It's All About the Viking in Haugesund

Besides beautiful fjord country Haugesund was a stop with lots of Viking history as it’s the homeland of the Viking Kings, the place where King Harald Fairhair united Norway into a single kingdom over a thousand years ago.  Around Haugesund there were tons of small islands and almost endless fjords.  The city is fairly new, established in 1854 when the herring industry was booming.  These days it’s oil and shipping that keep the economy healthy

We did our part in spurring on the local economy by purchasing HOHO tickets since that was the easiest way to get out to Avaldsnes, the historic viking village about 30 minutes from port.  It was cheaper than taking a taxi there and back.

The rain had begun, not hard, just drizzly when we crossed the Karmsund Bridge and headed into the countryside.

We were definitely out in the country when we started seeing cows.  Remember, only 3% of Norway has arable land, a fact I may have already mentioned.  Part of that land has to be used for raising hay for the cows here.

The stop before ours was for Visnes, a mining town near Haugesund.  The copper for the Statue of Liberty came from the mines here.

We arrived at Avaldsnes, which was the royal seat of the Viking Kings for 300 years, and St. Olaf's Church, which dates back to 1250.

The church formed part of the royal palace complex and still stands as a memorial to former days of glory.  There was a funeral going on when we arrived so we were unable to take a peek inside.

Next to the church is the Cellar Mound, also known as the Cow's Mound.  The burial mound is said to be that of King Augvald (who gave his name to Avaldsness) and his sacred cow.  Bet you didn't know that the Vikings thought cows were sacred.

The walk was a bit longer than we thought it would be as we needed to go down into that grove of trees to get to the farm.

So off we went, down the hill, in the rain, dodging all the sheep droppings along the pathway.

We followed the signs to the Viking Farm, which also took us along part of an old pilgrimage route that included St. Olaf's.

Even today this feels like an out of the way place, 

plus it seems like it might have been a good place for a village full of people to rest and regroup.

The rain continued as we walked along but you can see it din't dampen our spirits any.

We found what looked like a hobbit hole along the pathway so Jane took a look inside.  We wondered if the sheep liked to shelter in there on stormy days.

Norway was named after this area.  "The way to the north".  The strategic position of Avaldsnes meant the kings could control all traffic along the coast.  They could collect taxes and control enemy ships, and it was the perfect starting point when ships were sent on Viking raids or trade missions.

In the quiet bay on the left were several of these cleats in stones near the edge of the water.  Mary had learned on a tour the day before that these were placed in bays so that small boats could tie up there to wait out storms.

We had to cross the bridge to get to Bukkoy Island to the farm.

The Rowan trees with their red berries are found throughout Norway.  Their red is a bright spot in all the greens.

With all the rocks around I kept expecting trolls to pop out somewhere any moment.

The Viking Farm was reconstructed based on acheaological finds in Rogaland and teaches how the Vikings built houses, the materials they used and how they lived.  In June a Viking festival attracts thousands of people here.

One of our first glimpses of the village.

Here they will try to prepare and eat food, using the same utensis, as they would have during Viking days.

Some of the people who dressed up to show ordinary folks live during the Viking Age.  As well as the warriors/explores we know through movies and TV, the Vikings also lived as farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, merchants and poets.

The longhouse has a roof which resembles an overturned ship.  This is a typical family home from the 9th century.

Inside the longhouse is divided into several rooms, with a hearth in the center.  The hides and blankets made it surprisingly cozy,

along with the fire in the center.

It was interesting that they would hang the baby's cradle from the upper bunk.

One part of the house was the area where preparing yarn and weaving would have been done. 

I'm sure that during those long winter days a lot of weaving, knitting and embroidery would have been going on.

The windows weren't covered with glass but with sheets of mica, letting in limited light in an ingenious way.

Another view of some of the volunteers here.

Pens would have been made from branches, check out how the walls would have been woven with wood then covered with some type of mud.

We met a "Wizard" at the round house..  Its function is unknown, possibly a place of worship.  He was clearing out his space as the farm was closing for the season the next day.

Other reconstructed buildings could be found throughout the grounds.

One was a smithy where Mary found that the bellows could be worked by lifting the pole up and down.

Jane and I under a Rowan tree with all its brilliant berries.  They are sour but edible, we were told they taste somewhat better when cooked and make a nice jam.

There weren't any actual bows or arrows at the archery range so Mary and Jane just pretended they had some.  You shouldn't be surprised that they both got a bull's eye!

Two more of the reconstructed buildings.

It was interesting that the wood on the roof had the cuts along each board.  These were placed here to direct the rain down so that it didn't soak in.

It was a relatively quick visit to the Viking Farm but we enjoyed what we where don each memoriy is grade.  saw and being able to get a feel for how they would have lived.

We looked again at the "leidang' or boat house before we left.  It was a Viking Age naval defense system .  All farms had to build a boat and boathouse and provide a crew in case of war.  This ensured the king could call on the local community to provide him with warships and men when needed.

Time to head back along the path towards St. Olaf's in the distance,

passing by sheep grazing,

until we reached the Nordvegen History Center.  It was located underground so it wouldn't spoil the landscape of this important historic site.

We made our way down for just a few minutes to check out their exhibits.

The museum tells the story of Harald Fairhair, regarded as the first Norwegian king, who united Norway into one kingdom after winning the Battle of Harsfjord around 870.  A saga tells that his love, Gyda, refused to marry Harald "before he was king over all of Norway".

Jane did her own version of Harald!

A reminder that the horns on Viking helmets are only in the movies!  A little here on their weapons.  They accessorized their round shields to their boats and houses with paint.  The sward was the most valued weapon, only the rich and mighty could afford one.  Famous and feared for their battle axes, these were rarely used as a weapon elsewhere n Europe.  The spear was a simple weapon that even the poor people could afford.

It was not only the men who could be fighters, a king's daughters could become shield maidens who were known as fierce warriors.  They even had a partial Viking ship replica in the bottom of the museum.

Sadly we had to hustle out of the museum too early, we needed to make sure we caught the 3:00 p.m. HOHO at St. Olaf's since it was the last bus that would come by that day.  We had no desire to walk to the port!  Anyways, many, many of the houses had these gray slate roofs with these rounded shingles.  They were so beautiful and unique.

Since we were the last bus of the day the driver was willing to make a quick photo stop for us at the Haraldshaugen National Monument.  It is a large mound with a granite obelisk that was erected in 1872 on the place where the fist king, Harald Fairhair, was supposedly buried.

It is surrounded by smaller stones, one for each of Norway's counties as it celebrates the unification of Norway.

Getting back to port we decided to give being Vikings a try, posing for one another.

Another friend took a quick photo of today's Three Musketeers who were doing exactly what the sign on the chair said, "Enjoying Life in Haugesund".  Great afternoon and great company!

One final photo from that night, well really the next morning since I took it at 12:13 a.m., just wanted to show you how light it still was in the middle of the night!