On this Norwegian wildlife tour you will also learn about Folklore
1) THE 9 NORDIC WORLDS
There are 9 Nordic worlds these are
Asgard - Probably the most famous world this is the world of the Gods such as Thor and Odin. On this world is Valhalla this is where 50% of the bravest warriors go for there reward in the after world
Vanaheim - This is the second world of the gods lesser known than Asgard this is home to gods and goddess that have mystic powers such as seeing into the future. This is where the the other 50% of the bravest warriors go this place is called Folkvang it's either a corridor or a boat it's only been mentioned a handful of times in the past so no one knows what it really is.
Jotunhiem - is a world inhabited by giants the gods of Asgard are often at war with them but occasionally gods such as Thor and Odin will be romantically involved with giants
Niflheim - Is a frozen world which is inhabited by frost giants
Muspelheim - Is a burning world with lava lakes, volcanoes and inhabited by fire giants lead by Surtr who plays an important role in Ragnarok by using his fire sword to turn Asgard into an inferno.
Midgard - This is our world
Alfheim - This world is inhabited by Elves, these elves are said to be the guardians of Freyr and are seen as lesser gods of nature and fertility.
Svartalfheim - This world is inhabited by Dark elves and Dwarfs. The Dwarfs often forge powerful tools for the gods such as gleipnir.
Helheim - As you have probably guessed Helheim is Hell, this is where all the criminals and people not brave enough to go to Valhalla or Folkvang end up. Hel is the daughter of Loki and she will lead all the souls in helheim against Asgard during Ragnarok
All the world are found on a giant tree called Yggdrasil.
On top of the tree is a giant unnamed Eagle with a Hawk called Vedrfolnir perched in the middle of its beak, the Hawk flies to the 9 worlds to bring back Knowledge to the Eagle. (the Eagle is the embodiment of good)
At the roots of the tree you will find Nidhogg a giant serpent/dragon who wants to destroy the tree. (Nidhogg is the embodiment of evil)
Finally there is Ratatosker who runs up and down the tree delivering messages to the Eagle and Nidhogg. Ratatosker wants to destroy the tree as well but is not strong enough so he strokes the flame of the Eagles and Nidhoggs hatred of each other. Nidhogg will shake the tree from its roots and the Eagle will tear off branches and throw them at Nidhogg.
2) THE UNKNOWN BUILDER
The Gods where wanting to build a defensive wall around them in Asgard, an unknown builder said he would build the wall and wanted to marry Freya the goddess of fertility and love and also have control of the sun and the moon.
The Gods were going to say no this but Loki convinced them to agree but just put restrictions such as he has to do it in 3 months during the summer and can't have any other person helping him, the builder agreed to this but only if his horse Svadilfari was allowed to help him, the gods agreed to his terms. During the construction of the wall the gods were shocked at how large and strong Svadilfari was, and with only an few days to go the builder was finish the archway so he was going to complete the wall in time and marry Freya and control the sun and the moon.
The Gods were furious at Loki and told him to either fix the problem or they will kill him so Loki turned himself into a mare which made Svadilfari to chase him into the forest, during the commotion the gods realised the builder was from Jotunheim who the gods are at war with so they called for Thor to come and smash his skull. During the chase between Svadilfari was able to catch Loki in mare form and impregnate hims, he gave birth to Sleipnir who was said to be the fasted horse in the world of god or man, as a gift he gave Sleipnir to his father Odin.
(Not saying anything but Sleipnir was in the MCU).
3) GLEIPNIR
Fenrir the giant wolf and son of Loki was growing in size and strength and was becoming a danger to the gods the only god brave enough to feed Fenrir is Tyr the god of justice.
The gods made a deal with Fenrir if he lets the gods tie him up then Tyr will put his hand in Fenrirs mouth and he can bite it off if he can't break free.
Fenrir agreed due to his arrogance because of his size and strength, Tyr put his hand in Fenrirs mouth and the gods tied rope around Fenrir which he easily broke free from then the gods tried chains which again Fenrir easily broke free.
The gods asked the Dwarfs from Svartalfheim to make something strong enough to restrain Fenrir, the Dwarfs gave the gods Gleipnir which resembles ribbon, it has 6 ingredients.
1)The sound of a cats footprint.
2)The root of a mountain
3)The beard of a woman
4)The breath of a fish
5)A bears sensibility
6)The spit of a bird
The gods returned to Fenrir and made the same deal which Fenrir agreed again to, Tyr placed his hand in Fenrirs mouth and the gods tied up Fenrir but this time Gleipnir was to strong for Fenrir to break free from, angry Fenrir bit of Tyrs hand.
Tyr was an important god in old viking beliefs he was seen as just as important as Thor or Odin.
We see this as just like Thor and Odin, Tyr has given his name to a day of the week also.
As time past Tyr became less and less important.
Tyr does give his name to Tuesday (Tirsdag Norwegian)
Odin gives his name to Wednesday (Onsdag Norwegian)
Thor gives his name to Thursday ( Torsdag Norwegian)
Thanks for reading
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