Friday, May 8, 2009 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV
More than 1,000 years ago, Vikings from Norway terrorized Europe; their legendary raids made their name synomous with marauding pirates. Today, this ruggedly beautiful country houses the Nobel Peace Center and stands one of the most eco-friendly countries on earth. How could such a progressive nation spring from such a violent past? Do Vikings represent a romantic revision of a grisly past or cynical pandering to a growing tourist trade?
In his latest ADVENTURES WITH PURPOSE special, adventurer Richard Bangs seeks out the modern-day "Viking Spirit" in Norway's forbidding Arctic north, its mountainous sea coast and its bustling cities.
A thousand years ago Vikings set out from the fjords of Norway striking fear across Europe. Yet today this ruggedly beautiful country is the home of the Nobel Peace Center, of explorers and adventure travelers and is one of the most eco-friendly countries on earth. Richard Bangs' adventures take him the length of Norway from its forbidding Arctic north, to its mountainous sea coast and its bustling modern cities with stops in Oslo, Alta, Kirkenes and Lofotr. Like the early Vikings he sails from Tromsø down the western cost of Norway and experiences the beauty and majesty of the mountains and fjords in Trondheim, Bergen, Flam and on the Sognefjord
