L'Anse Aux Meadows

Oh man!  Or should we say, Oh Viking!! What a great place!  Firstly, the name is the name of the village. The Viking settlement is the UNESCO Heritage site of L'Anse Aux Meadows or something similar.  And for the inquiring minds who want to know and who are perhaps slaughtering the pronunciation like we were  before we hit Newfoundland, it is said like this: "lance uh meadows.". The population of the town was actually once over 100 but is now only 32 with one school aged child.

The archeological site was found after a lifetime search by a Norwegian researcher who used the Vinland Sagas (The Saga of Eric the Red and The Greenland Sagas--- feel free to check these out at Wikipedia as we are blogging offline and can't link you).  The site yielded abundant evidence that the Vikings established a base camp for further exploration at this northern point in Newfoundland about 1000 years ago. We took a guided tour which is really the best way to visit this site.  Nicholas apprenticed with the blacksmith and not only helped make a nail but also was given some important life lessons.  This was Michele's pre-trip presentation and having the prior knowledge really deepened the experience.

Later in the afternoon we visited the Norstead which was a recreated viking village.  It featured a recreated vessel that actually made the journey from Greenland to L'Anse Aux Meadows.