The name of Vikings reminds me the childhood stories of the seafarers. And recently it is boosted again through animation! Yup I am talking about the Island of Berk, where Hiccup and toothless live. And then Hiccup says “ It’s twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It’s located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. My village. In a word? Sturdy. It’s been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets..” …I can just imagine a picture of typical Viking village 🙂 . Well,that explains my excitement when I got the chance to visit Norway this July .

10582804_826231724077055_2782087852974561524_o 10623942_826258394074388_834361165379368387_o

10548187_826242124076015_1028595104575012849_o  10531373_826240074076220_2486553344948384973_o

10549876_826257777407783_7008965450015721690_o  10541385_826258414074386_8437699845358082318_o

The city of Narvik is a boder portland in Northern Norway and a major link of iron export from the LKAB mine of Sweden. It is connected to stolkholm and Kiruna by the SJ trains running twice from Kiruna. Though it is approximately 180 km only from Kiruna, the timings of the train will not allow you to make an one day trip. So you have to stay at least one night in Narvik. We stayed at Spor 1, which is a hostel in the heart of the centrum you can walk on from the station. It cost around 75 euro for one night for a double beded room in July 2014. 1889080_826243500742544_5175882208124581712_o  1500822_826258237407737_353267974087489863_o 10551501_826242520742642_7867620851137440168_o  10560347_826240040742890_2487692082252963164_o 10523313_826243017409259_4064220103836109077_o  10428175_826248374075390_4330366212375953316_o

Narvik , like other coastal towns of Scandinavia, is a remainder of their fisheries and cultutral heritage, and you can feel a lively coastal culture buzzing with cafes and shops, great foods and historic journeys. You must enjoy their delicacies of prawn , whale and king crabs. And you must not miss Salmon and the rein deer meat – the heart of Sami cuisine.

10505173_826260147407546_695689901489435000_o  10580940_826257807407780_9084801834248984817_o 10608208_826257250741169_6481488331810754568_o 10582799_826262870740607_6398307190434133355_o 10506558_826247364075491_4513185457836299529_o  10551510_826258780741016_8123570108876669540_o

We walked through the whole city till midnight as it was Summer, saw the midnight sun. Next morning we climbed to the heighest pick there, a view point. The whole city was below looking like the city of Liliput. The view of the lake amidst the surrounding ridges of mountains ..was just breathtaking . We clicked some photos, but it is a beauty that just can be seen, heard and felt and really cannot be captured with a mere camera!! 10403887_826270614073166_7882409334778364515_o  10928_826262444073983_9084471709483576264_n 10333499_826246147408946_7195099108780345736_o  1500856_826271030739791_3851204228726103705_o 906659_826264354073792_4413122798207646304_o  1502324_826270617406499_412032835515881085_o 10496973_826270710739823_6756770116556740247_o 10454998_826248224075405_980885311550582517_o 10515150_826247670742127_6279721501576149590_o  10498064_826256827407878_4302751587403637442_o

10479868_826271584073069_7437897732762495447_o

Fun facts about Vikings:

  • Vikings name came from  víkingr meaning Pirates..
  • During the Viking Age, Scandinavian men and women travelled to many parts of Europe, and the Scandinavian homelands underwent profound cultural changes.
  • Ships were an integral part of the Viking culture.
  • The Vikings were great story-tellers.
  • The Viking alphabet was called the futhark after its first seven letters. All runes (letters) are made up of straight lines because they were designed to be cut into: wood metal or stone.
  • At a feast, guests drank ale and mead (a strong drink made from honey). People drank out of wooden cups or drinking horns made from cow-horns.

10550054_826246357408925_776203467687665508_o 10531362_826265094073718_2782470485968849441_o 10497874_826245807408980_5842246877273270223_o

© thegreyeye.wordpress.com, 2014-17. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

Advertisements