Proposed trip
| Friday 7 may |
|
| Morning |
Arrive at Gothenburg International Airport |
| Afternoon |
Transfer to Strömstad 101 |
| Evening |
Big welcome party in the archipelago! |
| |
|
| Saturday 8 may |
|
| Morning |
Transfer to Lidköping 44 |
| Afternoon |
Oarsmanship with a real Viking boat! |
| Evening |
Dinner program. |
| |
|
| Sunday 9 may |
|
| Morning |
Transfer to Mariestad 50. |
| Afternoon |
Water games, Health cure at a spa. |
| Evening |
Dinner program. |
| |
|
| Monday 10 may |
|
| Morning |
Transfer to Skövde 48, 118 |
| |
Lunch at Ryttmästarbostället |
| Afternoon |
Company Visit |
| |
The Billinge Mountain with afternoon beer |
| Evening |
Home Parties! |
| |
|
| Tuesday 11 may |
|
| Morning |
Transfer to Skara 49. |
| Afternoon |
City walk with many bars and beers |
| Evening |
Dinner program. |
| |
|
| Wendesday 12 may |
|
| Morning |
Transfer to Tidaholm 84. |
| Afternoon |
Moose safari, Beacon museum |
| Evening |
Vintage cars, BBQ Party |
| |
Vikingtour Banner exchange Party ! |
| |
|
| Thursday 13 may |
|
| Morning |
Transfer to Hjo 141. |
| |
Cityguide with market. |
| Afternoon |
Transfer by boat to Swedish AGM |
| |
four hours with the craziest party boat ever. |
| |
Big bar and live music!! |
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The Viking Age
The period from the earliest recorded raids in the 790s until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 is commonly known as the Viking Age of Scandinavian history. The Normans, however, were descended from Danish Vikings who were given feudal overlordship of areas in northern France — the Duchy of Normandy — in the 10th century. In that respect, descendants of the Vikings continued to have an influence in northern Europe. Likewise, King Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England who was killed during the Norman invasion in 1066, had Danish ancestors. Many of the medieval kings of Norway and Denmark married into English and Scottish royalty and occasionally got involved in dynastic disputes.
Geographically, a "Viking Age" may be assigned not only to Scandinavian lands (modern Denmark, Norway and Sweden), but also to territories under North Germanic dominance, mainly the Danelaw, formerly the Kingdom of Northumbria, parts of Mercia, and East Anglia. Viking navigators opened the road to new lands to the north, west and east, resulting in the foundation of independent settlements in the Shetland, Orkney, and Faroe Islands; Iceland; Greenland and L'Anse aux Meadows, a short-lived settlement in Newfoundland, circa 1000 A.D. Many of these lands, specifically Greenland and Iceland, may have been originally discovered by sailors blown off course. They also may well have been deliberately sought out, perhaps on the basis of the accounts of sailors who had seen land in the distance. The Greenland settlement eventually died out, possibly due to climate change. Vikings also explored and settled in territories in Slavic-dominated areas of Eastern Europe, particularly the Kievan Rus. By 950 AD these settlements were largely Slavicized.
From 839, Varangian mercenaries in the service of the Byzantine Empire, notably Harald Hardrada, campaigned in North Africa, Jerusalem, and other places in the Middle East. Important trading ports during the period include Birka, Hedeby, Kaupang, Jorvik, Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod and Kiev.
There is archaeological evidence that Vikings reached the city of Baghdad, the center of the Islamic Empire. The Norse regularly plied the Volga with their trade goods: furs, tusks, seal fat for boat sealant and slaves. However, they were far less successful in establishing settlements in the Middle East, due to the more centralized Islamic power.
Generally speaking, the Norwegians expanded to the north and west to places such as Ireland, Iceland and Greenland ; the Danes to England and France, settling in the Danelaw (northern/eastern England) and Normandy ; and the Swedes to the east. These nations, although distinct, were similar in culture and language. The names of Scandinavian kings are known only for the later part of the Viking Age. Only after the end of the Viking Age did the separate kingdoms acquire distinct identities as nations, which went hand in hand with their Christianization. Thus the end of the Viking Age for the Scandinavians also marks the start of their relatively brief Middle Ages.