Like most other people we didn't really expect to take part in any Viking event this year. So we used our prolonged "winter break" for anything but Viking stuff...
It was a very nice surprise then when we heard that the warrior week in Ribe would take place. We grasped the opportunity to go there and meet some people we would have met only next year or so. It might have been our only event this year. The HIKG in southern Germany might still take place, but at the moment we aren't quite convinced that the organizers will manage to find a proper hygienic solution...
The calm before the storm...
Since we traveled to Ribe half a week before most warriors arrived, we could enjoy the relative calm there. Which was good to get "into the mood" again and play a bit with a modified way of putting up our tent. During that time, Ása even helped "repairing" Ribe a little bit by replacing an old wattle fence with some others. It's just so nice how easy it is to take part in such things and how much the reenactors' engagement is being recognized and rewarded.
More and more warriors then arrived during the weekend and it got somewhat louder. It cannot be compared to a proper "storm", though. All in all there were less warriors than were are used to. And since the big battle with to clashing armys could not take place due to the epidemic, there were many fights in smaller groups instead, which resulted in less shouting during opening hours. The loudest thing during the week actually were the Viking children "training" in the morning and in the evening...
Steam cleaning
Keeping your body clean is not really a problem in Ribe thanks to modern showers. Still, Víl had wanted to build a sauna durung a Viking event for a long time now and Ribe seemed to be just the perfect place since there were so many useful materials at hand.
The project was realized in cooperation with the "Birka Boyz 'n' Girlz", among others. The skeleton for a ti-pi was made out of willow branches which were covered using different tarps and fabrics. Stones were heated in a fireplace (on the second evening to such a degree that they were glowing red), hastily brought into a small pit in the ground in the tent and then sprinkled with water. Herbs like thyme and sage provided a fitting aroma. One evening there even was a "vihta" which unfortunately did not get the Finish Seal of Approval (it's not our fault that there aren't proper birches for this growing in the Vikingecenter...).
If possible, we will repeat this project sometime and someplace. having a sauna in Moesgård would be perfect, of cause, since the sea is so much more refreshing than the little stream flowing through the Vikingecenter.
Partytime
Because of Corona there was no longhouse party this year. Despite Corona there was a party on Saturday, under the open sky. The warrior camps of Ask and Ripa were the main organizers and their camp was were it took place. Many fire places enabled the party to be less crowded, "stealing" the benches from the café brought more places to sit. We think it was a very nice substitution for the longhouse party However, the "free beer" you had to bring yourself. A small sacrifice...
As mentioned above, we do not expect to be at any larger Viking event this year. That's why we were even more happy to have been in Ribe where we git the chance to meet some friends. Perhaps we visit Ribe one more time this year, in late summer or autumn, to just live that simple life there and focus on our crafts. Or perhaps our "winter break" starts now already, in August. How will we use it?
