Raving Ravens

Amazing Northern Lights Video from Sisimut, Greenland

Hans Christian Sivertsen, a student in Sisimut in Greenland caught these fantastic images of the northern lights dancing above his campus in Sisimut in Greenland on the night of January 25th. Resulting from a geomagnetic solar storm the northern lights were exceptional that night, and Hans Christian was ready to capture it with his camera from the balcony on his campus.

 

Hans Christian used a DSLR camera and created this awesome time-lapse video from it. 

Hjörtur

 

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The Adventures of 2011

It has been an adventurous year. It's been a tough year fighting the consquences of the recession, illness and a death in the family, but it has also included many exciting trips and projects. This year I have travelled to the north, west and east of Iceland, and to the south and west coast of Greenland. I have even travelled to a fictive world beyond the Wall. That is one journey I can not tell you about. Not yet at least. 

Here are a few pictures from my adventures in 2011:

Akureyri theater in the snow.

The first trip of the year was to Akureyri where I was running a course in the use of social media for the travel industry. To my luck, I got a blizzard and the heaviest snow day for years in Akureyri. What a beautiful, beautiful town.

Akureyri harbour in the blizzard. Seen from Hof culture center over to Akureyri church in the distance.

 

Greenland - Vikings

In the spring I went to the Viking trails in Greenland organized by Greenland Sagalands. Exploring some of the remains like these church ruins in Hvalsey. The last thing heard from the Vikings in Greenland is a wedding that took place in this church September 14th 1408. Since then, noone has heard anything from the thousands of people that lived in Greenland, and noone knows what happened to them. 

There are no roads in Greenland. It is a huge country with just steep cliffs and glaciers, so it's no place for roads. To travel you have to use boats, dog slegdes or helicopters. Above is an iceberg with a giant polar bear and her cub that I saw while sailing from Narsaq to Qaqortoq in Greenland. 

This is the world's oldest operating Sikorsky helicopter which was my transport from Qaqortoq to Narsarsuaq.

Greenland - Nuuk

My explorations in Greenland continued and next destination was Nuuk, the capital of this amazing country. Though it is only a town of about 15.000 people, this is where you find most service in Greenland, including the only swimmingpool, the only cinema etc. 

And I highly recommend a trip to the National museum where you can look at 600 year old mummies found buried in the tundra in North Greenland, and some interesting clothing like this seal skin thong below. 

The Westfjords

 The Westfjords are a must every summer. Chosen one of the top areas to visit by Lonely Planet last year it is a truly authentic place with mountains, fjords and small fishing villages. The picture above is from the main square in Isafjordur, the biggest town in the Westfjords.

On the fjords you can find interesting things, like this Viking ship in Dyrafjordur (above) and sea monsters in Arnarfjordur (below). 

In Greenland I met a Canadian film maker and we've now started a new adventure. The quest for the first Viking grave in America. The plan is to make a documentary about the search if we manage to get it financed. We started some demo shots and the picture above is from such shootings in Arnarfjordur, over looking the fjord from a legendary Viking grave at the top of a mountain there. Who knows where this adventure may lead in the new year :)

In the summer 2012 I plan to offer Viking trips around the legendary Viking locations in Arnarfjordur in the West fjords. So stayed tuned for more info on that.

A truly unique opportunity came in November when I got offered a role as an extra in HBO's TV series Game of Thrones, which was partly shot in Iceland. It ended up being shooting for almost three weeks in various locations in the mountains and glaciers of Iceland, creating the legendary land beyond the wall. I'm not allowed to give any details or show any pictures from this adventure, so you'll just have to watch the show when it airs in April and see if you recognize me ;)

Cold Wind Tease

 

I thank everyone who made my adventures possibly in 2011 and look forward to some more amazing adventures in 2012.

Happy adventurous 2012!

Hjörtur

 

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Viking Legends - Where to go?

Vikings marching to Althing, the world's oldest parliament established in Thingvellir in AD 930. Image by Marja.

1. Thingvellir, Iceland

The birthplace of Althingi, the world's oldest present day parliament established in 930 by the Vikings. Without a superior power they created an assembly two weeks each year where all major decisions were made, including the remarkable peaceful transition from the ancient Norse paganism to Christianity in the year 1.000. A UNESCO world heritage site, not to mention the geological wonder that Thingvellir is, being a visual rift between the Eurasian and North-American tectonic plates, and the pure water of the Silfra rift that has been named one of the world's 10 best diving spots.

 

2. Birka, Sweden

On an island in Lake Mälaren, just west of Stockholm in Sweden, are the remains of Birka, one of the most important Viking age villages. From Birka, Viking expeditions to the east were planned and conducted, entering the river systems in Latvia and Russia. In Birka and the surroundings, thousands of Rune stones have been found which you can search for and try to read. Close to Birka is Hovgården, the home of the Swedish kings in the Viking age.

 

3. Jorvik Viking Festival, York, England

If you thought Vikings where only a part of the past, think again. For hundreds of years Vikings ruled Northern England from York city and in February each year Vikings from all over the Northern hemisphere gather at the Jorvik Viking Festival, fighting from dawn to dusk, drinking mead from dusk to dawn and selling their best hand craft in between.

 

4. Jarlshof, Shetland

Jarlshof  in the Shetland Islands is one of the most extensive ruins in all of the British isles, dating more than 2500 years of history. Majority of them being Norse ruins from the Viking period and the best preserved ones in the UK. One of the big mysteries there is how they got the cows through the tiny doors! While you're there, you might also like to check out their famous Shetland ponies.

 

5. Roskilde, Denmark 

Outside the town of Roskilde in Denmark an underwater graveyard for Viking ships was discovered. Many of those ships have been excavated and restored in the Viking ship museum in Roskilde. So if you want to see how the Vikings crossed the fierce North-Atlantic ocean 500 years before Christopher Columbus did, this is the place. Only a few kilometers away is Lejre, a living museum where the Kings of Denmark used to live at the times of the Vikings.

 

Yep, they still sail Viking ships in the Westfjords of Iceland. Some do at least ;) Image by Hjortur Smarason.

6. The Westfjords, Iceland

There probably isn't anywhere you can get as close to the real lives of Vikings as in the Westfjords, with the same unspoiled environment as 1.000 years ago. With almost no roads or urban development the ruins are still intact and the language and the names the same which makes it a unique experience to travel through the historical sights, getting detailed description of events from the Saga's like they just happened yesterday. Eiriksstaðir, the birthplace of Leif the Lucky; Lónfell, the mountain where Raven-Floki stood when he gave Iceland it's name; hot natural pools; untouched Viking graves and Viking ship excursions make this an exceptionally realistic Viking experience.

 

7. Eriksfjord, Greenland

Erik the Red occupied a large island in the west and gave it the name Greenland, which would have a stronger appeal to immigrants than the name Iceland. Brattahlid in Eriksfjord (Quassiarsuk) is his farm and the first church in the west was built there in the year 1.000. This is where Leif the Lucky started his journey to Vineland in the west. The Vikings lived there for over 400 years until they mysteriously dissapeared. Their original houses are still standing after 600 years, but no one knows what happened to the people. 

Inside Hvalsey church ruins. The last thing heard from the Vikings in Greenland was a wedding in this church on September 16th 1408. Image by Hjortur Smarason. 

8. L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland

The only Viking houses found so far in Canada and now a UNESCO world heritage site is L'Anse aux Meadows on the Northern most tip of Newfoundland.  Discovered in 1960 this is the first archelogical site in the new world that confirms the Saga's of Leif the Lucky and other Vikings who sailed west. If you're still in doubt, just visit L'Anse aux Meadows and see it with your own eyes.

 

9. Grettislaug, Skagafjordur, Iceland

Grettir the strong is one of the most famous Vikings for his remarkable achievements. He was an outcast, hiding in Drangey, a steep rocky island in Skagafjordur. On shore there is a hot natural pool where he could warm him self after swimming from the island. If you're not up for the swim in the Arctic ocean, there are boat trips available. After he was killed his killers were chased as far as to Constantinople (Istanbul) for revenge.

 

10. The rivers of Russia

Want to head out on a Viking voyage? The Vikings had a way with tilting their ships to drag them over land and on to new rivers. That way you can sail from the Baltic ocean through Latvia, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine following Volga to the Caspian Sea and the Daugava and Dnepr rivers into the Black Sea and further on to Constantinople. Important Viking cities along the way are Novgorod in Russia and Kiev in Ukraine. And if you look closely, you might stumble upon some rune carvings along the way.

The world's largest Viking silver treasure, found in Spillinge in Gotland. Weighing 67 kilos of bracelets and islamic coins. Image from 10ga.com.

11. The Treasures of Gotland

Gotland is an island in the Baltic Sea and was an important trading point in the Viking Age. The Vikings of Gotland became wealthy merchants with great influence in Novgorod in Russia connecting them with Eastern European and Cenral-Asian trading routes. Nowhere in the world have as many silver hoards been found, or more then 700, consisting mainly of ancient Arabic, German and English coins.

 

12. Borg in Lofoten, Norway.

In Borg in Lofoten the world's largest Viking long house has been escavated and rebuilt. It is now a living museum where you can experience the Viking lifestyle first hand. In the year 890 the house was abondened when it's last Viking chief Olaf Tvennumbruni left along many other local chieftains to settle in Iceland instead of fighting the king who was uniting Norway.  Every other year this event is brought to life again at Borg. Olaf's grave is known but still unearthed in Iceland.

 

13. The Isle of Man

Strategically located equally far from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, the Isle of Man attracted Vikings who established their still operating parliament, Tynwald in AD 979. The inhabitants still have strong ties with their Viking roots who have been a modifying element in their culture ever since.

 

Fading Viking runes on an ancient Greek lion in Venice. Image by Hjortur Smarason.

14. Rune "graffiti" around the world

The Vikings were true explorerers with routes of trading and exploring stretching far into Central Asia and America. Some say as far as Azerbajdan in the East and Minnesota in the West. Like "tourists" have done for centuries, they often left their mark - runes! Runes that have been found include places like the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the debated Kelsington stone in Minnesota and the Piraeus lion in Venice. So keep your eyes open.

Go explore, modern Viking!

Hjörtur

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Viking Navigation Tools - The Sunstone

Long before the magnetic compass reached Europe, the Vikings were sailing across oceans to both the east and west, discovering new lands in the west such as Iceland and Greenland and even discovering America. 

Many have wondered how they managed to navigate across the ocean with no land in sight. Of course they used the sun and the stars for navigation, but in the summer time you see no stars this far north, and on a cloudy day, you see no sun either. 

In the sagas you can read about something called a Sunstone, a magical stone that could help navigators find the sun even on a cloudy day. In the Hrafns Saga it says: "the weather was thick and stormy . . . The king looked about and saw no blue sky . . . then the king took the sunstone and held it up, and then he saw where [the Sun] beamed from the stone." So when the traditional methods failed, the sunstone was the magic tool good navigators used.

In 1967 Danish archeologist Thorkild Ramskou put forward a theory about the sunstone as being a natural crystal used for the polarization of the skylight. Crystals that could be used for navigation this way with 5° accuracy are found in southern Norway and in Iceland you can find a common calcite crystal called the Icelandic spar, that can be used for navigation with 1° accuracy. Ramskou's theories were widely accepted in the beginning but no evidence has though been found to support it. Crytical voices have therefore become ever more louder.

Yesterday, researchers led by Guy Ropars from the Rennes University in Bretagne, France, published a study in the journal "Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical Physical & Engineering Sciences" where they claim to have discovered what crystal they used and how.

"The Vikings could have discovered this, simply by choosing a transparent crystal and looking through it through a small hole in a screen," study researcher Guy Ropars wrote in an email to LiveScience. "The understanding of the complete mechanism and the knowledge of the polarization of light is not necessary."

I used to play with these crystals as a kid, seeing how the light polarized going through them, reading double when I laid them over text and so forth. But I never realized they could be used as a compass as well. When held up against the center of the sky, the sunlight would get polarized into an ordinary beam and extraordinary beam. By seeing how these two beams line up according to the angle of the sun, it can be used to locate the sun even though it is not visible. While there is sunlight this works, even though there are clouds blocking the sun or though it has gone a few degrees below the horizon. That would have been particularly useful as the sun goes just below the horizon during the bright summer nights, leaving no stars visible but yet no direct sun.

No evidence have yet been found in Viking settlements of the use of this crystal, but a suncompass with a an Icelandic crystal was discovered in a ship wreck from 1592 in the English channel. One thing that supports that this crystal was indeed a sun compass is that on board that ship was a large metal cannon that would have distorted a magnetic compass. 

The study group created a prototype of a Viking sun compass using this crystal, that turned out to work particularly well as a navigation tool when the sun is beyond the horizon, and even after the stars come out (see image above). 

Hjörtur

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Map from webexhibits.

Magnificent Northern Lights Last Night

The Northern lights above my house last night - and the Imagine Peace Tower in the distance.

This year and the next are exceptionally good for viewing the Northern lights here up in the Arctic. Last night was no exception. The light pollution from the cities sometimes makes it difficult to see the northern lights but last night they were so intense that filled almost the entire sky. They had the classic green colour but I have seldom if ever seen them as wide as last night. 

If you've ever wanted to see the Northern lights, I highly recommend starting to plan a trip to Iceland this winter or the next! You will not regret it. We can't guarantee you'll see them lights, but it's close!

The Northern lights over Reykjavik last night (shot from a balcony in Reykjavik by Eva Olafsdottir):

And these are of the Northern lights in Qaqortoq in Greenland last night (by Gert Hansen):

Don't miss out on this unique phenomenon! Come on over! :)

Hjörtur

Who Discovered America?

Who discovered America? Columbus? Leif Eriksson? The answer was known for almost 500 years before Columbus got there as the tales of the Viking voyages to the lands in the west were preserved in both oral tradition and written down in the Icelandic Sagas.

Written in a language still spoken here in Iceland, my native language, the sagas have preserved the knowledge of the discovery of America, the Viking voyages to the new lands in the west, Greenland, Helluland, Markland and Vineland. In the last decades, archeological finds have been confirming the sagas, proofing they are not just myths but tales of true events. Some theories say that Christopher Columbus came to Iceland and possibly Greenland as a young man and heard the stories of Leif's discovery of America long before he set sail himself to explore the new world.

This is an interesting documentary "Vikings - Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson" about the Viking voyages and Leif Eriksson's discovery of America, which I highly recommend watching.

 

Who discovered America is of course a question that isn't really important. What is important is to acknowledge that people have been able to travel over the ocean for centuries and communicated across cultures, lands and oceans even though those voyages didn't all make it to the history books. An interesting point made in this documentary is that the verification of Leif's discovery of America completes the world round trip of human mankind.

I proudly add, that I am a direct descendant of Guðríður Þorbjarnardottir, the woman who gave birth to the first European on American soil :)

Hjörtur

- Who Discovered America? -

 

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Greenland Be a Pioneer - New video with a song from Nanook

I love Greenland has just released a new video with footage from fascinating Greenland, it's nature, it's culture, it's people. 

The song in the video is from Nanook's just released album, but Nanook is Greenland's most popular pop band at the moment and one I highly recommend!

 

Hjörtur

Let's make their dream come true! #TTOT

You love to travel, right? You value the enrichening experience of getting to know an exotic culture, different ways of thinking, different ways of doing things. You know the feeling of freedom when standing somewhere far away ready to explore something few of your friends have seen. I know you do and that's why I know you'll understand this:

In a little village on the east coast of Greenland is a group of ten ninth graders who've been invited to participate in a en exhibition in the Netherlands in January - and to teach Dutch kids in Leiden and Amsterdam to make toys - the Greenlandic way! 

It all started two years ago when a Dutch anthropologist, Cunera Buijs, came to visit the village of Kulusuk in east Greenland and saw the schools exhibition of things they had been making during that winter. Buijs was taken by surprise by the artistical expression, the rich heritage and by the use of recycled materials which makes their work quite unique. Buijs works at the Volkenkunde museum in Leiden and after telling the board about the childrens work in Kulusuk, they were invited to exhibit them as a part of their ethnographical collection in the museum on an East-Greenlandic exhibition in January 2012. 

This is a fantastic opportunity for both the Greenlandic kids to go out and learn about the world, and for the Dutch kids to learn about something completely different from what they know. 

I can easily relate to that myself, because the summer after 8th great I went on a school trip myself - to that exact same school in Kulusuk. It was a fantastic experience, seeing how kids our age were living in Greenland, travelling on a dog sledge, living in a village with only one car where there was no running water except in a handful of houses, seeing a drum dancer and watch one of the old masters of tubilaq carving at work. It was completely different from what I knew and yet this was in the village closest to my home village in Iceland, only about 400 km away. It was an experience that enriched me and my understanding of the world - and I still have some of the amazing artwork I got when I was there. I'm forever grateful for this fantastic opportunity I got to broaden my mind.

These kids have only once been outside of Greenland before, when they went to Kopavogur in Iceland to learn to swim. That's the only time they have had the change to see a movie, to go into a swimming pool, to see a cow. Things that most of us take for granted.

There is one obstacle though. It is a long journey and an expensive one. They have applied for several different grants and support from authorities in Greenland, Denmark and the Netherlands. They have got more than half of what they need, but are still short of 8.330 Euros, and now it looks like they have to cancel the trip. That would be such a shame as cultural exchange of this sort can be such an inspiration both to kids in Greenland as well as in the Netherlands. I would hate to see that happen so I wanted to try to help them. I can't give them the money they need, but maybe I can help them raise them, Maybe we, you, me and all our online friends, can help them raise the money needed to make this fantastic adventure of two different cultures crossing in Leiden in January.

I have therefore created a donation account in their name on PayPal with the aim of raising the 8.330 Euros needed so these ten kids from Kulusuk can go to Leiden in the Netherlands with their exhibition. If you can donate 30 Euros, 20 Euros or even just 10 Euros it will get use one step closer to the goal. And more importantly, if you can share this with your friends on Facebook, on twitter, on your blog or via email, I believe we can make this happen. It all adds up! If we can get 50 people a day donate 10 Euros on average, we can do it in only 17 days!

 

 

But we have to move fast. They need to raise the money fast to be able to book plane tickets so we need to collect these 8.330 Euros ASAP and no later than December 31st.

Dear online friends, I have seen the power we have when we help each other out. You have helped me reach over 800.000 people in 213 countries allowing them to vote for the next US president on IfTheWorldCouldVote.com. You have helped me and my family competing against 12.000 others and win 365 hotel nights so I can travel more around the world with my 5 kids which is invaluable. I can never pay you all back for the help, but I can pay it forward by asking my social network to help someone else. By donating only a few Euros each, we can offer these kids a life changing experience. Let's make this happen and give these kids from one of the most isolated villages in the world the chance to go to Europe and to show Europe what they are capable of!

With deep gratitude
Hjörtur 

 

UPDATE: The donation button has been fixed. It's not possible to send money to Greenland via Paypal, so the donation will go through KALAK, the Iceland-Greenland friendship association in Iceland and the account is in their name. Thank you for your contribution!

Goal: 8.330 Euros
Collected: 736 Euros
To go: 7.594 Euros

If you donate more than 100 Euros, I'll give you a mention and a link here below :) 

Life in Qaqortoq, South Greenland

Qaqortoq is South Greenlands biggest town with just over 3.500 inhabitants. Located on a peninsula it's colourful houses spread up from the waterfront of both the ocean and a lake and up to the top of the hills. It's all built on bedrock as there is little flat land and little soil.

Thousands of kilometers from the nearest city it is about as remote as you can imagine. There are few shops, though they are surprisingly many considering the size of the town, and the longest road leading out of town ends after about two kilometers. That is about as far as you can get by car. How can anyone live in such a place you might wonder.

Sure, some were born here and don't know anything else. Here is all their network, their friends, their family, their way of living. But I have been meeting so many people in the last days here that had no connection to the place prior to their arrival. They just fell in love with it and there was no turning back.  

Kids playing down by the harbour.

One of the first things you notice, beside the colourful houses, is how full of live the town is. Only few people own a car but their are 16 taxis in town, yeah, a bit like New York, just not as many. Except here you also see children all over the place, running, hiding, playing - not like in New York. With only one TV channel (unless you have a satellite), and a very expensive internet connection the kids aren't waisting all their time in front of the TV or the computer. It reminds me of the life I lived when I was a kid growing up in a remote fishing village in the Westfjords in Iceland. We may have been only three kids in my class, but we didn't mind playing with kids a little bit older or younger, and we were never, ever bored. There was always something to do, playing down by the sea, up in the hills, running around in freedom turning the simplest things into the greatest adventures and enjoying the company of each other.

I met an Icelandic family that moved to Qaqortoq in January - with their 18 year old daughter. As you can imagine, she wasn't all too happy about moving to such place and arrived with an attitude. That had completely changed within two days as the Greenlandic kids welcomed her with open arms and before she knew it she had become a part of a great group of new friends. Now she is back in Iceland for some studies and can't wait to get back.

Boats parked outside the houses. Not cars. A bit like Venice ;)

Altough it may appear as you couldn't be more stuck as in this place there are people that experience this as the biggest freedom you could ever dream off. A place where kids can play freely, a place located in the middle of magnificent unspoiled nature, a place where you only have to sail for two minutes and you're in a place where it looks like no man has ever been before, a place so full of life and wild animals with seals, whales, reindeer, birds, hares, moskus, foxes running around, rivers filled with salmon and trout, sea filled with fish and with boats as common as cars are in most places you just grab your boat and go out to hunt or fish what ever delicasy you'd like for dinner.

And if you do need to get away, there's an international airport just a few minutes helicopter ride away (with daily helicopter rides over their) with connections to Iceland and Denmark where from you can reach any other place in the world.

Just think about it. What is it that really matters in your life? What is it that you really need to have around you to be happy? What is that your weekends are all about?

This might not be as crazy as it sounds. So, what do you think, could you ever live in such a place? 

Hjörtur

 

Sunrise in Qaanaaq in Greenland

After saying farewell to the sun 22 weeks ago, the people of Qaanaaq in North Greenland were anxiously awaiting to embrace the warm rays of the rising sun. February 17th is the big day when the first rays of the sun appear above the horizon. 

The kids from the school went with their teachers along with other inhabitants from the village, up to the hills above the town to greet the sun. Unfortunately, February 17th was a cloudy day in Qaanaaq so they didn't see the sun that day. But it's there and will stay for a little longer each day. 

After listening to a little welcome speech from one of the teacher and singing "Ii, seqernup qaammaringaarluni" to the sun, they went back to the school for some hot cocoa and pastry. 

Hjörtur
(via Sermitsiaq)

Image: Dan D Normann