Odysseus and the Trojan Horse
So the Trojan war was fought between Greece and the City of Troy across the Aegean. It all began with the apple of discord, which eventually led to the abduction of Helen, wife of Menelaus, apparently the most beautiful mortal woman on the Earth. She was given to Paris, a prince of Troy, prompting Menelaus to attack, in order to bring back his beautiful wife. The two sides fought for ten long years, during which other stuff happened that involved Hector, Achilles, Patroclus, Ajax, and King Priam. Eventually, Odysseus (a Greek) had this brilliant idea to construct a giant, mobile horse and present it to the Trojans as a gift, in the hopes that they would wheel the horse within the city walls, ignorant of the dozens of eager Greek soldiers waiting inside, poised to attack. The Trojans were indeed duped by Odysseus's trick, despite the warnings of Laocoon; upon nightfall, while all the Trojans were drunk from celebrating, the Greeks jumped out of the horse's belly and razed the city, thus finally ending the war.
As for my dream journey... I would love to go to Norway. This "dream" was reinforced over the weekend, when I attended my dad's cousin's wedding in Minnesota. My dad's side of the family has a strong Norwegian heritage ("Goulson" is Norwegian), and Bill himself is fluent in Norwegian and has been to Norway many times. His best man was even a Norwegian, a pleasant man named Odd Gunner. While in Minneapolis we visited Ingebretsen's, a world-famous(?), authentic Scandinavian gift store filled with countless genuine crafts and gifts, along with authentic cuisine (which included yummy food like lutefisk). Anyway, all this is to say that I really want to visit the place of my ancestors and experience the culture. And if not for my heritage, I'd want to go because I think Norway is the most beautiful place on Earth. I would love to hike to the top of a towering mountain and look down into a gorgeous fjord below, or watch the vibrant aurora borealis dance across the night sky. It would be a journey to discover "my people" and a truly awesome place.
I've heard that Norway is a beautiful place, although the "tasty food" part is pretty questionable. The best Norwegian food I've ever eaten would have to be Lefse, which is essentially a potato tortilla covered with butter and sugar. My family has a strong Norwegian heritage as well(Torkelson and Goulson have the same structure) and I know my great grandparents were born and grew up there.
ReplyDeleteI think your dream journey sounds very interesting. I don't know anything about Norway, but your description of the Scandinavian gift shop and the beauty of the Norwegian wilderness made me want to travel there as well. Immersing yourself in the culture would be a great way to learn about your Norwegian heritage.
ReplyDeleteYour dream journey seems to be pretty well thought out. I know about as much about the Scandinavian countries as the next person, but I bet a trip there would help.
ReplyDeleteSide note-- the northern lights (not the ones at the horse park) could actually be visible as far south as Lexington this year.