June 24th 2019
Another warm day at anchor. As we had thought most boats have left by now, but there are still a few moored here in the small channel. With all the noisy holiday makers gone, the peace and quiet returned.
It was too hot to do anything during the day, apart from the occasional dive to cool down, so we listened to an audiobook about Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. A great book if you like mythology. Sadly most knowledge about this culture has disappeared, although there are still a lot of references to Germanic or Viking traditions in our contemporary culture, like the days of the week which are names after Germanic Gods and Goddesses. Of the whole Norse mythology only a few dozen stories remain, and most of those are about Thor and Loki. There were dozens of Gods in Asgard, but of some gods there is hardly any mention to be found in literature that is left. Maybe Thor and Loki were the most entertaining of the lot, as archetypes for comical duos: The big slightly dim-witted muscular guy and his cunning mischievous friend. Or maybe Christianity rooted out all the stories that contradicted with Christian beliefs. We will probably never know why these stories have disappeared. In his book, Neil Gaiman encouraged the readers to re-tell the stories, and not to be afraid to add something of your own. Because that is what keeps stories alive.