The Styrian doctor Reinhard Sovinz took part in the world’s longest canoe trip on the Danube with his self-built Viking ship. The adventurer described the “Krone” as the physical and mental effort.
On the Danube from Upper Bavaria to the Black Sea – 2600 kilometers in eleven weeks. About 150 rowers took on the challenge of the longest organized canoe and rowing trip in the world this year. In the midst of them, a Viking ship sailed under the Styrian flag: for the second time, the retired doctor and self-proclaimed Viking Reinhard Sovinz started a boat trip with his self-built ship colossus on this superlative. “Because I’m an adventurer,” explains the 69-year-old, who has already crossed the Atlantic and hiked the Way of St. James, among other things.
It’s not every day you see mutiny
“I did the trip ten years ago in a normal pedal boat,” says Sovinz. Then it was time for a bigger challenge: five years ago, the Steiermarker mixed with the “normal” rowers on its Viking ship for the first time. But his rowing team may have underestimated the ambitious project, one after the other gave up. After 600 kilometers it was over. “I experienced a mutiny and survived, not everyone can say that about themselves,” laughs the adventurer.
This year he wanted to know again. Despite better preparation for the physical exertion, the mood on the way deteriorated. After about 1000 kilometers, Sovinz broke off the journey. “But it was still fantastic. We failed,” he recalls.
Ship plans from Norway
The cornerstone for this sensational ride is at the Waldschacherteich south of Graz, where Sovinz has a hut. “It looks like a Nordic fjord there and I thought to myself: a Viking ship would fit in there!” Together with his children, the doctor worked for six years on the ship, which is ten meters long and weighs 800 kilograms. “We went to Oslo and looked at an original Viking ship. Then I narrowed the plans down to about 1:2.”
Would he dare to venture up the Danube again? “Now I say never again. But that’s what I said five years ago.”
TV Tip: The “Styrian Viking” was accompanied by cameras for a while. To be seen on Friday September 2, 2022, in “Heimatleuchten – Along the Danube”, 8.15 pm, on Servus TV
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
