Destination Viking Association Annual meetings on Iceland 3-6 May 2023
Program
May 3 Arrival
- 10-16 Arrival at Leifur Eiríksson Airport in Keflavík (most participants)
NB: All participants have to come with the Flybus from the airport to BSI Bus Terminal in Reykjavik. You can either buy tickets upon arrival or book tickets here: www.re.is/tour/flybus/
- 17.30 Departure of the DVA bus from BSÍ Bus Terminal in Reykjavik to Reykholt.
- 19.00 Arrival and check in at Fosshotel Reykholt. Registration and payment.
- 19.30 Dinner at the hotel
May 4 AGM
- 08.00 Breakfast
- 08.30 DVA Board Meeting
- 09.30 DVA AGM
- 11.00 DVA members’ meeting (see program below)
- 12.30 Lunch
- 13.30 Snorrastofa and Reykholt - guided tour
- 14.30 Seminar: The Icelandic Sagas & Women in Viking Age
- 16.30 Krauma baths (10 min bus trip from Reykholt)
- 18.00 Free time/small talks
- 19.30 Dinner; toastmaster Geir Waage (sponsored by Iceland Saga & Heritage and DVA)
May 5 Excursion: Saga sites in West-Iceland
- 08.00 Breakfast
- 08.45 From Reykholt
- 10.15 Eiríksstaðir in Haukadalur valley; reconstructed farmhouse
- 11.30 Light Lunch in Búðardalur
- 12.15 The Leifur Eiríksson Centre in Búðardalur (new exhibiton)
- 14.15 The Settlement Centre in Borgarnes, two exhibitions (+ coffee)
- 17.00 Arrival and check in at Fosshotel Baron in Reykjavík
- 19.00 Dinner at Restaurant La Barceloneta.
May 6 Golden Circe - Post tour
- 08.30 From Hotel Baron
- 09.30 Þingvellir National Park & UNESCO. Guded tour: Torfi Jónsson
- 12.00 Friðheimar Greenhouses: lunch, guided tour & horse show
- 14.15 Gullfoss waterfall
- 15.00 Geysir hot spring area
- 17.00 Back to the hotel
DVA MEMBERS’ MEETING 4 May 11.00-12.30
Presentation of new members – 5 minutes each
- Midgard Centre in Norway, Ekerö Municipality, and the Historic Museum, Stockholm in Sweden, City of Rouen in France, Viking Museum Haithabu in Germany, and Sepino nel Cuore in Italy, as far as they are present.
- Presentation of an Erasmus project, Sarah
- Presentation of the Thing legacy – Anne Hopland (Gulatinget)
- Presentation of new developments at Ornavik
Discussion of the action plan and strategies for the development of the Viking route.
Important challenges are which benefits members gets from a membership, including advise on improved visitor experiences, joint promotion of Viking Age sites, help with tourism development, offers for children and young people, sustainability and climate adaption actions and measures – and how can DVA get sufficient economic resources enabling it to offer such
services to the members: more members, more ‘rich’ members, support from local, regional and national authorities, EU-projects, joint projects and activities with other organisations like EXARC or other related cultural routes, creating national Viking routes within the European route?
SEMINAR 4 May 14.30-16.00 - The Icelandic Sagas & Women in the Viking Age
- 14:30 Kristján Guðmundsson, Project Manager Visit West Iceland.
West Iceland - Sagaland.
- 14:45 Gísli Sigurðsson, Research Professor, The Árni Magnússon Institute,
University of Iceland: The sagas are in earth as the Edda is in heaven.
How the Vikings orientated themselves in the world.
- 15:10 Coffee break
- 15:30 Óskar Guðmundsson, writer and scholar. Writer of the Saga of Snorri Sturluson. Women in the Viking Age.
- 16:00 Ea Stevns Matzon, Master in history. Former head of interpretation and exhibitions at Museum Vestsjælland, Denmark. The strong women; an extract from a thesis on women in Iceland and Gotland in the Viking Age and early Middle Ages.
Seminar moderator: Bergur Þorgeirsson