Pirate Ship Rides in Malmo, Sweden

There is traveling (which we do extensively for work) and there is road tripping (which we do extensively for pleasure.) It was on a road trip yesterday that we happened upon the first public voyage of the pirate ship docked at the Koggmuseet in Malmo Sweden. This medieval ship museum was having their annual Medeltiden festival, which is what we stopped in for. I am a Medieval freak so any hint of a RenFest and I am soooo there. This is a small one compared to Riddarespelen or Scarborough Faire, but it was wonderful anyway, and getting to be among the first of the general populace to ride the pirate ship was priceless.

This pirate ship was hand built by the local Viking clan. See, in Sweden there are numerous Viking guilds. These are folks who live and breath the Viking way of life on a daily basis. The clan in Malmo doesn't travel around Scandinavia as much as others, having plenty to do with the tourist trade right there at home. When a sunken Pirate Ship was discovered off the coast of Sweden they decided to recreate that wreck. They began in 1998 and the ship was ready to sail in 2002. Up until July 14, 2007 the only feet to grace its bow other than the crew were wealthy businesses who shelled out the big bucks to charter the ship for private functions. When we heard that the ship would sail for the first time for commoners, we immediately bought tickets. The tickets for the cruise were 100SEK each, or about 12 or 13 US dollars. It was soooo worth it.

You can read alll about it here:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/313835/summer_travel_fun_pirate_ship_rides.html