Viking Magazine - May 2018 - 27

Did You
Know?
Seattle has two Nordic sister cities.
Bergen was named a sibling in 1967,
with Reykjavik, Iceland, following in
1986. As part of the relationship,
the cities participate in many
cultural and educational
exchanges.
with flags from Norway, Finland,
Iceland, Denmark and Sweden proudly
displayed at the tree-lined park's
entrance. Named in honor of Bergen,
Norway, one of Seattle's sister cities,
the park was dedicated by the late King
Olav V on October 19, 1975.
Leif Erikson (leiferikson.org)
is another famous Scandinavian
celebrated in Seattle, marked by a
statue at the Shilshole Bay Marina.
Credited with being the first European
to visit North America around 1000
AD, the Leif Erikson League gifted the
statue of the explorer to Seattle for the
1962 World's Fair. Crafted by sculptor
August Werner, the statue follows the
Viking tradition of facing the water, and
is now surrounded by stones designed
by artist Jay Haavik, a tribute to Nordic
immigrants.
SNACK
To fuel your sightseeing adventures, stop
into Byen Bakeri (byenbakeri.com) in
the North Queen Anne neighborhood.
Brian and Michelle Morck opened
the shop in 2013, baking made-fromscratch
breads, pastries, cakes and
sandwiches. Take your pick from
a variety of Nordic treat selections
- ranging from kringle, lefse and
kransekake to julekake, Swedish rye and
kneippbrød - and take in the water
views from nearby Fremont Canal Park.
If you're lucky enough to be in Seattle
on the first Sunday of the month, don't
pass up the chance to attend the Swedish
Club's (swedishclubnw.org) pancake
breakfast. For only $11, fill your plate
with fluffy pannkakor topped with
lingonberries or strawberries, and drink
a cup of Swedish coffee while enjoying
traditional folk dancing.
The club also hosts other open-tothe-public
events, so even if you miss
breakfast, it's still worth a stop to take
a Swedish language or weaving class,
or catch a Scandinavian movie with
English subtitles.
For a splash of aquavit, saddle
up to Old Ballard Liquor Co.
(oldballardliquorco.com) to sip on the
Scandinavian spirit.
The six-year-old nano-distillery
batches different mixes throughout
the year - including flavors like
citron, dill, licorice and holiday
spice - while the small, 12-seat café,
which opened in 2016, will keep you
grounded with a changing menu of
nibbles like pickled herring, potato
and leek soup with limpa bread, and
sweet cardamom bread.
SHOP
Now that you've gotten a taste of
Seattle's Scandinavian cuisine, don't
leave empty-handed. Scandinavian
Specialties (scanspecialties.com)
in Ballard is the premier purveyor
of goods from Norway, Sweden,
Denmark, Iceland and Finland.
Originally founded in 1962 as the
Norwegian Sausage Company, the
PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): DESIGN BY MITHUN / IMAGE BY MIR, CHUCK PEFLEY / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO, ALABASTRO PHOTOGRAPH, SHUTTERSTOCK

http://www.oldballardliquorco.com http://www.leiferikson.org http://www.swedishclubnw.org http://www.scanspecialties.com http://www.byenbakeri.com

Viking Magazine - May 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Viking Magazine - May 2018