I know I'm a fullblooded Norwegian. I know this because my cousin once did some digging into our family tree and found out that the most experimental our ever-so-caucasian lineage had tried to mix with was people from Sandefjord (a town about 2 hours away from Oslo). We don't know anything about my mother's side of the family, but I think one could safely assume that if there was a Norwegian in the room with some Viking lineage, it would be me.

Usually, I try to live up to that strong, female ideal by stoically taking whatever is thrown at me (or by me, or stumbled over, who said that Vikings were dextrous?) and never backing down from a challenge. But sometimes something new happens that questions my assumed vikingesque mannerism.

I've lived in Oslo for 6 years now, and I had never been in Korketrekkeren, a 7 subway stops hill one can slide down. So me and Margrethe decide that it was time (she had never gone either) and we got our asses on that subway. The sliding was fun, I would even go as far as to say that it was pretty amazing. The best part of Korketrekkeren is that you slide all the way down, and then take the subway up again, over and over until you can't go anymore. Which it turned out was not a lot of times for me.

You see, I had figured that even though I didn't own anything that would keep water out, I'd be fine if I just wore an impressive amount of clothes on top of eachother. What I didn't take into consideration was that the subway ride would melt all the snow that covered me (from sliding, not from falling...I only fell twice and only one of them was a real slap-stick moment) thus leaving me shivering and cold and wet to the bone before going back out into the 2 degrees (that's -17 degrees celcius) to continue the fun. By the time I got home my lips were literally blue and my boyfriend had to spend an hour helping me get warm enough to stop shivering in my fairly well temperatured apartment.

Now, I cannot help but think that Vikings would know how to dress for these occations, or, barring that, at least not get completely sick for the following 3 days. Maybe it's true what my dad has claimed for years, that my mom is actually of non-viking decent since she gets tanned so easily in the summer...

From: [identity profile] mirazandar.livejournal.com


Don't know much about vikings (that's a lie. I don't know much about their underwear habits) but after reading about log floaters (if that's a word) wearing clogs although the bad footwear were the sole reason many of them drowned, and after hearing all the stories about people's grandmothers who were fond skijumpers in their teenage years, and about how embarassing it was for the not underwear-wearing girls in the end of the 19th c when the skirts lifted during the skijumping, and everyone could see their nethers...

... i've come to the conclusion that they must have been made of harder stuff than me.

From: [identity profile] kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com


That sounds really fun (apart from the nearly freezing to death, of course.) I say "fun" in the theoretical sense, of course, seeing as how I, hothouse flower that I am, would probably catch hypothermia if I even looked at Norway.

From: [identity profile] martinemonster.livejournal.com


I have considered moving someplace warmer, yes. I basically sniffle from October to March. :(

From: [identity profile] coldbeans.livejournal.com


I hear ya! And then I sniffle from March to October because of hay fever...

From: [identity profile] kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com


Aw. :( You can move down here, Atlanta's plenty warm. ^_~ If you don't mind the crazy weather during winter, that is. One day it'll be nice and the next it'll be freeeeeeeeezing.

From: [identity profile] 45hasle.livejournal.com


Actual Vikings would of course wear nice thick woolens. They would also be sliding along on brutalized Irish priests, drinking all the way down, then pulling said priests back up the hill by their hair. Then they'd decide that the clothing was far to much, and at this point they would be fairly drunk already. So they'd get nekkid, sliding racing down the hill on a priest apiece, promising the loosing toboggan decapitation and hollering like loons.

Now you should have seen the natives when we went sliding in japan a couple of years ago. Apparently they don't do this kind of thing at my age over there.

From: [identity profile] abigor60.livejournal.com


You must take me there when we come to visit you. It sounds like fun despite the fact that I am Irish, and am rather fond of my head attached to my body. And alcohol helps in nearly every situation, except dealing with police.

From: [identity profile] martinemonster.livejournal.com


I promise I will. All you have to do is come to Norway! :D (I'll even provide the alcohol)

From: [identity profile] operafantomet.livejournal.com


Åååh, Korketrekkeren. For en genial oppfinnelse!

Men ja, tbane-turen opp igjen gjør en kaldere enn forventet, spesielt fordi (som du oppdaget) at snø og fukt smelter og gjør en regelrett klissvåt. Så nedtur! De burde hatt en tørketrommel på toppen...

Hva angår vikinger så brukte de ifølge kildene endel ull som var ferdig "impregnert", både via å innsette det med stoffer (lanolin?) og å tove det. Det holdt stand mot vann og fukt lenge. Føttene ble vel også beskyttet med skinn av ulike slag - eller var det senere?

Spør du meg, så vil en ekte viking ha litt utvannet blod i årene. Med den reisevirksomheten mange bedrev (så langt som til Miklagard/Konstantinopel/Istanbul og til Frankrike), så vil jeg tippe det var både en og to som tok med seg dame og ev. barn hjem. Så har du begge deler i blodet, vil jeg hevde du er en fullblods viking!

From: [identity profile] martinemonster.livejournal.com


Fett! Nå må jeg bare skaffe meg en slik impregnert ullbukse (eller slalåmbukse alternativt) og så kan jeg prøve igjen! ;)

From: [identity profile] sneprinsesse.livejournal.com


Lanolin finnes naturlig i saueull. Gå til Helios, de selger ullundertøy med lanolin.
.

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