It's World Tourism Day today. I'm a traveller and have been for as long as I remember. It's in my genes. I come from pilots and sailors. Vikings and voyagers. And I follow the ancient wisdom of the Vikings who travelled from one continent to the next more than a thousand years ago.
The poem in the image is the 18th poem in Hávamál. Hávamál is written in old Norse, which is pretty much like modern Icelandic. It was written down by Snorri Sturluson, a scholar in 13th century Iceland who wrote down many of the Icelandic sagas. But it dates further back. It is said to be the words of Odin, the highest of the Nordic gods, father of Thor and Loki, and was the Vikings book of wisdom carried down from one generation to the next.
These are words to live by. Travel wide and wise and you will understand your fellow man.
Happy World Tourism Day!
Hjörtur
ps. the photo is shot near Bláfjöll, Iceland, on an early September morning as the first rays of sun melt the frost of the night, creating this mystical steam over the lava field.
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