Which was the coolest iron-age tribe? The Vikings of course. Their horned helmets, love of pillage, and super-fast longboats made them a fiercesome force to be reckoned with in early Europe. Every summer, in a typically unpronounceable Icelandic town, Viking culture comes alive in the Viking Festival in Hafnarfjordur.

There are songs and revelry, academic lectures, and real sword fighting. It’s easy to feel as if you have been transported back in time 1500 years. Especially when you stay in the Viking Hotel which has a feasting hall carved from timber where food, fit for king Hygelac himself, is served by Viking staff. In a jolly version of what must have been a troubling experience, you can arrange to be “kidnapped” by a ragtag bunch of Vikings and dragged to the hotel’s annex-cave where all kinds of fun games and lovely food await you. You can also go whale watching, relax in the geothermal pool and connect to the free wifi.