{"id":2238,"date":"2016-03-07T19:10:30","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T19:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2016-03-07T19:10:30","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T19:10:30","slug":"vikings-witches-and-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isobaresoffit.com\/2016\/03\/07\/vikings-witches-and-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings, Witches, and Poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the night before we drove to Borgarnes, our dinner took longer than expected and it was a very cold and windy night, so we decided to take a taxi back to our hotel from downtown Reykjavik.\u00a0 Our driver, like almost everyone we met during our trip, was extremely friendly and immediately struck up a conversation with us.\u00a0 He was trying to discern from our accent where we were from and he told us that\u00a0he was keen on learning the variations in accents from within different countries.\u00a0 Somehow that led us to talking about German accents and from there we related a story about a time that we flew through Frankfurt.\u00a0 It was an overnight flight and they offered headsets to listen to a variety of radio stations, one of which was a German station that told lullaby stories.\u00a0 As soon as the words “German lullabies” came out of our mouths,\u00a0our driver doubled over in laughter, tears streaming from his\u00a0eyes as we all contagiously laughed together.\u00a0 Perhaps not as funny now as it was at the time, but the image of Grimm’s Fairy Tales<\/em> being told to lull children to sleep in a language that is somewhat guttural certainly seemed to provoke a comical image in our driver’s mind.\u00a0 After our following day touring the Settlement Centre in Borgarnes, it seemed more than just a little hypocritical considering the violence of their own Icelandic tales.<\/p>\n

\"Driving<\/a>
Driving to Borgarnes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Witch<\/a>
Witch Display at the Settlement Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sunrise<\/a>
Sunrise from Our Hotel Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We made the hour-long drive to Borgarnes, going through a five kilometer tunnel underneath one of the bays, and enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the restaurant of the Settlement Centre.\u00a0 We then took the tour through the museum, which consisted of two thirty-minute audio tours that covered the history of how the Vikings first came to populate Iceland as well as their turbulent history once they arrived.\u00a0 The early history of Iceland is told through Viking Sagas, one of which is the Eglis Saga.\u00a0 Egill Skalla-Grimsson was a famous Viking and poet whose story is used to provide an understanding of the first people to populate Iceland.\u00a0 It isn’t just a recanting of his poetry, but is the tale of his life, beliefs, fortunes, and misfortunes.<\/p>\n

\"Tunnel<\/a>
Tunnel Entrance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Wind<\/a>
Wind Swept Mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Relief<\/a>
Relief Showing a Young Egill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is a bloody history filled with mythical tales of beasts, witches, and betrayal.\u00a0 Neither of us were particularly fond of history when we were in school, but that is because the way that they used to teach history was fundamentally flawed.\u00a0 We don’t know if they’ve changed, but when we were growing up, history was about memorizing dates and names without context to how all of the events were interrelated or how cultural and religious pressures and prejudices affected personal decisions of those who affected our history.\u00a0 History would be a lot more fascinating if told around a campfire by the village elders as it was in the past versus dry text books.\u00a0 Generally speaking, history is far more fascinating when you understand the motivations of the individuals involved.\u00a0 This is also true of the Viking Sagas, which the Settlement Centre does an excellent job of relating the relationship between Egill and his father, brothers, and mother and how that shaped his manhood.<\/p>\n

\"Viking<\/a>
Viking Wardrobe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Depiction<\/a>
Depiction of Egill’s Death<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Horses<\/a>
Horses Along the Drive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We knew that the Vikings were great seamen and that they had conquered the oceans long before the rest of Europe had done so because of their invention of the keel.\u00a0 One interesting fact that we learned was that they didn’t use the stars to navigate, despite their ability to travel such long distances, eventually leading to the discovery of North America.\u00a0 The reason, once we learned it, was quite obvious.\u00a0 There are times of the year when there are no stars visible or not visible for very long due to the length of the days during the summer, so obviously they couldn’t rely on the stars.\u00a0 Instead, the Vikings learned to navigate by following the birds, the migration paths of the whales, and other patterns that allowed them to travel back and forth between Norway and Iceland with ease.<\/p>\n

\"Viking<\/a>
Viking Ship Replica<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Settlement<\/a>
Settlement Centre Restaurant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lava<\/a>
Lava Rocks on the Beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Borgarnes is definitely worth visiting and the restaurant at the Settlement Centre is one of the best on the island.\u00a0 It is a beautiful drive along the coast with stunning views, even as you drive across the bridge that leads you into town.\u00a0 Even if you’re driving the ring road that goes around the entire island, stopping at Borgarnes is something that is well worth the time.\u00a0 We hadn’t originally planned on going to Borgarnes, it was one of those last-minute whim decisions and we couldn’t have been happier with the unexpected surprise and the history that we learned while we were there.<\/p>\n

\"Scenic<\/a>
Scenic Drive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Drive<\/a>
Drive Along the Ocean<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"More<\/a>
More Scenery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the night before we drove to Borgarnes, our dinner took longer than expected and it was a very cold and windy night, so we decided to take a taxi back to our hotel from downtown Reykjavik.\u00a0 Our driver, like almost everyone we met during our trip, was extremely friendly and immediately struck up a … <\/p>\n

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