I was left with the impression, when I was mired in that part of the world, that the Vikings actually got as far as the eastern shores of the Black Sea, far beyond Italy even.
Or is that the wrong impression?
Frank:
They've found Viking 'graffiti' in Constantinople. Given that the Volga River dumps out into the Black Sea, it stands to reason that the Vikings navigated the entire shoreline.
I tend to think of these operations as "armed trading" missions. If you are weak/evenly matched, you trade. If you are strong, you take (raid). Either way the Viking wins.
"I was left with the impression, when I was mired in that part of the world, that the Vikings actually got as far as the eastern shores of the Black Sea, far beyond Italy even."
Two different routes.
Swedes went down Volga River, and wound up at the court of the Byzantine Empire. Said to be court guards.
Another time and route was Robert Guiscard, related to William the Conqueror (France, England, 1066, Battle of Hastings, etc.). These nordics were originally from Norway.
This Viking (frenchified for a few generations) controlled southern Italy and a few other places. Conquered Bari 1071, taking it away from Byzantine Empire.
An easy way to remember (In the broadest sense, risking oversimplification and even error): Swedes sailed east. Norwegians sailed west.