“The Viking expansion in the North Atlantic was very different from the Viking raids in the British Isles—from the start, settlement was the main motive. Though Danes and Swedes were involved, the settlement of the Faeroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland was dominated by emigrants from Norway.” This I learned from the book The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings by John Haywood (Penguin Books, 1995.) He went on to say that the Viking expansion into Iceland was a by-product of the raids on the Scottish Islands. The environment is like that of western Norway; and so, in the first half of the 9th century the Norse began to settle permanently in the area. “The leaders of the settlements were aristocrats of middling rank”, and as the authority and power in Scandinavia was consolidated into fewer hands due to the increasing complexities of, and need to control, trade and population growth, the middle ranks were forced to emigrate and establish their own domains. The Icelandic system of governance was probably very similar to that of Scandinavia. “The settlements in the Faeroes and Iceland were the only permanent extensions to the Scandinavian world to result from the Viking expansion, and in that lies their main historical significance.”
Plus, Iceland is beautiful, rugged and challenging! Travelers come for the adventure!
We have been to Djupivogur before. Our memories of this town are pleasant. It seems to always be cold, overcast and drizzly but the people are warm and friendly; the diverse establishments are charming and welcoming. The sheer beauty of the land overcomes the dreary nature of the weather.
Here are our photos of Djupivogur; we hope you will get a sense of how special this place can be.
We anchored at Djupivogur, Iceland.We hadn’t remembered such a long tender ride to the dock. Town is almost a mile and a half away!The Framtid Hotel is our favorite hang-out. They have a lovely coffee lounge with WIFI; an elegant restaurant; and a superb staff. On a sunny day, it’s pleasant to sit out on the deck but today is overcast with a slight wind. We opted to stay inside.But it is a nice view from the deck, overlooking the harbor and the Langabud Cultural Center and Local Heritage Museum.Since we were last here, the town has grown. We found a new restaurant in town! The Vid Voginn is more a cafe/fast food operation with burgers,fries, beer and wine on the moderately extensive menu.And look at this! The town now has a pedestrian crosswalk. No trafic lights, mind you, but tourism must be booming.The gift shop is still there.Love the birds!Hotel Left, Snack Bar Ahead, Souveniers Right. Photo taken from the tender dock.Walking up to the Bondavarda Farmers’ Cairn.Bondavarda Farmer’s Cairn: at sunrise, June 6,1627, marauders from North Africa rowed ashore in Djupivogur. They caught farmers still in their homes; bound them; and rushed them to the waiting boats. Over a hundred slaves were taken. What a sad story.The town was devastaed and the survivors built the cairn and kept watch at this lookout point above the village for a long time. (Interestingly, the British used this spot for surveying the ocean during WWII.)It’s a stunning view of the town from the Cairn.Certainly well worth the hike!Afterwards, we needed to try out the new restaurant! We had an appetizer of fried mozzarella with a salsa-style dipping sauce followed by burgers and fries. The soup of the day was a hearty red bean soup.Do note the electric automobile charging stations outside the new restaurant!This was our afternoon libation.As was this! Both drinks were very good!And so the day came to a close and we headed back to the tender.I want to close with this lovely view of the MS Rotterdam taken from the Bondavarda Farmers’ Cairn.
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I enjoy looking at your photos and it is great blog:)
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