Harald Baldr

Day 8 of my tour of Thailand by motorbike. I drive over the most amazing mountains I've ever crossed between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. The fog is thick, it's freezing cold, I'm wet as hell from being once again assaulted by Thailand's torrential rain. But I'm loving it. I find a village on top of the highest mountain peak and investigate. I then soldier on down the other side towards Chiang Rai. In Chiang Rai I visit the city's number one tourist attraction; the classic White Temple and talk to some local Thais around town. This former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna is a relatively small city but proved rather lively 7 days a week.

The Viking age lasted roughly 300 years. From the first recorded raid on an English monastery on Lindisfarne in 793 A.D. to 1066, when Norway's greatest King Harald III (aged 50!) died in berzerkergang (fighting bare-chested without armor and shield with an axe in each hand) from an arrow to his skull in an attempt to conquer England. A few months later another Viking, today known as William the Conquerer (actually related to Harald III) succeeded in taking England. The Vikings raided and fought all over Europe. Often in the service of Norwegian Kings or as mercenaries for other European rulers. The Roman Emperor had his own Viking army known as the Varangian guard in Constantinople. It was whilst being the leader of the Varangian guard that Harald Hardråde (later called Harald III of Norway and founder of Oslo) eventually amassed such wealth that he was able to successfully court the 2nd oldest daughter of one of contemporary Europe's most powerful rulers: Yaroslav The Wise. They married and returned to Norway where they founded what is today the capital of Norway, Oslo. So who was this last Viking Queen of Norway? That's the story I investigate whilst exploring Kiev, the city she grew up in, before ascending to the Norwegian throne.

Day 10 of my tour of Thailand by motorbike. I leave Nan to trail along the border with Laos, over mountains, waterfalls and through pineapple farms to Loei. I take the longest route possible and spend 9 hours driving until it gets pitch black. I don't arrive at the rubber farm before after sunset.

STALINGRAD, RUSSIA: The city that changed the course of European as well as world history is today known as Volgograd. The Germans had over a Million men here at the peak of the conflict in late 1942. The Soviets poured in considerably more. The dream of a German empire died here at the banks of the Volga river. The same banks instead gave birth to the dream of a Soviet empire. This is where it all turned around for the Soviet Union. The victory here propelled the Red Army forward to re-conquer the territories lost in the the 1941-42 season and eventually all the way to Berlin. The historical significance of Stalingrad was palpable as I touched down at the airport. The rest is not history as they say but in the film above.