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Last weekend it was finally time for the most beautiful adventure of the summer, Bjørgvin Viking market right here in my home town :) The weather in Bergen has been really sunny and warm for the last month, and the historical grounds of the Hordamuseum were all green and luscious as always. 
The dry weather has led to a complete fire ban in the area, as even a small spark could be enough to start a forest fire. It felt a bit strange to have a whole market without the smell of bonfires and evenings sitting around the fire, but we were difinitely never cold (quite the opposite)! Luckily we could cool down by wading in the ocean and relaxing in the shade... ^^ 
My beautiful friend Viola came visiting with her two (soon to be three) little Vikings :) 
Strolling around the various market booths (so many temptations)... 
Enjoying refreshments from "Saladin's souk"... 
Saturday night feast! 
And before we knew it, it was Sunday morning and time to get up and out before risking to melt inside our sun-scorched tents :) Here we have LC waiting for food, in one of his usual funny sitting-positions. 
Our next market will be Hafrsfjordkaupangen in Møllebukta in the upcoming weekend, so stay tuned for more lovely Viking market feels! 🍃 # Comments
I've made a new addition to my Viking wardrobe, a hand-stitched reconstruction of the Heiðabý (Haithabu) aprondress. While most of my Viking wardrobe consists of greens and browns, this time I went for blue, the color of our group Folkvangr. 
My reconstruction is embellished with two decorative darts running down the back, decorated with 6-strand braids in grey and blue. While it is not known how far down they extended on the original dress, I chose to make mine run from the back and all the way down the hem of the skirt. 
I'm happy to have managed to get this in place in due time for my first Viking market of the summer (tradition dictates that I sit up all night for a few days before the season starts making last minute garments). But I like the feeling! Ready for this summers' markets, and to spend time with the best of friends—living, sleeping, cooking and eating under the open summer sky... ♥ References and further reading:
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The trefoil fibula is a brooch that is typical of the Viking Age, and has been found in various designs in a relatively large number of graves in different parts of Scandinavia as well as in other European countries. 
This particular one is based on a very well preserved find from a womans grave in Tranby, Buskerud, and is adorned with a Borre-style pattern. The original was in bronze and somewhat larger (8 cm). 
Another addition to my raven's nest of historical jewellery. ^^ Music: Myrkur - Två konungabarn # Comments
Yesterday was the first day of spring, but according to the Old Icelandic calendar, we have now just entered the last winter month, Einmánuðr. The weather is unpredictable, snow, rain, sun, frost, helter-skelter, but the earth is thawing and I can feel spring approaching—before we know it will be time to greet summer in one of the main feasts of the year. 
Music: Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik - Hugsjá # Comments
A youth club in our city is arranging a small viking event in a public park by the city centre of Bergen this weekend, and of course we had to visit and take a look. :) Temperatures were freezing, but the sun was shining and we had a lovely day outside wearing many layers of wool. 
It felt great to have such an early taste of the Viking market season, and I am looking forward to summertime more than ever! # Comments
We've had a great winter this year, and the weather has been especially lovely lately, sunny and cold. ^^ Christian and I had a wonderful time skiing at Voss with friends this weekend, one and a half hour from home. No Viking garb this time though, although I have been thinking of getting wooden skis...so perhaps next year? 
The super Norwegian jacket I'm wearing above is what I guess we could call vintage, I have some great childhood winter memories of my parent's wearing these jackets when skiing when we lived further up north where the winters were always snowy. 
The famous "Voss water" is actually not from Voss, but they do have a lot of good beer :) 
I fear I may be a bit stiff at work tomorrow—they say Norwegians are born with skis on their feet, but I had a few falls in the slopes today (bear in mind that I am only half Norwegian)! # Comments
Skartgripur, is an Icelandic word formed by the Old Norse "skart" (adornment, jewelry) and "gripr" (precious item). 
I wanted to show off this wonderful handmade torc that was given to me for Yule! Torcs, or neck rings, have been used in many different cultures and styles for thousands of years and were also common in the Viking Age. 
The original on which it is roughly based was actually an armring, twisted in silver threads with gilded animal heads dated to the Viking Age, found in Gotland, Sweden, where several armrings of this type have been found (More info & original photo by Ny Björn Gustafsson). 
Ps. The fur in these photos was another gift, it is not farmed but a wild red fox hunted in Norway. Red foxes are hunted here to control the stock and maintain species diversity, but while hunters often throw away the skins because they are time consuming to prepare and don't sell well, this one is put to good use and keeps me very warm during reenactment events. ^^ 
~ Music: Danheim - Nóatún # Comments
Happy new year dear followers! Til árs ok friðar! 
A new year means that it's time for my annual overview of Viking and Medieval events in Scandinavia. :-) You'll find a link to each event that provides more information. It's still early so some dates have not been set yet (TBA), and some markets are biennial and/or will not be arranged this year (N/A). The list will be updated continuously, at this permalink. If your market or event is not listed, please let me know and I'll make sure to add it!
I am so excited about the upcoming market season and looking forward to this year's new adventures! Perhaps I will be seeing you at some of them this year? Music: Moonsorrow - Tuulen Tytär including Soturin Tie # Comments |
 
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