Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2016, Qupperneq 58

It’s a picture-perfect Reykjavík morn-
ing—clear skies, bright sunlight, a
calm current—one of the last of
summer, maybe. I stand on a wob-
bly dock in front of a ship that looks
quite out of place next to the fancy
coast guard and fishing vehicles that
pepper the harbour. It’s wooden, with
bright painted shields outlining the
edges and a large fabric sail. Aboard,
a man dressed in red cloth with intri-
cate embroidery motions me aboard.
“Welcome to the Reykjavík Viking
Adventure,” he proclaims warmly.
I smile and snap a photo. It’s not ev-
eryday you see a real-life heathen.
The website of Reykjavík Viking
Adventure advertises “Sail like a Vi-
king,” but what it doesn’t advertise
is that you also get to dress like a vi-
king. This includes a steel wool cape
and a viking pin—very ‘Fellowship
of the Ring’. It goes over our lifejack-
ets, which makes me feel more like
Igor from ‘Young Frankenstein’ than
Frodo, but nonetheless, it’s savage.
My guides explain that these simple
garbs are historically accurate, but I
must admit I’m a bit sad we don’t get
steel helmets or chain mail. Nonethe-
less, I happily don my viking-wear.
Heavy metal
The boat is named Vésteinn. It was
built in 2008 by the Þingeyri Viking
Club in Dýrafjörður in the West-
fjörds, and is an exact replica of a
890 AD viking ship found in Nor-
way. They are quick to mention that
there is metal in this one, though,
which is inauthentic. I decide to
forgive them—I’d rather not drown.
We set off. The boat doesn’t trav-
el particularly fast, but it’s comfort-
able. It’s fast enough to blow your
hair back but slow enough that you
can walk from bow to stern without
feeling unsafe. The guides let me
steer the boat for a bit, which is
terrifying but certainly memorable.
We soon arrive in puffin ter-
ritory. This late in the season the
islands are inhabited mostly by
seagulls but nonetheless we find
one lone puffin and have fun track-
ing it. The little guy paddles over to
the boat to say hello before flying
away, hopefully to meet its puffin
brothers in the sea. During this in-
terlude, our guides offer us hard-
fiskur, which most of the tourists
in the boat have not yet tried. They
proclaim it dry but manageable. Of
course, they didn’t try it with butter.
Justin Lothbrök
Whenever the boat is moving, the
guides regale us with stories from
the Sagas. They are incredibly
knowledgeable about them, man-
aging to bring these old tales to life
with ease. “You don’t understand,
these guys were like celebrities to
these people,” one jokes, and we all
laugh. I’ve never thought about it
that way. Egill: Justin Bieber. Hall-
gerður Langbrók: Kim Kardashian.
It’s putting these old stories in a
whole new light for me.
A little more than an hour later,
we’re back at that wobbly dock. I
disembark and thank my guides
for a lovely morning. The Reykjavík
Viking Adventure is a relaxing jour-
ney—no adrenaline here—but it’s
still an interesting and inventive
new attraction in the city. Overall,
this trip would be ideal for families
with small kids—especially those
who are obsessed with vikings and
other mythical stories—or for those
who have come to Iceland having al-
ready read the Sagas, eager to con-
verse with like-minded scholars.
I’ve never dove into the Sagas
before, but when I got home from
my boat ride, I downloaded ‘Egil's
Saga’ and I’m currently working
through it. So thanks Reykjavík Vi-
king Adventure, you’ve officially
converted another.

Trip provided by
reykjavikvikingadventure.is
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A Seabound Saga
Sailing like a viking in Reykjavík
Words HANNAH JANE COHEN Photos TIMOTHÉE LAMBRECQ
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2016
58
Open 11:30-22:00
saegreif inn. is
Geirsgata 8 • 101 Reykjavík • Tel. 553 1500 • seabaron8@gmail.com
An absolute
must-try!
Saegreifinn restaurant (Sea Baron) is like none other
in Iceland; a world famous lobster soup and a diverse
fish selection.
MONSTER
OF THE
MONTH
Fylgja Spirit
Companion
Folklore claims
that when a baby
is born, part of
its soul remains,
as a unique be-
ing, in the membrane that sur-
rounds it in the womb and which
later emerges as the afterbirth.
This being is called a fylgja and
will become the baby’s leader and,
most likely, protector. It was re-
ferred to as sacred and may have
been associated with destiny and
fortune in previous times, some-
times to be bestowed upon friends
and their kin.
As this was the case, good
care was to be taken of the af-
terbirth. This did not prove to be
easy, however. It was often cast
out, sometimes to be devoured by
scavengers or stepped on by men
and animals. It was furthermore
claimed that the fylgja would take
the form of whoever first stepped
over it or ate it. Prudent parents
and attending women would thus
bury it, preferably under a thresh-
old or where the mother would
pass first and most frequently, so
that the fylgja would take her shape
and be virtually indistinguishable
from her appearance.
Because of the ever-present
chance of men and animals pre-
ceding the mother, the custom
of burning the afterbirth became
common. This is said to be the rea-
son why so many now have a fylgja
in the shape of a gleam, glimmer,
moon or light, although they can
allegedly take any form. People
have now taken up the custom of
using a light to make the sign of
the cross over a newborn baby for
this purpose.
Something or another accom-
panies each man, benevolent or
malicious in nature. Some beings
are attached to abodes, and many
are attached to various sites and
domains. Land, air, fire and water
also have fylgjas of their own.
Source: Sigfús Sigfússon, Íslenskar
þjóðsögur og sagnir II, p. 283.
"Monster of the Month" is a spin off of 'The Museum of Hidden
Beings', by artist Arngrímur Sigurðsson. He delved into Iceland´s
mythological history, taking creature encounters from across
the centuries and bringing them to life through painting in an act
of creative cryptozoology. Find the book at bookstores, or order it
online at arngrimur.com.
ADVENTURE