The Viking ship Draken Harald Hårfagre, the world’s largest Viking ship, will arrive in Reykjavík tonight or early tomorrow morning. The expedition had originally planned to arrive in Reykjavík on May 3, but unexpected problems had caused delays. The local news site visir.is now reports the ship will arrive today or tomorrow, nearly a week after schedule. It will be moored in the old harbor in downtown Reykjavík, near the Maritime Museum.
Read more: World‘s largest Viking ship heading to Iceland. Arrives in Reykjavík on May 3
A formal reception will be held tomorrow at 14:00, but the ship will stay in Iceland for 2-3 days, and be open to the public between 16:00 and 18:00 during those days. From Reykjavík the ship will sail to Greenland where it will stop in Qaqortoq, which is located in the historic Eystribyggð, the larger of the two Viking settlements in Greenland.
Read more: What happened to the Viking settlement of Greenland? New research shows cooling weather not a factor
The crew has had to make two unplanned stops on its route from Norway to North America. The ship left Haguesund in Norway on April 26, but quickly discovered technical problems, forcing it to seek harbor in Lerwick in the Shetland Islands for repairs. On April 30 the ship again set to sea, heading to Reykjavík, but on May 2 the crew and shop had to seek harbor in the Faroe Islands due to weather.
Although these stops could be seen as setbacks for the Norwegian led mission, they also show the importance of the numerous Norse settlements in the North Atlantic, both in the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands and the Orkneys, but also Scotland and Ireland, for the settlement of Iceland. Each settlement served as a stepping stone for further westward expansion. Iceland ultimately serving as the base for the colonization of Greenland and the discovery of North America by the Icelandic born Leifur Eiríksson.
The Viking ship Draken Harald Hårfagre, the world’s largest Viking ship, will arrive in Reykjavík tonight or early tomorrow morning. The expedition had originally planned to arrive in Reykjavík on May 3, but unexpected problems had caused delays. The local news site visir.is now reports the ship will arrive today or tomorrow, nearly a week after schedule. It will be moored in the old harbor in downtown Reykjavík, near the Maritime Museum.
Read more: World‘s largest Viking ship heading to Iceland. Arrives in Reykjavík on May 3
A formal reception will be held tomorrow at 14:00, but the ship will stay in Iceland for 2-3 days, and be open to the public between 16:00 and 18:00 during those days. From Reykjavík the ship will sail to Greenland where it will stop in Qaqortoq, which is located in the historic Eystribyggð, the larger of the two Viking settlements in Greenland.
Read more: What happened to the Viking settlement of Greenland? New research shows cooling weather not a factor
The crew has had to make two unplanned stops on its route from Norway to North America. The ship left Haguesund in Norway on April 26, but quickly discovered technical problems, forcing it to seek harbor in Lerwick in the Shetland Islands for repairs. On April 30 the ship again set to sea, heading to Reykjavík, but on May 2 the crew and shop had to seek harbor in the Faroe Islands due to weather.
Although these stops could be seen as setbacks for the Norwegian led mission, they also show the importance of the numerous Norse settlements in the North Atlantic, both in the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands and the Orkneys, but also Scotland and Ireland, for the settlement of Iceland. Each settlement served as a stepping stone for further westward expansion. Iceland ultimately serving as the base for the colonization of Greenland and the discovery of North America by the Icelandic born Leifur Eiríksson.
