living like vikings

every summer, there are viking markets here and there around denmark. people who use their summer holidays dressing up and living like vikings. cooking in iron pots over open fires. sleeping on piles of wooly sheepskins, weaving with hand-dyed yarns. drinking mead. i'm always a little envious.

and it seems that now you can go to school to learn to be a viking! (thanks E for the link!)

scenes of viking domesticity

tho' winter is still stubbornly hanging on in the form of arctic winds, we visited a viking military fort called trelleborg this afternoon. the one in the denmark, near slagelse, not the one by the same name in sweden, which is actually thought to be part of the same complex of viking outposts from the era of harald blåtand (bluetooth - and yes, the wireless connectivity protocol is named after him).

we love to drag our child to such historic sights, increasingly kicking and screaming, as she approaches her teenage years in earnest. but making a viking flatbread "tortilla" over a smoky fire seemed to cure some of her resistance. or perhaps it was the sweet homemade butter and honey she slathered on her viking pancake. me, i love that my hair still smells of that viking fire now hours later. and i'm inspired to make a dish of leeks, apple, parsnips, cabbage and bacon, like the vikings made.

*you may be wondering why the wooden fence is a scene of viking domesticity, but i maintain that it is, as it was built to keep in precious animals - something you only did if you were settled down and domestic. 

i have viking fireplace envy

you can find viking markets here and there in denmark all summer long. there was one recently in jelling (where we keep our horse). there are people who go around from market to market, dressed up as vikings, living in the viking way - cooking over fires and dressing up in homespun garments. i envy them a little bit. and i wish tho' that they had a bit more of the viking spirit of trading, or even just selling stuff at the markets. because i so want some of this viking cooking equipment, but sadly, they never seem to want to sell it when you ask them about it. i think perhaps market doesn't mean what they think it means. or maybe it doesn't mean what i think it means. someday, i will get my hands on some of this stuff. and when i do, we will have REAL nordic food.

viking imaginings

there are times when you come upon a scene that transports you, just for a moment, back in time. i imagine that this scene wasn't all that different in viking times...cows grazing on the shore and a long viking warship at anchor in the lake. a crisp autumn day, birdsong in the air and a light breeze of the sort that the vikings undoubtedly enjoyed. i didn't see any actual vikings, but i suppose they were at the nearby kro, having lunch and a few beers...just like in the old days.

it kind of makes me want to pillage something...

scenes from a gathering of vikings

it was a glorious, sunshiney day for a visit to the viking market at the viking harbor museum in bork havn. 250 people who spend their summers dressing and living as vikings (if you don't count the campers i saw out back) gathered and sold traditional viking wares - hand-dyed yarns, ironwork, jewelry, bows and arrows, hides and the like. we came away with a lovely bow and some safe-for-children arrows for sabin, a bit of hand-dyed embroidery thread, a couple of skeins of yarn and a lot of ideas. we tried to buy a viking "stove," - handmade by one of the viking blacksmiths, but none of them seemed to be for sale (we encountered the same with several of the arrows sellers had on hand) - they were for their own use and not for sale (making me wonder why they were there with a stall, ostensibly to sell, but i digress). but here are some highlights. i definitely wouldn't mind spending my summer this way...

viking yarn candy - all hand-dyed with natural plant dyes.

clothing fit for a viking. i did wonder if the main audience for many of the stalls was the other vikings

mmm, food fit for a viking - a pancake with tart forest berries,
served in a smart, environmentally-friendly wooden bowl with wooden fork.

more yarn candy, tho' the woman here admitted she was a cheating viking since she had used some dyes from south america and the vikings wouldn't have done that (the pinks and purples came from those).
i wanted to be good, but i did buy two shades of gorgeous purple from the far left.

we will definitely be getting one of these at some point.
tho' oddly and totally against the viking spirit of trade and commerce,
the ones we saw were not for sale.

the tools of the trade - if you're a viking jeweler

pretty shiny beads make lovely viking jewelry.

see, i can take pictures of random people in public.
but apparently only if they're not facing me.

another of those fabulous viking stoves - one of these WILL be mine even if i have to take a welding course myself to get it.

beautiful baskets. and yes, another people picture!

more yarn candy - and look at that embroidery!

a feast fit for a viking.

i definitely NEED one of those bread dough bowls.

look at that baby viking.

and another adorable baby viking. isn't she sweet?