In the land of Vikings…

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 .

 

  

  

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.         

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.

       

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!!              

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.

 

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