The Sime family (Norwegian spelling Seim) is originally from Årdal in Sogn og Fjordane county, and more specifically, the farming and fishing village of Seim. My great, great grandparents and their children left Norway on a boat from Bergen called the Valkyrien in 1873 (read the horrific story of that journey at the Norwegian Heritage site here: https://is.gd/5xYobg). My dad, and many members of my family, have wanted to make this pilgrimage all of their lives. And after a short 3-day visit in 2015, I was determined to get my dad there before the next year was up.

And thanks to the organizational brilliance and daredevil driving of Kirsten Baldock, we did just that. Myself, my dad, Rose Sime and Kirsten successfully visited Seim (!), the very dock in Bergen where the Valkyrien was launched (!), and we explored much of the fjord country & part of the Jotunheimen Mountains of Norway in the process. As a bonus I also included just a few photos from my previous trip (October 2015) too. Sadly, Facebook decided to move all my videos to the end of the set so those aren't really in order but (shrugs) whatta ya gonna do?

This photoset, the research, and the writing behind it all took me 2 1/2 years to get finished. There's so many odd tidbits of information about Norway, Norwegian folklore, local writers / artists / musicians / bands, links to even more items of interest, and also my memories of our various adventures packed into this set that I had to stop working on it several times just to recharge my creative batteries. My hope is at least some of this will be helpful for other Sime family members who will want to travel to this part of the world and visit where the Simes are originally from too. And maybe for the rest of you I can introduce you to some cool bands, great aquavits, Norse Mythology, and just give you a small peek at what I'm up to when I'm not running the register at my comic book store.

Truly the trip of a lifetime. Enjoy.

-----