A Very Viking Visit

If you've watched the TV adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok - and even if you never did - you are going to love the Viking build by SoA Bad (call him Bad) as it is one of those atmospheric builds that will thrill you and make you slip on your hangerok, finish your drykkju, and reach for your skeggøx. It's just that good! The region is called Lofoten, complete HG Address and so forth at the end of the post, of course. 

SoA BAD and SITWAS, our hosts on CCI Grid.

 The region the Safari visited this week has one thing in common with pretty much every place we see - there is way more going on, way more details and clever scripting and masterful construction than can possibly be seen in the mere hour that we get to spend on the sim. 

The grid is also home to a Sons of Anarchy biker build, with all the bells and whistles and music that entails... modem Vikings maybe?

SoA BAD: Hello welcome to the Vikings, Will will have a short tour with explanation about the life of the vikings in the 8th to 12th centuries.

SIWAS S [de→en]: Hello everyone nice that you are here, Soa Bad is your host today

whirli placebo: thank you for the invitation :)

Tosha Tyran: oh wieder mal eine region in heimatsprech :DD

Forest Azure: oh ok, no bikes

Tosha Tyran: I wanna horse, no bike

SoA BAD: today Vikings

SIWAS S [de→en]: ... but every Sunday there is a trip to Bikerworld

SoA Bad led the tour on foot, there was a lot to cram into the time, so quite a challenge to keep up but also to give each fascinating element in the build its due.

SoA BAD: Here straight to the death cult - in the early Viking Age (8th and 9th centuries) normal cremation later this was changed to sea burial. Here straight to the death cult

Forest Azure: but with fire on sea too no?

Ange Menges: Bonsoir à tous

Tosha Tyran: hmmm... start with death cult... eiry. James, a good warm place for you to sit on :P

James Atlloud: I don't want to disrespect the pyre

SoA BAD: This is an example of a normal Viking family home. The ruler (Jarl) of the clan lived a little more generously.  Jarls were mostly men but there were also women who led a clan . This is an example of a normal Viking family home - go in.

Ange Menges: Toutes les pieces sont meublées ! Gros travail bravo

Forest Azure: /me recognizes the table

James Atlloud: The wood carving is awesome. It almost looks bump-mapped 

Tosha  Tyran: It is I bet James 

Siwas welcomes the diners.

We walked on, through a fantastic area with market stalls, furs strung out to dry, barrels and fish and ale, more things than can be listed or shown here. Finally, we came to a vast building where dinner awaited us.

Star  Ravenhurst: What a feast!

Thirza Ember: hehe Mal don't stand on the condiments

Mal Burns: was trying to avoid yr head Thirza

Prodyck Theas: on mange quoi ?

Roffellos Kisses: so hungry... this soup looks... disgusting yummy

Tosha Tyran: lol poor Mal, he cant eat, and not even smell    

 Star Ravenhurst: I don't even want to know what some of this is  

Tosha Tyran: dogs cats rattle snakes

Mal Burns: roasted rat arse and beetlejjuice sauce

Forest Azure: enemies probably

SoA BAD: Here the place of execution here sentences passed by the clan were executed   Guilt was pronounced by the assembly of the men of the clan the amount and type of punishment determined by the jarl. 

SoA BAD: Here the place of execution here sentences passed by the clan were executed. Fishing and fish was the main source of food for the Vikings   In the later Viking Age however pigs goats sheep and cows were kept and meat and milk butter and cheese became increasingly important. Making weapons especially axes and swords and tanning skins was one of the most important things and the entire clan worked on it ...

SoA BAD:  Now the most important   The shipbuilding   -  The logs were often transported by ship or raft   Then they were split with axes and wedges and made into boards and beams   These were then brought into the appropriate form with the help of fire and water   The parts were then glued together with pitch and riveted with beaten iron bolts. The making of the sails first threads from the whale skin later also fabric was the work of the women  

Angelic  Kisses: Amazing teamwork

Thirza Ember: how long to build this place?

SoA BAD: 5 months

Pretty soon, we reached the Longhouse of the Vikings. This was the general meeting place, where they held festivals, where decisions were voted on and parties held, and even trials.  James took advantage of the Jarl's throne.

James Atlloud: This is huge!

Thirza Ember: Bad, tell us, why do you love Vikings?

SoA BAD [de→en]: i love the story, and siwas is Viking from Norway lol

SIWAS S [de→en]: he has to endure a Viking woman every day, that's why he started reading and building the story

Forest Azure: i keep thinking i'm following SOA but then it turns out to be a statue :)

As nature would have it, after all that mead and ol, we found our way to the restroom. With a dfference.

SoA BAD: Toilet   here man and woman sat side by side   You cleaned yourself with a sponge dipped in water attached to a stick  

James Atlloud: OH of course this needs a sit! Is there boys and girls sides?

SIWAS S: unisex hahahahaha

Thirza Ember: James looks far too comfortable

James Atlloud: I'm just here to chat  

Mal Burns: I fell in, dang

No time to relax - there was still loads more to see.

SoA BAD [de→en]: we go to the temple

James Atlloud: My ancestors are Norwegian and Vikings are a bit deal but also were to my Danish wife  

Forest Azure: Valheim!  I forgot Valheim is about Vikings

SoA BAD [de→en]: go in. The Temple Square and Place of Sacrifice.  Every Viking had to travel to the temple with his family every 9 years and bring offerings to the gods Odin and Thor. The Temple Square and Place of Sacrifice

Tosha  Tyran (en): Did they have a sacrificial cult?

SoA BAD [de→en]: Freyja is the temple guardian

SIWAS S [de→en]: she accepted the offerings, and took care of it

SoA BAD: This could be jewellery valuable objects or even live animals ...  Human sacrifices voluntary or slave were also common  

Angelic  Kisses: sacrificial  animals

Forest Azure: /me takes a sip from the horn, or is that not for sipping?

SIWAS S [de→en]: Bottom up

James Atlloud: I've tried to ride a piggie - no luck

Thirza Ember: the goats are so cute!

SoA BAD [de→en]: ok let's go to the sawmill

Tosha Tyran: it is really impressive! It must have taken a lot of research

Forest Azure: /me points for James... sit!

SoA BAD: In the late Viking age through the raids in England France Spain and Italy the saw and even sawmills for woodworking became known and copied . This is late 12th century - the last Viking epoch.

SIWAS S [de→en]: i love to see boards coming out hahahahaha

James Atlloud: The wood gears and drive mechanism are beautifully recreated here  

Star  Ravenhurst: This is one of the best Viking builds I have seen   So well done!

Mal Burns: great build - detailed all over,  been camming a lot.

James Atlloud : Yes me too  

SoA BAD [de→en]: There is still a lot to see

SIWAS S [de→en]: in a few days you can also make a ship tour, we couldn't do everything. Anyone can take a small moving Viking boat with them.

SoA BAD [de→en]: let's go to the tree, it's right here with me Yggdrasil Tree of Life another god of the Vikings.  According to legend Odin hanged himself on this tree and ascended to Valhalla as a god...  now you know a little bit about the Vikings

James Atlloud: Oh yes, the game Valheim had an enormous Yggdrasil! this one is very grand  

Forest Azure: i tried to sail to it

Thirza Ember: Bad, what do you consider the best part of the region is? Which part are you the most pleased with?

SoA BAD [de→en]: I like everything almost authentic, and built with love

Tosha  Tyran (en): that marks a man, SoA

As we walked over to Yggdrasil, we passed a sign bearing the mysterious word 'Trollkirka'... that got us a bit worried.

James  Atlloud: Trolls to the north?  eek

SoA BAD [de→en]: Trolls came later

Thirza Ember: really? Vikings are before trolls? wow! did not know that!  Siwas, a question for you, what is the 'best' bit of this place for you?

SIWAS S [de→en]: oh i love the temple very much, and this tree. But the sawmill is also top notch

Thirza Ember: :-))) spiritual

Forest  Azure: /me feels a bit holy from being inside the tree

SIWAS S [de→en]: it has been the elixir of life for our ancestors for centuries, it has been the lifeblood of our ancestors for centuries... there is another secret place here, a cave that still exists today, I'm not quite done yet but you're welcome to take a look... this cave is called Trollkirka, and you can still see them near Lillehammer today.

Virtual Trollkirka

Thirza Ember: thank you both for allowing us to see your creations today... very much to admire here, and to revisit!

James  Atlloud: Yes thank you and wow so amazing  

SIWAS S [de→en]: We thank you for your visit and hope to see you all again

SoA BAD [de→en]: always welcome,  the sim is always on

Tosha Tyran: yes absolutely amazing! thanks for having us, I am deeply impressed!

Star Ravenhurst: Thank you for the visit! The build is awesome!

Forest  Azure: /me runs to the safety of the group... thank you so much it looks awesome :) 

Angelic  Kisses: Thank you for the tour!

HG Address hg.cc-group.cc:8002:CCI Lofoten

hop://hg.cc-group.cc:8002/CCI%20Lofoten/203/902/22