I first made the acquaintance of Erik the Red in the fourth grade. I was intrigued by this 10th century Viking who left the country of his birth (Norway), settled in another (Iceland), then exiled and re-settled in yet a third country (Greenland). Of course, at nine years old and in a far gentler time, we were not told that Erik the Red was not the most savory of characters. He was actually expelled from Iceland for murder. And the adjective “red” following his name could equally have referred to the color of his hair and beard, or the blood on his hands.

I was fascinated by Erik, but surprised to learn that his son, Leif Erikson, may have been the first person to “discover” America in 1000 A.D. ― a good 492 years before Christopher Columbus, which I regarded as heresy at the time.

Iceland is perhaps one of the most beautiful countries on earth: a spectacular paradise of hot springs, glaciers, mountains, waterfalls, lakes and volcanoes. Its beautiful scenery is why most people venture to its shores. I too, came for the beauty, but I did not forget my childhood hero, Erik and his son Leif.

An Icelandic guide, dressed as a Viking, stands at the doorway of Erik the Red's home.

What is left of Erik’s home is located in the idyllic Haukadalur Valley in the western part of Iceland, about 120 miles (193 km) north of the capital city of Reykjavik. Archaeologists who excavated the site in the late 1990's believe this is where Erik lived and where Leif was born.

The site sits high on a hillside overlooking the valley with a small waterfall close by. There is the foundation of a longhouse fairly typical of the Viking period with a rectangular area approximately 13 by 39 feet (4 by 12 m) divided into several sections serving different functions. Around a central hearth, there was an area for cooking, living and sleeping, with another smaller section to one side that served as a kitchen, and a third area on the opposite side for the storage of farm implements.

It would take a fairly vivid imagination to picture the house as it must have looked a thousand years ago, but fortunately a replica was constructed four years ago and stands only a few steps away from where the actual longhouse stood. The replica longhouse has a dirt floor, turf walls and turf roof. In the central area surrounding the hearth are beds for the entire family, as well as for the slaves. A ladder leads to a loft where the children of slaves slept.

Guides dressed as Vikings describe the troublesome personality of Erik the Red. They also give visitors an idea of what it was like to live in the 10th century, in what was then a newly settled and remote land. A Norwegian, Ingolfur Arnarson, first took up residence in Iceland in 874 A.D., merely a century before Erik the Red would have built his house in the Haukadalur Valley.

Outside the reconstructed longhouse stands a statue of Leif Erikson with a faraway look in his eye ― probably dreaming of new lands to discover. Leif eventually sailed to the North American continent, reaching Baffin Island, Labrador and a place he called Vinland, as yet unidentified.