Traveling with the Vikings Trivia Quiz

Answer: Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the capital and the largest city of the Netherlands and it is colloquially called the "Venice of the North". The name of the city indicates its origin around a dam in the river Amstel. We spent a few days there to know the city well and to visit some landmarks. In addition to a boat trip through the canals, we visited the Rijksmuseum and the Anne Frank House.

The Rijksmuseum museum was founded in The Hague in 1798; in 1808 it was transferred to Amsterdam and it is dedicated to arts and history. Its collection has more than 2,000 paintings from notable Dutch painters. It is the largest museum in the country and receives around 2.2 million visitors a year.

Anne Frank House is a biographical museum dedicated to the Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank. During World War II, Anne Frank hid from the Nazi persecutors with her family and four other people in the hidden rooms at the rear of the 17th-century canal house, known as the Secret Annex. She did not survive the war but her diary was published in 1947. Ten years later the Anne Frank Foundation was established and in 1960 the museum was opened.

Answer: Scotland

Shetland or Shetland Islands is a sub-arctic archipelago located in the Northern Atlantic Ocean between Grain Britain, the Faroe Islands and Norway. The islands are 170 km from the Scottish mainland and 300 km from Norway. The archipelago has been part of Scotland since the 15th century. Agriculture is traditionally practiced by small producers in a system called crofting. Fishing is an important sector of the economy.

The discovery and exploration of North Sea oil had a major impact on the generation of jobs and income in the Shetland Islands.

Answer: Taking a trip on the Flåm railway

Flåm is a village in the Flåmsdalem valley which is located at the inner end of Aurlandsfjorden, a branch of Sognefjorden, the largest and deepest fjord in Norway.

The biggest attraction is to ride the 20 km Flåm line between Flåm and Myrdal. In an hour the train runs from the end of the fjord at sea level to the high mountains at the Myrdal station, situated at 867 meters above sea level. It is one of the steepest railway tracks in the world. During the trip the train stops and the passengers have a wonderful view of the Kjosfoss waterfall. It is a very interesting tour and the view is fantastic.

Answer: Fire

The town of Ålesund was built on a row of islands extending out into the ocean. Ålesund is the administrative center of the municipality and also the main shipping town. On the night of January 23, 1904, the city suffered a terrible fire; as the buildings were made of wood, practically nothing was left of the old city. Fortunately the population managed to leave and only one person died in the fire. Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who used to spend his vacation in the region, sent great help to temporarily shelter residents.

A big plan was done for the rebuild of the city in stone, brick, and mortar in vibrant Art Nouveau style. The best Norwegian master builders and architects worked on this reconstruction. A walking tour in the city is very pleasant. To have a fantastic panoramic view, it is worth climbing the 418 steps to reach Fjellstua Viewpoint.

Answer: True

Iceland is a small country with big surprises. Its capital city Reykjavik is very pleasant with several art centers, parks, restaurants, etc. In the vicinity of Reykjavik there are numerous attractions, such as the Geyser Hot Spring Area and the Blue Lagoon.

But the highlight of the visit is one of the most unusual places in the world, the Silfra Fissure. It lies in the Pingvellir National Park and was formed by the divergent tectonic drift of the Eurasian and North American plates. Scuba diving and snorkeling in Silfra is popular.

There, it is possible to see and touch the two tectonic plates at the same time. The plates drift about 2 cm apart every year.

Answer: Greenland

Greenland is the world's largest island. It is located between the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. Although it is closer to the American continent, its roots are in Europe. In 1814, Greenland which had been disputed by Denmark and Norway, was assigned to Denmark under the Kiel Treaty.

Currently the Kingdom of Denmark is a unitary state that comprises, in addition to Denmark, two autonomous territories: Greenland and Faroe Islands. As these two regions have different historical and cultural identities, they gradually gained political, legislative and administrative power. In 1979 Denmark granted Home Rule to Greenland and in 2008 the Greenlanders voted in favor of the Self-Government Act, which transferred greater powers to the Greenland government. The government of Denmark retain over Greenland control of foreign affairs, defense and monetary policy, providing an annual subsidy, which is planned to diminish over time.

Answer: Anne of Green Gables

Charlottetown is a port and the capital city of Prince Edward Island, the smallest Canadian province in terms of area and population. The island is known for its red-sand beaches, lighthouses, farmlands, excellent seafood and for Anne of Green Gables.

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942), born in Clinton (now New London) on P.E.I., wrote about 20 novels and numerous short stories. Her first book on Anne, called "Anne of Green Gables", was published in 1908 and the ninth book from this series, was submitted to the publisher on the day of her death. The book, written for people of all ages, tells the adventures of Anne Shirley, an orphan girl, and has been transformed into films, TV series and musicals. The Green Gables tourist attractions on P.E.I. have been developed based on the fictional Anne. The current location of Green Gables, the house featured in Montgomery's Anne books, is in Cavendish, on the north shore of PEI.

Answer: St. John's

St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the island of Newfoundland and is the easternmost city in North America. It had a great historical role in the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The city's architecture has a different style than the rest of the country; its main buildings are reminiscent of its history as one of the main British colonial capitals. The city center is the cultural center of St. John's. Tourists are very fond of walking down Water Street and Duckworth Street where historic, colorful, low-rise buildings are home to souvenir shops, boutiques and restaurants.

The Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in St. John's on December, 12, 1901 which was sent from his wireless station in Poldhu, Cornwall.

Answer: Halifax

Halifax, which since 1996 has been known as Halifax Regional Municipality, is the capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is an important Canadian economic center on the Atlantic coast.

Halifax hosted two major events. In 1912, when the accident with the RMS Titanic occurred, a large part of the rescue operations were centralized in Halifax and the ships that brought the bodies rescued from sea returned to this city. At Fairview Cemetery in Halifax 121 victims of the Titanic are buried; many of them are already identified.

On December 6, 1917, on a sunny morning, the French cargo ship SS Mont Blanc, loaded with explosives, collided with the Belgian vessel S.S. Imo in a strait that connects the upper Halifax Harbor to Bedford Basin. In the explosion, about 2,000 people died and 9,000 were injured.

Answer: New York

New York is the most populous city in the United States. It is located on one of the world's largest natural harbors and consists of five boroughs that were consolidated into a single city in 1898.

Arriving in New York by ship is a wonderful experience. The view of the city is beautiful and it makes us remember its origins. We found it interesting that the trip started in Amsterdam and ended in what was once called New Amsterdam.