Early Years in Shipping
Reksten studied economy in Cologne helped by 5.000 NOK granted as a scholarship from Hans Westfal-Larsen's shipping company. At the end of 1921, however, the remaining sum was practically worthless, due to the hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic. Still, Reksten eked out an existence during the following three years, writing paid letters from Germany that were published in Bergens Tidende, and thus finishing his studies, returning to Norway in 1924. He had lived in Trajanstrasse in Cologne's old quarter, which roused his lifelong interest in Ancient Rome. When he started his own company in 1929, he named it Trajan after the Roman emperor. His first ship, Doris, was also renamed Trajan. His father, who had been unemployed for over a year, became the ship's first engineer. Reksten ran his firm from Minde, a residential part of Bergen, residing there until 1932. In August 1939 his wife Bjørg Elisabeth died, only 36 years old, leaving Reksten with five children after 14 years of marriage. At that time the family resided in a villa outside of Bergen, with space also for Bjørg Elisabeth's father, while a separate building housed the shipping firm.
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