Decided to go to Vikingskiphuset (Viking Ship Museum) today. I always wanted to go there, but somehow, either I didn’t make it or just didn’t have the time to. And I’m glad I did, it was really educational to read and see how these ships are made even though I do find some of the stuff in the museum a little haunting. However, by and large, the ships and artefacts are just simply amazing.
Here’s the view at the entrance to the vikingskiphuset. It does look somewhat like a church :).
You pay 60Kr for entry fee and the first thing that you see is the viking souvenir shop. I found a pair of Christmas decoration that looks absolutely adorable ^_^. Yeah, there’s still the tourist in me :p.
The next batch of pictures are from the museum. A pity some of them were a bit blur. My photography skills aren’t that good perhaps :-/. All in all, the Oseberg ship is the most magnificent looking, the Gokstad one is supposedly the strongest, and the Tune ship is the most mysterious. Unfortunately, you would have to refer to wikipedia (the links above) as the photographed descriptions were not very legible.
While I was in the museum taking these pictures, you can sense the history and workmanship of these early Norsk craftsmen who did these ships. The museum has a very high ceiling and I’m not sure if I’m imagining things but I do felt as though they were just right beside me. :).
The artefacts section is kinda interesting. Lots of symbols, images, statues, and the so called “paganism”. It seems to depict how much morden Scandinavians have changed over the years. Maybe it is just a result of Christianity perhaps. But it seemed really rich with culture then.
Well, pictures talk and I think I’d rather let them do so, as I’m probably too awestruck to be an archaeological commentator.
Alas it was time to leave, and yes, I took a nice photo of the Oseberg before doing so :). Overall, the Vikingskiphuset was nice. I will not hesitate to visit this again. Next time, I will plan more time for it.
