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Since Leifson, the brave Viking, appears in some of my pictures I think I need to explain his story to you.
It all began on Iceland around the year 1000. Vikings were Nordic explorers, sailing through the sea. And so was Leif Erikson. Leif, a distant relative of Naddodd who discovered Iceland, was the first known European who discovered North America, before Christopher Columbus in 1492. Well, he maybe was not the very first one discovering the coast but he was the first who build a camp and explored the country. Leif named the land Vinland, because of its vines and grapes they discovered.
This winter I discovered a little Viking in one of these dark and cold corners you usually never take a look. He was only intermittently conscious and I took him to a warm place to cheer him up. Slowly he recovered and began to tell me his story: More than a thousand of years ago he was a blind passenger on many trips crossing the Nordic sea. He saw salesman trading the finest goods as well as soldiers facing their enemies. Once a time he made it to the ship of Leif Erikson’s journey to North America. Back in Europe he wanted to spread the massage of the new discovered and habitable lands. But some other Vikings wanted to keep the potential treasures of the new countryside for themselves and chased everyone acting adverse to their interests. They found him, locked him up in one of the darkest holes they could find and he was forgotten for a long time…
Mesmerised I listened to his story. He was so lucky to see the sunlight again but wanted so badly to see the world of today. The Viking Leif Erikson had two known sons, named Thorgils and Thorkell. However, since my new companion was an explorer and even shared some time with Leif Erikson he was his spiritual son for me. I decided to name him Leifson – literally son of the Leif.
Now I am taking him to to our new world and from time to time I can convince Leifson to let me take a picture of him.