Vikings would prefer a coffin

There seems to be a bit of a Viking-theme to our sojourn in London. Over the past week, we have not only had the chance to speak to various real and quasi-Danes dwelling on this windswept island. We've also seen an unusual amount of English-speakers wearing t-shirts displaying the "Bevar Christiana" slogan. And in addition to the anglo support of the anarchist free state near Copenhagen (what's going on here, I wonder - have I missed something?), we also seem to be surrounded by non-activist Danish tourists who fill the mucky London air with their charming analstaltic voiced consonants and glottal stops.

Which is why this Süddeutsche-interview with the chairman of Forn Sidr, the Danish Viking community, is not only an apt and timely commentary on what appears to be a general trend, but might be of genuine interest to some of our readers. It is comforting to see that the Danish authorities seem to take the religious needs of this minority entirely seriously, even allocating a part of the graveyard in Odense (birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, the author of tales like "The Little Mermaid" and others) as a burial site for staunch believers in Thor and Freya.

This opens up an entirely new dimension of religious tolerance, if you ask me. But then these Vikings not only seem to be perfectly harmless - they also, charmingly, do not seem to have a concept of hell. Which might have positive ramifications for the way Vikings see life in the here and now, too.