Viking ship

We took a little field trip today. I had seen that the Viking ship which is housed in Geneva was having an open day, so decided we needed to go back and revisit it. We are doing the Middle Ages after all, which is when the Vikings were at the height of their exploring and invading. This was one of the first local field trips we took the first year we were here about 4 1/2 years ago. Some of the younger people knew we had gone, but didn't really remember it. Plus, I knew that J. would enjoy seeing it.

Walking along one side of the ship.

A better view of the rudder.

Looking down on the deck and where the mast would go.

Some things hadn't changed at all, which I wouldn't expect them to. But there were two pieces of exciting new. When we were there last time, the Friends of the Viking Ship were raising money to create a permanent home for the ship. As you can see it is currently housed under a fabric Quonset hut. It seems that they have now been able to put an offer on some property in order to reach this goal. The other piece of good news involves the dragon head and tail which would be mounted on the bow and the stern. Last time they were currently in the collection of the Museum of Science and Industry in storage. Now those two items have been transferred to the Friends of the Viking Ship and are currently being restored. 

One bit of information that was new to me this time... or maybe it wasn't new, I was just more interested. The ship originally had a wool sail and a wool cover under which the crew would shelter in bad weather. In Viking times, these would have been hand spun and hand woven. It suddenly occurred to me that it would be so cool to gather spinners and weavers together to recreate these items. Don't you think so? I asked if they had ever pursued this and no, they hadn't being more focused on finding the ship a permanent home. This makes sense, but it would still be cool to participate in. History... spinning.. weaving...  I left my name. 

If you are interested in the Vikings or ships or the 1893 World's Fair, you should go and see it, especially if you are in the area. I'll also throw in a book recommendation to read before hand. The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson is not about this particular ship, but is about men going a viking and the ships they went in. I know it sounds a bit dry, but I enjoyed it immensely; far more than I thought i would. It is a fantastic work of historical fiction and you will appreciate seeing an actual Viking ship even more after having read it. 

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