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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 crew there' a media responsible who will report from the ship during the voyage, but also you can read more about the project background and plans for the continued voyage - enjoy

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Høyeste punkt 1

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Høyeste punkt 2

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Høyeste punkt 3

A report form Arndis, our Danish crew member:  We have reached the highest lock, 406 m above sea level, so from now on it is downhill towards the Danube. Lock Hilpoltstein at the top and the monument for the highest point.  This is a fantastic trip with an international crew. Of the 10 people on board there are 6 nationalities, 5 Norwegians, one from Mexico, an American, and one from Scotland, England and Denmark. So here in south-eastern Germany, the language intricacies are absolutely amazing.

This Monday we reached a harbour close to Nürnberg on the south-western side. We are still in the Main-Donau-Kanal, and there is a 6-lane motorway (three in each direction) on land, following the canal.

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Day-38 From Erlangen to Nürnberg

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Day-38 The waterways from Mainz to Regensburg

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Day-38 The route June 5 Erlangen-Nuremberg

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Day-39 The harbour of SF on June 6, 2023

The maps show where Saga Farmann is now, and we can see the waterways from Mainz to Regensburg. The last leg from Erlangen to Nürnberg is shown on its own map. 

Thursday night (June 1) we docked in Kitzingen, where we met Hildebrand, the harbour master who was very helpful in providing us with power, water and facilities! 

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Day-37 A new bench for the Captain

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Day-34 SF at Kitzingen

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Day-34 Kitzingen am Main

One of the people from the tourism board who came on board in Wurzburg had spread the word of the viking ship arriving to her father in Kitzingen, Heiko Baumann, who came to see the ship. He’s a restoration carpenter and the beautiful woodwork of the boat fascinated him. He offered to build us a bench for the stern of the ship (which has been on Captain Bjørn’s wishlist the whole leg!) but sadly we weren’t staying long enough, so instead he gifted us two planks of Oregon pine to build our own.

That’s been Bjørn’s project the past few days, and with great success!

Saturday morning we arrived in Bamberg, perhaps the most scenic town along the Main, filled with beautiful baroque architecture. Our welfare officer, Greg, has done a fantastic job of preparing walking tours and acting as our guide in each place we stop, and Bamberg did not disappoint! 

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Day-36 Bamberg-2

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Day-36 Bamberg-1

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Day-36 Three crew members in Bamberg

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Day-36 Rauchbier in Bamberg

We had a lovely crew lunch where we all got to try a local beer called Rauchbier from the brewery Arch Schlenferla. It’s made from barley dried over an open flame which gives it its smoky flavour. The general verdict from the crew was that it tastes of bacon and is reminiscent of the smell of the tar used to coat the ship, so the beer was fondly nicknamed ‘boat soup’.

We are visiting a lot of old cities with culture and history in many buildings, this time Wurzburg.

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Wurzburg 1

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Wurzburg2

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Wurzburg3

Today we were lucky enough to stop off in Wurzburg, a historic town with lots of culture and beautiful buildings. Here we also picked up some members of the Wurzburg tourism board for a tour and a quick trip out on the ship! 

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quiet day on the Main

The past two days we have covered 140km down the Main and through 13 locks, with more to come before we dock at Kitzingen for the night!

This way of travel was impossible for the vikings of old, so we do it to honor their boatbuilding skills.

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Bauen

shopping

Shopping

Today brought Saga Farmann from the marina in Aschaffenburg, through scenic Miltenberg and ended docked on the side of the canal in the tiny village Dorfprozelten.   The weather has been sunny and we’ve driven through the beautiful scenic landscape of rolling hills and vineyards.  We briefly stopped in Miltenberg for a food shop so big it needed over half the crew and a trolley to get in back on the ship, accompanied by beautiful views of German castles!

The sun is rising slowly, reminding us about our way to Miklagard. The Saga Farmann Stage 3 Crew will soon be heading East from Gustavsburg to Frankfurt on the river Main.

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Day-30 Sunrise Mainz-Gustavsburg beskåret

Day 29: Time for a new crew as stage 2 crew hand over the ship

Stage 2 has come to an end and the crew are now handing over the ship to the crew for stage 3. We (Stage 2 crew) are truly proud of our achivement bringing Saga Farmann from Lübeck to Mainz on time - We faced all sorts of issues like EU certification, lack of certificates and a tow up the Rhine, but we found solutions and succeeded our stage. We wish the 3rd stage crew a nice voyage.

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Saga Farmann arrived a day ahead of schedule due to tow.  It parked overnight two nights at the end of the Main River.

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Day-29 Crew exch Gustavsburg No-0 beskåret

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Day-29 Crew exch Gustavsburg No-1 beskåret

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Day-29 Crew exch Gustavsburg No-2 beskåret

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Day-29 Crew exch Gustavsburg No-3 beskåret

Stage 3 crew met at SF on Saturday.  Estimated 350 people came during the day to see the ship despite its rather difficult to reach location in the middle of a river front trail with no easy auto access. Some of the crowd outdressed the crew as Vikings.  

We were lucky to get a tow from captain Frank on the 135 meter barge Heike-Lucie. Frank had heard about our need to get up the Rhine and made contact through our German friend Eddy - and at the last minute a deal was made for Saga Farmann to be towed alongside Heike-Lucie up the Rhine.

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Well secured to Heike-Lucie we started our journey in the strong current on the Rhine. It was scary at start but soon we got used to the constant noise from the water passing between us and Heike-Lucie. We were in good hands. See posting on YouTube: Saga Asia 2023 

There is not much you can do when towed, except for enjoying the nice scenery and relaxing. Heike-Lucie provided us with the luxury of showering and the possibility to take a walk visiting the wheelhouse and captain Frank. 

When arriving at the lock in the Main - local vikings showed up and we took them on board for a short ride through the lock. When parking for the night more spectators appeared. For a few hours we enjoyed telling about our voyage, previous experiences and viking craftsmanship and most likely we got some new crew members for the stages next year.

Being towed makes things a lot easier in all aspects. We are very thankful to Frank and his crew for helping the vikings go through with this adventure. 

cologne

Cologne

History meets modern Art -  Saga Farmann side by side with Heike-Lucie on the Rhine in Duisburg  near "Rheinorange" (Rheinkilometer 780). Renate Walte

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

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From here on it is all downhill

Erlangen-Nürnberg

A new bench for the Captain

Bamberg

Wurzburg!

On the Main river in Germany

On the river Main

Sunrise in Mainz

The magnificent stage 2 crew

Crew exchange-Gustavsburg

Up the Rhine

As seen from ashore

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