"Nerd-ing out" (a longer post)

It's funny sometimes what shocks or surprises us. Today I experienced a surprise that was surreal, one in which you realize the world is bigger than you.

I spend a lot of my young adult life enjoying historical literature and spend years pouring over books about WWII (because it was my first interest and I felt connected somehow, though to be fair I don't have any Jewish or German relatives). I adored reading the personal stories of peoples journeys through the labyrinth of disaster and hope. I had not felt that same sort of surreality in a long time...until today.

Margaret and I made our way down to Roskilde to see the Vikingeskibs Museet (Viking Ship Museum). The train ride was about 25 minutes and it was extremely relaxing (note: if you ever travel within Denmark, take the train, it's such a lovely experience). I had a basic and limited knowledge of what we would encounter once we got to the museum, but Margaret is an Archeology student so I knew I was in good hands. We entered the museum which looked fairly small, paid our tickets and threw our things in a locker. Once we walked over to where the boats were placed and I was in, well, shock. There were 5 large viking ships (some more complete than others) laying before our eyes.

The ships themselves have a rich history; during the 11th century the Vikings needed to protect their land against naval attacks and sunk 5 of their ship by filling them with rocks. The ships formed a kind of makeshift barrage and were discovered about 20 km north of Roskilde. The details are fuzzy as to what and who the Vikings were trying to keep out, but the ships shed new light on the ways in which the Vikings constructed their boats. Standing beside one of the larger ships, like the war ship for instance, brought butterflies to my stomach. Could you imagine living on one of those ships? No protection from the weather and certainly a lot of men crammed together to make everything work the way it was supposed to.

In 2007/2008, experimental research Archeologists sailed a replica of ships to Dublin. The project was a culmination of 25 years of research. They built the ship with the same type of materials, raw (wo)man power and determination as the Vikings did. The crew was comprised of 65 people, mostly volunteers. Looking at the footage and seeing how they lived during their time on that ship made me realize the vast and incredible things that mankind is capable of. Working as a team to create, sail and tolerate one and other for over 500 hours at sea.

(Margaret and I dressed like Vikings)

I felt like I was "nerd-ing out" a lot today, but it also brought new discovery to my love for history that I had lost or forgotten about. The Vikings were an incredible people that worked together, not apart, to achieve greatness. Plus they had some pretty badass poetry:

"Better gear

than good-sense

A traveller cannot carry,

A more tedious burden

than too much drink

A traveller cannot carry."

Elsker,

Meghan