Stockholm and Uppsala – in the footsteps of Vikings

This summer, we visited Sweden – Stockholm and Uppsala, to be more precise. I have already blogged about the 17th century part of our trip, and here’s a little look at the Viking and Iron Age side.

First up was the Historical Museum. I’d wanted to visit the place for years now, having heard that they have an impressive Viking Age collection. And indeed it was that, a very large exhibition with many fascinating items - a must-see for Viking fans.

Some Viking bling:

Swords, of course:

Miniature Birka:

On the courtyard of the museum building were some Viking age style tents, a small boat and activities, such as archery, for children.

The museum is a huge building that houses several collections. In addition to the Viking Age section, we took a closer look at Prehistory...

...and raced through the general Swedish history, but, somewhat to our disappointment, found nearly nothing about the 17^th century. Not to worry, though – we knew where to go for that! 😊 We decided to skip other sections, since there simply was no time for everything. I do want to point out, though, that there was no entry fee to the museum – you could see all this and more entirely for free! (Although we made up for that by spending money in the museum shop and the café, but the chocolate cake was totally worth it! 😉)

We concluded the day in an appropriate note: a dinner at Viking restaurant Aifur. The food was good and the mead was tasty. The atmosphere was rather boisterous (i.e. loud; a conversation would have required us to shout), but isn’t that the Viking way? It was definitely an interesting experience!

Near our hotel in Upplands Väsby was a place called Gunnes Gård: a reproduction of a Viking settlement with houses and outbuildings constructed in Viking Age style. There were also sheep, some cattle and pigs; chicken and goats that roamed free around the area. Our daughter quickly made friends with the goats who followed her around!

We also visited Gamla Uppsala (“Old Uppsala”), an important place in Iron Age Sweden – possibly the location of the legendary temple of Uppsala and famous for the royal mounds. Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old… um, I mean, at least their burial mounds. The mounds date back to the 5^th and 6^th century and were once believed to be resting places of gods and later thought to be burial mounds of the legendary Ynglinga kings (and queens, quite possibly). Rich grave goods and the sheer majestic size of them indicate that they are indeed royal burial places. You could actually climb the mounds, and although my crippled old leg did not think it a good idea, it is not every day you get to ascend the graves of bygone kings, so up we went. And it was worth it! The view from the top was lovely, and one - if one is inclined to indulge in such romantic fantasies - could feel oneself surrounded by something very ancient.

Right next to the mounds is Gamla Uppsala museum with a fascinating exhibition about the history of the place and the burial mounds (the grave finds, how the barrows were constructed etc.).

Gamla Uppsala also features Odinsborg, a restaurant/café where we had some ice-cream but where you can also drink mead from a proper drinking horn.

Finally, I want to mention a small but very interesting section dedicated to the Vendel period and Viking Age in the Gustavianum building of the University of Uppsala. As far as I understand, this exhibition concentrates on objects from a nearby excavation site (more about Gustavianum in my earlier post).

 Above, beautiful pattern (textile fragment)

Viking Exhibitions in Tallinn

Since I found out about the Viking exhibition in Tallinn earlier this year, I wanted to go. Now, during the autumn holiday, I finally got the chance... and visited not only one but two Viking exhibitions!

The first one was ”Vikings: The Reality behing Legends” in Lennusadam, the Estonian Maritime Museum. The objects of the exhibition come from the Historical Museum in Sweden and include all sorts of things from weapons, jewellery and pottery to (reconstructed) boats, sails and rune stones. You could try on a Viking helmet (no horns! Seriously. No horns.) and try carrying a Viking shield.

There are other interactive and hands-on pieces as well (such as writing your name in runes), which my 8-year-old daughter enjoyed enormously (though she would have enjoyed the exhibition anyway – when she first heard about the Viking exhibitions she asked, ”Can we go, can we go, please!” and when we told her that this was exactly why we were going to Tallinn, she jumped for joy!).

If you don’t know much about Vikings, the exhibition is a good place to learn: the numerous objects on display are accompanied by long, informative texts. You can learn about the Viking culture, beliefs, history etc. If you are a Viking enthusiast, you will perhaps not find a huge amount of new information here, but... well, you're a Viking enthusiast! You will want to see this.

This is a rather large exhibition – it took us about two hours to view it... and I could go back. ;) Catch it before January 15th, 2017.

Here are a few pics (we took many):

The other exhibition was ”Viking Era Treasures in Estonia” at the Fat Margaret’s Tower. This exhibition focuses on Viking Age finds in Estonia and the importance of Estonia as part of the trade routes of those days. This is a much smaller exhibition; still, it was worth a visit. The rest of the tower is dedicated to Estonian seafaring museum.

Review: The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris

This particular book was somewhat difficult to review, but since it was very kindly requested of me, I promised to write something. :)

It’s no surprise that I loved Joanne Harris’ “Chocolat”, and I’ll have to say I’ve enjoyed all the other books by her that I’ve read. Since my interests include Viking Age and, to some extent, Norse mythology, I was very keen to read Harris’ “The Gospel of Loki”.

I gather there’s been some controversy over how Loki has been portrayed here and whether the tale is faithful to the known sources of Norse mythology. Frankly, I didn’t care. So shoot me. This is a retelling, and told from one person’s (I mean god’s) point of view, and thus I would expect it to differ from the known versions. And, like any other myth/holy book/gospel... or, well, with any book at all... you can interpret it in countless different ways. So I’m not going to go into that.

The book is best characterised as a modern re-imagining of (some of) the Norse myths – the key word being modern. That goes for the style and the language in particular. This seemed rather odd at first, but then, the narrator is Loki, the trickster god (need I go into the reliable/unreliable narrator here? I didn’t think so) and he’s obviously managed to keep up with the way language has evolved rather than remaining stuck in archaic vernacular. The use of modern expressions and clever word play makes the book a light and humorous read and gives Loki a witty, snarky voice. Your Humble Narr... erm, reviewer found his repetitive use of certain expressions a little tiresome – but then, we all have our idiosyncratic expressions, so perhaps that just makes him more human (is he supposed to be that, though?)

A glance at reviews tells me that readers’ perceptions of Loki differ wildly. He’s seen as a demon, as a whiny adolescent, a bad boy, a rebel and whatnot. I saw him (or rather, he made me see himself) as an underdog, a misunderstood scapegoat whose malice (partly anyway) sprang from being treated unjustly. Interesting. I bet this is all Loki’s plan: he uses his story and his silver tongue to seduce us, make us take his side... and he is truly a shape shifter, a master of disguise; people who have read his story can’t even agree on who he is or what he is (his True Aspect). For a named thing is a tamed thing...

For one thing, this was certainly not a boring read (I didn’t quite laugh aloud but I did smile on several occasions) and I suspect even readers not into Norse mythology would find this entertaining. Not to mention all those Loki fans. ;) I could have asked for a little more depth, a little more drama and detail, but that might not have suited the fast-paced story or the chatty, wry voice of Loki.

At the beginning of each chapter, there is a short quote from “Lokabrenna”. Many of these start with “Never trust...” and once you’ve finished the book, you’ve learned your lesson: never trust anyone. And Loki is the trickster, remember? Never trust anyone, but especially... never trust Loki!

That is what made writing this review so hard: every time I thought of something to criticise, it somehow turned out to be something that was probably Loki’s plan all along (which, considering his fame as a cunning trickster, is just brilliant). For example: Loki himself is an interesting character; the rest of the cast, however, remain rather flat or appear to be little else but brainless brutes. Then again, this is Loki’s story, perhaps that is how he sees the other gods. Wait... this is Loki’s story! Perhaps that is how he wants us to see the other gods! That trickster...

Well, there is one thing where I trust Loki completely, and that is when he says: “Most problems can be solved through cake”. (Or chocolate, obviously. ;) )