I really enjoyed the time I spend with my Family and established Friendships that I hope will last for years to come! June 24 2010 I took a Flight from Newark, NJ and headed to Stockholm, Sweden! I was battling a horrible cold and I felt quite weak.. I had 2 Huge Suitcases, 1 Backpack, 2 smaller briefcases, and a pillow haha soo needless to say it was very Challenging....But! I was carrying all of it at one time and when I got through the Security Points of the Airport I saw such a Beautiful Smile! It was my wonderful Cousin Sofia and she had a nice Rose for me! It touched my Heart and uplifted me! such a nice memory to look back on now.

      Next day was Mid-Summer Day! Here in Sweden they Organize Events and Dates by weeks of the Year....Different from the States ... they Use all the Weeks of the Year... so Mid-Summer is Actually on Week 26 :-P   Pretty Smart huh... Its also is one of the longest days of light for the Year. Sweden also doesn't get dark during the Summer months... its more of a Dusk during the whole night and in the Winter there isn't too many hours of daylight. I spent July being with Family and establishing deeper Relationships :) Family has and will always be a Priority in my Life...Along the way I've been learning more and more about my Roots and where my Ancestors lived and what there lives were like... I left in August for my first Euro Trip ...I bought a EuroRail Pass and that gave me access to any European Train in 21 Countries for 15 days in a row... so I went to 12 Cities in 14 days and on the 15 day went back to Sweden... I went to Denmark, Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Czech, Switzerland, and It was Exhausting haha but I wasn't sure when I would get the chance again to see Europe... On that trip I went to Eastern France (Alsace Region) a Town called Stattmatten where my Family on my Father's side Originated from... I found the land that has been Family owned for 400 years!!! My 11th Cousin Owns it! I was Astonished! His name was Charles Dockter Jr. and only Spoke French or German... I was able to connect with a Relative Deb Dockter Gunsch and her husband Trace who only lived an hour or so away in Germany... They met me there and Trace spoke great German so he helped both of us Communicate.... Thanks Deb and Trace!!!! 

     I came back to Sweden in the middle of August and I was able to attend some Wonderful Swedish Birthday Celebrations!! Its really nice to see things from different points of view and how Cultures do things differently. I went on my 2nd Euro Trip on the third week of September.. I took a flight from Stockholm to Brussels, Beligum.. The flight was very cheap. In Europe there is a company called RyanAir. its based out of Dublin, Ireland and offers flights as low as $20...The only issue is they charge $20 just to take a descent size bag and they charge you $5 if you use a Credit Card.... I think its amazing and I've been using them the whole time in Europe...The rest of my trip goes as followed Brussels to Amsterdam to Munich(200 Year Anniversary of Oktoberfest!) United Kingdom(London) I spent two weeks with my Terrific Sister Jubilee and her amazing Husband Nick! I really enjoyed my time with them and I got to know both of them very well :) ...Next I went through the UK on a British Rail Pass... I could use any Train for One Month! I went to places like Brighton, Southampton, Isle of Wight, Bath, Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham(Robin Hood), York, Newcastle, Then into Scotland and saw Aberdeen, Glasgow, Inverness(Loch Ness Monster), and Edinburgh. I went down to London  and spent Thanksgiving with a group of couchsurfers! It was such a nice time... ohh yeah you may not know what couchsurfers are? eh well check out the website! www.couchsurfing.org ... to put it similpy its a Community where people who enjoy to learn from different Cultures invite World Travelers into there home and share there stories and guide them around there Local Area....I stayed with 30 different Couchsurfing Hosts over a span of 3 months. Then I went to Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Madrid Spain, Oslo Norway, and I was back in Sweden just in time for a Festive Swedish Christmas with my Family!!! So that pretty much brings you up to speed... I will be starting my Third Euro Trip on Tuesday Feb 15th! When I fly from Stockholm to Kiruna, Sweden! the very North of Sweden! I will be celebrating my 28th Birthday at the Ice Hotel and the Journey of a lifetime begins! so please follow me on my Journey!

Hejda! (goodbye in Swedish)

Josh