The Viking Ship Museum In Denmark

by Sean McLachlan on


The Vikings were the greatest sailors of their age. They built sturdy vessels that took them as far as Greenland and even North America. A few of these amazing craft have survived to the modern day.

The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark, has five such ships on display. Fifty years ago they were discovered at the bottom of Roskilde Fjord, where they had been deliberately sunk to create a defensive barrier in the 11th century A.D. Silt and cold temperatures kept them remarkably well preserved and archaeologists were able to restore and display them.

Walking through the main hall of the Viking Ship Museum, it’s easy to imagine you’re in a busy Viking port. The ships are of various types, such as the knarr, a broad ocean-going trading ship. These were the ships that the Vikings took on their long voyages of commerce and exploration. The famous longship was for battle only and didn’t do well on the high seas.

There’s a longship here too, a 98-foot-long beauty that was probably the warship of a chieftain. Tree-ring analysis of the timber shows it was built in or around Dublin about the year 1042. The Vikings settled in Ireland in 800 A.D. and founded several towns, Dublin being the most important.

%Gallery-174000%There’s also a smaller type of warship called a snekke. Shorter than the longship at only 57 feet, it was still a formidable vessel and remnants of the shield rack and carved decoration can be seen on the side.

The best-preserved boat is a byrding, coastal trading vessel built of Danish oak. There’s also a small boat that may have been used for fishing or whaling.

After examining the displays – very well done and with signs in English as well as Danish – walk outside to the museum harbor. Here you’ll find reconstructions of some of the ships you saw inside as well as historic vessels from later eras of Denmark’s seagoing history. At the boatyard, you can watch shipbuilders using traditional techniques. The star attraction is The Sea Stallion from Glendalough, a reconstruction of the museum’s longship. It’s seaworthy, and tests have shown it reaches an average speed of 2.5 knots and a top speed of 12 knots when under sail. There are even a few surprises, like kayaks from Greenland and Borneo.

Some ships are actually used and visitors can go on boat trips around the fjord.

If you’re heading north after your trip to Denmark, check out the excellent Viking ship museum in Oslo, Norway.

[Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

Photo Of The Day: Meanwhile On Muni

by Meg Nesterov on


Whether you are traveling in an exotic city, or just commuting to work, public transportation is always a rich source of photography subjects. Flickr user (and PotD favorite) davitydave is a frequent photographer on San Francisco‘s Muni, adding his favorite shots to his Flickr page with the title “Meanwhile on Muni.” This shot particularly captures the range of human expression, from suspicion to sleep.

Add your best transit shots to the Gadling Flickr pool for a future Photo of the Day.

‘Chicken Buses’ Add Color To Guatemala (GALLERY)

by Libby Zay on

When weathered school buses are retired from commission in the United States, they don’t always end up being scrapped: many times, they find a new life (and a new paint job) in Guatemala and other Central American countries. Known to English speakers as “chicken buses,” because of the likelihood travelers might find themselves sitting next to livestock, these buses can be found throughout the country and are often filled to the brim with locals, budget travelers and goods.

Across the world, many modes of transport seem unique to those of us using them for the first time – and these buses are no exception. An excursion in one of these vehicles can be chalked up to an amusement park ride, complete with drivers racing around curves at seemingly impossible speeds. The inside is as animated as the wild colors painted on the exterior, with people entering from both the front and back doors and vendors hopping on to try and sell ice cream, plantain chips and other goodies. Benches intended for two schoolchildren are crammed with three (or more) people, with others standing in the aisles and sometimes even riding on the roof.

Most entertaining, however, is the bus driver’s right-hand man, the ayudante. This helper keeps track of all the bodies on the bus, ensuring everyone pays a proper fare, organizing suitcases, and calling out the names of stops to people on the roadside. Keep a close eye on this guy, as he often finds the most opportune moments – such as when a bus is tearing around a harsh curve – to climb out the bus window and onto the top of the bus to secure packages.

To check out more of these richly decorated buses and the culture that surrounds them, click through the gallery below.

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[Photo by Libby Zay]

Brittany Ferries Strike Affects Travel, Business In Three Countries

by Sean McLachlan on


A strike by the employees of Brittany Ferries is disrupting the movement of travelers and goods between England, France and Spain.

The BBC reports the French union that staffs the ferry service is striking in protest of cuts by the company, which is deeply in the red. Brittany Ferries operates several lines from England to various ports in northern France and Spain. In addition to travelers using the service to bring their cars across the water, about 3,000 commercial trucks use the service.

In a press release, the company stated that because of repeated wildcat strikes, they’ve made the decision to suspend almost all service: “The only route which will be unaffected is the Poole-Cherbourg passenger service which is operated on our behalf by Condor Ferries … Because of this indefinite stoppage we are recommending customers to travel to Dover where we currently have special arrangements in place with P&O Ferries and MyFerryLink to accept Brittany Ferries tickets [see website for details]. Unused Brittany Ferries crossings will be refunded.”

One of Brittany Ferries’ destinations is Santander in Spain, where I live part time. Port fees, customers using local businesses, and the shipment of goods all bring an injection of much-needed money into an economy in recession. Local paper El Diario Montañes reports that the ship Cap Finistère has been stuck here since September 20, with 500 passengers and 100 vehicles. Most have made their way to other ferries in France.

[Photo of the Cap Finistère courtesy George Hutchinson]

RelayRides: The Airbnb Of Transportation

by Jessica Festa on



We’ve seen travel sites like CouchSurfing and Airbnb that allow people to share their home, but a new nationwide cooperative site is allowing people to share their car.

While many programs exist that allow people to pay into being part of a group car-share program and rent vehicles for a cheap price, RelayRides takes a different approach, and is very useful to travelers without a vehicle. The cars and trucks for rent are already owned by someone, meaning you’re not actually adding a new car to the road. Additionally, renters are required to pass a screening process when signing up for the site. Based on this and reviews, car owners can choose who can rent their vehicle.

So, how does the car owner benefit? By getting paid. When someone rents, they are required to refill the tank and pay an agreed-upon fee set up by the owner. For the person renting, it’s often much cheaper than renting from a corporation, with some cars being less than $180 per week. Furthermore, it’s nice to help the local community instead of big corporations sometimes.

Through RelayRides, renters and owners are covered through insurance, and there is roadside assistance and customer support built in. For owners, the company also handles the billing. It is free for both owners and renters to sign up.

Would you loan your car to a traveler for money?