The First Discovery

Today's blip is a travel blip, as I've been on a daytrip to Trondheim to visit clients (and teach them a thing or two). Just outside the office building where I spent my day I discovered this statue of Leif Ericson.

Leif Ericson (970 - 1020) was a Norse explorer regarded as the first European to land in North America, nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus! He sailed out for his historic voyage from this very spot. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, tentatively identified with the Norse L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in modern-day Canada.

The small island you see on the right hand side is Munkholmen, which has served as a place of execution, a monastery (the first in Norway 12th century), a fortress and a prison. Today, Munkholmen is a popular place of recreation.