A replica of a Viking ship docked in Ruse. The sailing vessel is among the participants in the 67th International Regatta TID (Tour International Danubien – TID).
Representatives of 11 countries from three continents are participating in it this year, reported the commandant of the Bulgarian section of the regatta, Stiliyan Bonev.
“We have participants from Germany, Austria, Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Holland, Switzerland, England, USA and New Zealand. Perhaps the most attractive is the crew with the Viking ship,” Bonev said.
Yesterday, the main group of boats stopped for a rest in the Stalpishte locality near the Ruse village of Mechka. The two-day camp there is provided only thanks to the business in the region and the subsidy granted by the state, said Bonev. Today, the Viking ship and its crew docked at the marina in Ruse.
The vessel was built 35 years ago on the model of an original Viking ship, which 71-year-old retired doctor Reinhard Sovins saw in a museum in the Norwegian capital Oslo.
“I have a cabin on a small lake called Waldshacher. It is located in the province of Styria near Graz. I decided that a Viking ship would look very good in this place. I went to the museum in Oslo, where there was one such ship on display, and then I was able to make a replica of it together with my children. It is almost twice the size of the original and is ten meters long and weighs 800 kilograms,” Sovinz told BTA.
He adds that he has not calculated exactly how much it cost him to build this ship.
“According to my wife, the funds are not small, but it is worth it. Mostly emotionally – seeing the reactions of people who want to get on and sail on the ship or even just take pictures next to it,” says the Austrian.
After his retirement, he also has more time to travel with friends and on his Viking ship.
“12 years ago I sailed the entire route of the TID regatta – from Ingolstadt in Germany to the Black Sea. Two years ago, however, I experienced a major disappointment. I joined the regatta from the very beginning, from Ingolstadt. However, in the Hungarian town of Mohács, there was a real mutiny on board and the people I was with decided to leave the ship. This time we have assembled a good crew with very good people and we set off from Mohacs to complete the journey to the end of the regatta in Romania”, says Reinhard Sovinz.
He added that he traveled to other places as well, but the Danube River was his favorite river.
“It’s incredible and at times it feels unreal like a movie. It’s hard to describe everything. All these people we meet during the regatta. Not to mention the views that alternate and change literally every half an hour. I really like the rocks and the mountains, but I also like the plains that we pass by in places,” the retired doctor added.
We remind you that TID is the world’s largest tourist rowing regatta. Every year its start is at the end of June from the city of Inglostad, Germany. It passes in 74 days through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania, and is 2,516 km long. Bulgaria is hosting the last stage of the rowing campaign, which passed through Vidin eight days ago.
Tomorrow morning, the Viking ship and its crew of six, together with the rest of the TID participants, will continue their journey down the Danube towards Silistra.
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