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Marseille

Monaco

La Spezia

Macinaggio

Cervo

Rome

Napoli

Messina

Badolato

Vlore

Antirrio

Limnos

Tønsberg, the old tower from the castle on top of the mountain can be spotted from far away. 

Tønsberg, Norway

Constanța at the Black Sea coast of Romania is the city where Crew-6 and Crew-7 meet. The City of Constanța was called Tomis when it was founded.  (Images on the website of the Mayor office , Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10542464)

Constanta

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia, one of four captitals on our route (the others being Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest).  It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula.

Belgrade

With a history encompassing Celts, Romans, Hungarians, Mongols, Ottomans, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Hungarian Revolutions (1848 and 1956) into present day commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment it is no wonder that it takes three cities (Buda, Pest and Obuda) to make Budapest.

Budapest

Regensburg is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. Inhabited since Stone Age times, then as an imperial Roman river fort, and  being the biggest medieval city site north of the alps, the medieval center of the city was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006 because of its well-preserved architecture and historical significance.  Regensburg is among the top sights and travel attractions in Germany. 

Regensburg

Mainz,  at the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers, was founded by the Romans in the 1st century BC. It became an important city in the 8th century AD as part of the Holy Roman Empire, Mainz is famous as the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of a movable-type printing press,. Mainz is notable as a transport hub, for wine production, and for its many rebuilt historic buildings. 

Mainz

The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the first Crew exchange harbour on our epic voyage. The Old City of Lübeck ( 'Altstadt Lübeck') is shown on the first photo.  (Photo: By Innomann, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2658340)

Hansestadt Lübeck

Istanbul is the greatest city of Turkey. The vikings called it Miklagard, meaning "the Great City" in Norse language. (Mikla=great, Gard=city.)

Istanbul-Miklagard

The Vikings traveled great distances in their fast and sleek ships, reaching as far as Constantinople, which they called Miklagard.

The Vikings were a seafaring people from Scandinavia who raided and traded throughout Europe, leaving a lasting impact on history and culture.

Sailing a reconstructed Viking ship from Norway through Europe is costly, and we appreciate any help to make it happen.

Beyond their reputation for swordsmanship and bloodlust, the Vikings were skilled boat builders and navigators.

On seas, rivers and canals through Europe to revitalize old bonds of trade and friendship stretching back more than a thousand years.

On each stage there is one from the crew reporting from the ship. On the webpage you will also find information on the background for the project and plans for the continued voyage - enjoy

Day 108-109: Monday-Tuesday, August 14-15, 2023

Saga Farmann is supposed to stay at the Rahmi M Koch Museum through the winter. But the Galata Bridge is to low to be passed under. There is a lot of traffic over the bridge all day, including cars and Tramway line 1, and therefore we must wait for the bridge to be opened. This will happen at 2 AM (local time) this night, Tuesday, August 15, in the morning.

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Day-108 Waiting for Galata Bridge to open at 2 AM -Photo-1

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Day-108 Waiting for Galata Bridge to open at 2 AM -Photo-2

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Day-108 The voyage from Karaköy to the entrance of the Golden Horn Monday - August 14

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Day-109 Tre broer i det gylne horn

Bridges number 2 and 3 are called Halich Bridge and Atatürk Bridge.

You can follow us when we go into the Golden Horn and up to the museum. Check on www.marinetraffic.com and write 257081140 in the Search field.

Day 100-106, Sunday to Saturday, August 6-12, 2023

Between August 6 and August 12, we have been sailing several days. Here's a small collection of photos describing some necessary tasks to make the sail work.

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Day-106 SF sailing - seeing Istanbul

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Day-106 SF sailing 2 - seeing Istanbul

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Day-106 Kaiing av råa

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Day-106 Hoisting the sail

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Day-106 SF sailing 3

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Day-106 SF Grønnålen

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Day-106 Packing the sail 1

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Day-106 Packing the sail 2

In order to get the sail up, we must get the beam 90 degrees on the ship's length and hoist the sail.

When the beam with the sail is all the way up, we must handle all the ropes so the sail can make use of the wind the best way possible.

When we are sailing, we can see a green line looking down into the sea at the rear of the ship. This phenomenon is called "Grønnålen" in Norwegian. 

When we finish the sailing, we must lower the sail, get the beam back parallel to the ship's length, and pack the sail.

After a few days in SeturMarinas, Saga Farmann was given a more central place in the harbour. More people came to see the ship, and crew number 8 took over for crew number 7.

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Day-100 SF i havna SeturMarina bilde-1

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Day-100 SF i havna SeturMarina bilde-2

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Day-100 Frokostbilde-1 Midpoint

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Day-100 Frokostbilde-2 Midpoint

On Sunday morning, August 6, crew 7 and crew 8 had breakfast together in restaurant Midpoint. 

On this special day, Harald "Whitebeard" Ueland, who has sailed all the way from Tønsberg, started on his day number 100 as a crew member.

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Epic

The Saga Farmann is moored in Istanbul. Some had doubts we could  do it, but we did! 

We have a shared interest in nautical excavations

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We were invited to the Rahmi Koch Museum on Wednesday, and a minibus came to the harbour on Thursday morning to take us there.

The Rahmi Koch Technical Museum was founded in 1994 and consists of many large collections of many kinds. Old cars, steam engines, aeroplanes, model railway scenario, toys, ships, ships in a bottle and even more. We were even invited to come inside the restaurant wagon presented to the Sultan by Kaiser Wilhelm in 1917.

After the visit to the museum, we went to the excavation site where Professor Ufuk and his staff are working to find old ships and other historical material. And in the evening, most of us visited Nardis Jazz Club to enjoy a concert.

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So, Wednesday August 2, we decided to use the day to clean the ship for her to be ready for the next crew. The day was really hot from the morning, but we knew the temperature would reach a peak between 12 and 17, so we tried to finish the work as early as possible. 

 After the work, we enjoyed kebab, french fries and rice, brought to us on the ship. 

A large group of people visited us at 4 PM. Professor Ufuk, Assistant Professor Taner and several other people came to see the ship. They brought flowers and fruits, and we had many fruitful discussions.

Having a nice dinner, knowing that all is well with the ship and crew 

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Harald Ueland has been on the ship from the very first day, 29 of April. He has passed over the waterways of Europe as the first viking to do this whole voyage. Time for a toast. 

Bosporus-N to the marina outside Bosporus-S

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Bosorusn to bosporuss1

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Bntobs2

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After the late arrival on Monday evening, we were eager to have our passports checked in. We had to go through the Bosporus strait to do this at the office at the southern end of the strait, so we asked the Coast Guard to follow us through. It was a really pleasant and special feeling to pass under the bridges and see the people and boats and some big ships. 

 We were not allowed to sail, so we had to go by the electrical pods. 

We arrived at Setur Marina around 4 PM and got a nice longside pier place. A welcome committee was there, consisting of the Chief of the Marina and some other people, among those from the Rahmi Koch Museum.

 A lot of people have put a lot of work into the project 

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GOing east

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Hoistingthesail1

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Hoistingthesail2

Sailing the Black Sea - an old dream coming true!

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Saga Farmann in Tsarevo harbour, at night, before leaving for Istanbul next to the black pearl

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Hvem vil gå planken Saga Farmann in Tsarevo harbour Bulgaria Monday evening

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Next to the Black Pearl

Sleeping next to the Black Pearl, the last night before coming into Bosporus and Miklagard comes with an almost full moon. 

If you want to support the voyage please feel free to provide us with a donation. All donations will be used solely to keep the ship moving and the crew fed

After arrival from Constanta on August 5, the ship will visit different places in the area.

Istanbul (Miklagard)

Monaco &#8211; Marseille

La Spezia &#8211; Monaco

Macinaggio &#8211; La Spezia

Cervo &#8211; Macinaggio

Rome &#8211; Cervo

Napoli &#8211; Rome

Messina &#8211; Napoli

Badolato &#8211; Messina

Vlore &#8211; Badolato

Anticrio &#8211; Vlore

Limnos &#8211; Antirrio

Istanbul &#8211; Limnos

Finally, Saga Farmann sails onto the Black Sea, heading for Istanbul and Turkey. Sailing along the coast of Bulgaria, hopefully with winds from the north and east. We pass well-known holiday resorts such as Varna and Burgas.

Constanta – Istanbul

The stretch from Belrgade to Constanta is the longest of the whole expedition. Saga Farmann follows the Danube through Serbia to Romania, which will appear on our left. A few days later Bulgaria will appear on our right. These two countries have dammed the Danube in the «Iron gates» area, but thankfully also built locks for use by Saga Farmann and other ships.

Belgrade – Constanta

On this part of the expedition Saga Farmann travels through Hungary and Croatia, before leaving the EU and arriving in Serbia. 

Budapest – Belgrade

This part of the journey takes us up the Danube, Europe’s second longest river of 2,845 or 2,888km, depending on which river source is followed. The landscape here is dramatically beautiful, featuring historic towns and famous castles. 

Regensburg – Budapest

The journey from Mainz to Regensburg will take us through the canals of southern Germany. We will journey through Frankfurt, down the Reine to Wurzburg, through the historic town of Bamberg and eventually finishing our leg of the journey in Regensburg.

Mainz – Regensburg

The SagaAsia2023 expedition is the journey of the viking ship Saga Farmann from Tønsberg, Norway to Istanbul, Turkey. The ship is a reconstruction of the Klåstad ship (980 A.D.) found in a field near Larvik. The original is now on display at Slottsfjellmuseet in Tønsberg.

Tønsberg – Lubeck

At Lübeck we prepare for the voyage on the inland waterways of Europe. The ship needs to undergo a EU certification inspection by the German authorities before we can continue.

Viking Seafarers

An epic voyage

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Expeditions to Miklagard

Latest News and posts

BREAKING NEWS BREAKING NEWS SagaFarmann into the Golden Horn tonight!

Sailing in the Marmara Sea

Crew exchange in Istanbul

In Miklagard

Visit to the Rahmi Koch Museum

Midnight in Istanbul

Time to clean the ship for the next crew to take over

Safely in harbour in Istanbul

Through the Bosporus strait

Saga Farmann arrives at Bosporus

The last leg

Tsarevo

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