Leif Ericson was heading back to Iceland, his birth place, after spending the winter in Newfoundland, North America. He went on to call this new place Vinland in present day Canada. The journey was in a fifteen year old Viking 'dragon-ship' his dad Eric gave him. His boat was built in the year 986 with Norwegian timber and he had a crew of 28 men. Leif's dad also named a place 'Greenland!' His dad was none other then Eric the Red.
Leif stopped in Greenland on the way and dropped off some timber at his parents place in the southern part of Greenland near Qaqortoq. He stayed with them for a couple of weeks and told of his adventures out west. With summer coming to an end he left Greenland for Iceland. He was hoping to get to Nylenda on the west coast of Iceland in a couple weeks as he was meeting Thorgunna, his wife. Once in Iceland Leif and Thorgunna would go to a place called Olafsvellir.
The village of Olafsvellir was named after Olaf Split-Brow's. Olaf was a great sorcerer from the Lofoton Islands in Norway. When in Iceland he took possession of the whole of Skeid, between the Thjors and Hvit Rivers in Central Iceland. An area with wide grass fields, rivers and trees. As the fairy tale goes he and his sons lived and fought for power for many generations in this area. The legend says Olaf is buried in Bruni's Mound below Vordufell.
I too traveled to Iceland and wound up in Olafsvellir, with Annika. Our journey started on the Viking Lines, a cruise ship, between Finland and Sweden in 1985. I met Annika Johanna Manninen in the disco on the Viking Line, where people met in the 80's. We danced all the way across the Baltic Sea.
Flash forward 32 years, Annika and I were on a road trip across southern Iceland and saw a sign for Olafsvellir Village and decided to check it out. After all, my son and I both share the middle name Olaf. Olafsvellir is a very small village with just a few farm houses, a church and a grave yard. The trees were the first thing I noticed, they were amazing. Here I was on this mostly rock island in the north Atlantic Ocean close to the Arctic Circle, and there are all these tall trees of several different species. As we looked around, a man came up to us. He spoke English and was happy we stopped there. The man was born and lived his whole life in Olafsvellir, all 85 years. He lived with his son and his family. They were cattle ranchers. He showed us around and told us stories about Olaf Split-Brow's. He made Olaf seem like a real person and part of the community. In Iceland folklore; trolls, sorcerer, and elves are openly talked about and some Icelanders actually believe they are real.
Annika and I were so happy when we left Olafsvellir. Our next stop for the day was The Great Geysir.
