 According to one poem, Harald had mastered a number of activities that were considered sports in the Viking Age, in addition to poetry, brewing, horse riding, swimming, skiing, shooting, rowing and playing the harp.The sagas state that Harald and his Varangians at least once took a break during the siege of a town to enjoy sports.With regards to religion, Harald had, according to DeVries, a "religious inclination towards Christianity" and was "publicly close to the Christian Church", although he was influenced by the Eastern Christian culture of Kyivan Rus' (Garderike) and the Byzantine Empire, having spent most of his life there.