Genealogy Roadtrip 2019

In just a few days I am lucky enough to be taking the genealogy roadtrip of a lifetime! This year was always going to be exciting on the genealogical front. The first full year of my long-time hobby now being my profession, and a conference in Europe to attend. A floating conference, no less! However, it grew from there.

Conference #1

When I initially booked the ‘Unlock The Past’ Mediterranean genealogy cruise for late September I decided immediately that I would add a couple of extra weeks to my trip to spend some time poking around in the UK. I hadn’t decided whether to do it before or after the cruise though, so hadn’t booked the flights.

Conference #2

Then another conference in Europe came up – the MyHeritage conference in Amsterdam at the beginning of September. I had sorely wanted to go to their previous year’s conference in Oslo, and had watched some of it online, so I decided then and there I would attend this one. So, it was going to be a whole of September trip, bookended by two conferences.

Conference #3

THEN…before I could book the flights the announcement came out that Rootstech was taking place in London in October. Rootstech? The massive conference held annually in Salt Lake City that I had long dreamed of attending? In London?

Now I was torn. MyHeritage or Rootstech? September or October? Then it dawned on me. No longer did I have the constraints of a regular job. I was…drumroll…self-employed! I decided then and there that this was my year to indulge in ALL the conferences! They all had fantastic programs, and of course great opportunities to meet up with fellow genealogists from around the world. Before I could change my mind (or end up permanently in Europe as more and more conferences popped up!), I booked the flights.

Genealogy Roadtrip of a Lifetime

So now I have three major conferences across two months in Europe. I expect to learn much about refining research techniques, using new and previously untapped resources and researching in different places. I will spend some time in between each of these conferences visiting archives, libraries, and no doubt walking the streets of ancestral towns and villages in between. It feels like I’m a kid again, and it’s Christmas Eve.

I’m hoping to keep up to date with the blogging while I am away, and I will be bringing you nuggets of informational gold from the conferences (they are always great for finding out about new or untapped resources!). And possibly even some pictures…