Saturday, May 24, 2008

Newfoundland Viking site remarkable
The most famous Viking ruins can be seen at the former "Eastern Settlement" on the southwest tip of Greenland, near the present-day towns of Narsaq and Qassiarsuk. Here is found Brattahlid, the farm Eric the Red established in 986, as well as reconstructions of the bishop's residence at Gardar and Hvalsey Church.

Though these towns were not ports of call on our voyage, we did sail down the coast of Labrador, where Norse sagas report that Leif Ericson and other Viking explorers landed to harvest wood. But the main attraction for Viking buffs -- and a much more accessible one for Canadians -- is at the tip of Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula.


Nothing new; it's a bit of travel writing.