Summer Travel Fun: Scandinavia's Viking Market

Part of the allure of a Scandinavian vacation is the rich Viking history. These often misunderstood traders have been both romanticized and demonized by various books throughout history. There is a large society in Scandinavia dedicated to reenactment and teaching the truth about Vikings. They travel around Denmark, Norway, and Sweden staying at the numerous recreated Viking Settlements. During the summer, they come from all European cities to ply their wares in conjunction with their educational aspects. It is much like a Renaissance Festival in the United States, but of course centering around the Viking era (750-1050 A.D.) Having been to a ton of these settlements and traveled the area extensively, I can tell you that the Viking Market is the best way to get a feel for the truth of these ancient folks, as well as a great place to just have a whole lot of family fun on your travels.

We caught up to the members of this Viking Society at Sweden's Foteviken Museum just south of Malmo last weekend (end of June 2007.) Being a true geek when it comes to historical reenactments, I donned my fantasy Rogue Medieval garb, forced my husband into a Viking shirt and belt pouch, and away we went. Yes, I was out of period for this, but it was still fun and I got a lot of attention. Apparently the Viking folks don't normally mix with the Fantasy/Renaissance Festival folks too often, so I was something of a treat and posed for numerous pictures. It was hella fun, and an event I highly recommend you make travel plans around if you are at all interested in Vikings.

Mostly, Vikings were a peaceful lot. They were traders by nature and infiltrated just about every country they could to get to by Longboat... even the United states pre-Columbus. There is a little truth to the whole pillaging and plundering thang, as that was the nature of the time period, but for the most part Vikings were actually less violent than most groups back then. They much preferred to make an honest trade than to flat out take what they wanted.

When you attend a Viking Market at any location, you can expect to come away with a lot more than a smile. The settlements they set the market up at are usually full-blown recreations of Viking villages. They have hovels you can explore and snap pictures of to your hearts content, with Viking ships usually anchored right off the coast. Yes, being a seafaring bunch, these settlements dot the coast of Scandinavia. You can't very well launch a ship with no water, right? OK then. Skirt the coast of Scandinavia in the summer and you are sure to stumble on one of these numerous settlements and find a Viking Market.

Vendors come from around Europe to participate in this roving market each summer. My husband managed to come home with a wonderful hand carved knife and sheath for his belt that he bought from an Italian vendor. I came away with a really cool walking stick carved to honor Loke (Loki to you Americans) from a German vendor. In addition to those, there were sellers from England, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, the Netherlands... just about anywhere you can think of was represented this year, the biggest ever.

It is not just all about the vendors during this market though. This troupe of reenactors actually live and breath the Viking time period for the duration of the summer. They live in the hovels and tents and prepare everything true to period from clothing to food. You can watch them carding wool, skinning various creatures, cooking over open fires... you really feel like you have stepped back in time when you attend one of these Viking Markets. They are well-versed in the period and more than happy to answer any questions you may have. In fact, that is what they live for. So do ask away if you have any questions.

Pricing at the market is not bad at all. You can get a kirtle in just about every price range. The best of course are all hand made and embroidered, never touching a sewing machine... but that will cost you in the range of about 1,000 US dollars. Those are for the rich or the hard core. If you are more like me and like period clothing but lean towards fantasy, go ahead and buy one sewn on a machine for closer to 75 bucks. Lars' knife was 350SEK, or about 50 US, and my hand carved walking stick was 30 Euros. Yes indeed, the majority of the Viking vendors will take any number of currencies including all Scandinavian monies as well as the Euro. they will give your change back in the current country's currency though. I paid in Euro for my stick, but got Swedish Kronor back... so do make yourself knowledgeable about conversions. You are not likely to get ripped off here, but still... better safe than sorry.

If you are at all into Vikings, Historical reenactments, or just history in general then you owe it to yourself to plan to attend a summer Viking Market no matter which country in Scandinavia you are setting your travel sights on. You do not have to dress the part, but it sure is fun!