Vikings in the Harbor
These men came from Norway to Scotland in this boat, which has no motor. If the wind wasn't blowing, they used the oars. They slept on deck. We met Hakkan, their captain, who was a very cheery person. When he heard my Scandinavian-sounding surname, he said "something or other something or other Norsk?" So I could shake my head no, assuming he asked something like 'do you speak Norwegian' or 'are you Norwegian'? If he was asking something else, I might have caused an international incident, so I made sure I smiled as I replied.
This boat was my favorite of the old time boats collecting in harbors around the north coast of Scotland as part of a flotilla that is some part of a celebration of Highland Culture 2007. We caught up with them in Lybster, which is a pictuire post card village with a very intersting museum along the harbor. I first visited the museum when I came to Scotland as a tourist. When I came again, I looked up my name in the visitor book. A year can make a big difference. And now another couple years have passed and I am chatting with friends and neighbors while I queue for a cup of tea.
posted by landgirl @ 7:38 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I bet it felt good chatting and being like a native. I think people like your blog because the world is changing so fast they sometimes feel like a non-native even in their own land.
Wow! That was fast; I just posted this a moment or two ago. That's an interesting comment. I agree things move so fast that 'native' is transitory even for more or less indigenous folks.
when landgirl saw the skipper of the Viking boat she nearly passed out at how alike her father Hakon looked // after 5 generations since leaving Ireland and who knows how many before that to find a Viking with such a resemblance was WOWING // a lovely boat which one could easily visualise riding the rollers of the sea like a gull// no wonder Leif Ericson found Labrador in some thing a bit bigger but with the same lines // scorrie //
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