Swedish Singers of Seattle

08/16/2026

The Hjemkomst is a seventy-six foot Viking ship sitting in a climate-controlled hall in Moorhead, Minnesota, and it got there by crossing the North Atlantic. Not a replica that stayed on a trailer. An actual open wooden vessel that sailed from Duluth to Bergen, Norway in 1982 with a crew of twelve aboard.

Robert Asp built it. He was a junior high guidance counselor in Moorhead with Norwegian roots and no shipbuilding background. In 1971 he bought an old potato warehouse in Hawley and started work, shaping oak he had cut and milled himself, following the lines of the Gokstad ship excavated in Norway a century earlier. Friends and family helped. It took years. Neighbors drove past that warehouse for most of a decade wondering what exactly was happening in there.

He launched it on Lake Superior in 1980 and sailed it that summer. He was already sick by then. Leukemia took him that December, and the ship he named Hjemkomst, meaning homecoming, sat without the man who built it.

His children decided to finish what he started. In May 1982 the crew left Duluth, went through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence, and pushed out into open ocean. Somewhere in the North Atlantic the hull cracked along a plank seam. They patched it at sea and kept going. Six thousand miles later they came into Bergen harbor to a crowd on the docks, having sailed a homemade ship built in a Minnesota potato warehouse to the country their family left generations earlier.

The ship came home and now anchors the Hjemkomst Center on the Red River. The building is designed so you see the vessel all at once when you walk in, mast raised, hull curving up to the carved prow, close enough to read the grain in the oak. Displays around it carry the logbooks, the photographs and the story in the crew's own words.

Outside sits the Hopperstad Stave Church, a full-scale replica of a twelfth century Norwegian church, built by a Moorhead man named Guy Paulson in another act of stubborn devotion. Two enormous handmade objects, two ordinary men, one small city on the North Dakota border.

The thing people remember is not the woodworking. It is that a guidance counselor decided in 1971 that he was going to build a Viking ship, and that after he died his kids sailed it to Norway anyway.

08/07/2026

It’s beautiful. It’s iconic ✨🧀

It’s the Norwegian cheese slicer.

Invented in 1925 by cabinetmaker Thor Bjørklund in Lillehammer, Norway, it creates thin, perfectly even slices of Norway’s beloved brunost: a rich, caramel-kissed brown cheese with a sweet and distinctly Norwegian flavor.

08/05/2026

07/23/2026

🇸🇪 First know this colorful wooden horse isn't just a souvenir—it's one of Sweden's most beloved national symbols. ❤️🐴

The Dala Horse (Dalahäst) has been handcrafted in the Swedish province of Dalarna for centuries. Originally carved by woodworkers during long winter evenings, these simple wooden horses gradually evolved into beautifully hand-painted works of art that are now recognized around the world as a symbol of Swedish heritage.

Each authentic Dala Horse is carefully carved from locally sourced pine and decorated by skilled artisans using traditional floral patterns inspired by Swedish folk art. No two hand-painted horses are exactly alike, making every piece unique.

07/17/2026

😊😊

07/09/2026

The Nordic flags may look similar, but each one tells a unique story of history, identity, and shared heritage. 🇸🇪🇳🇴🇫🇮🇩🇰✨

If you've ever looked at the flags of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, you've probably noticed one thing they all have in common—the distinctive Nordic Cross. This off-center cross has become one of the most recognizable flag designs in the world, symbolizing a shared cultural and historical connection among the Nordic countries.

🇩🇰 Denmark – The World's Oldest National Flag
The story begins with Dannebrog, Denmark's flag, which is widely regarded as the oldest continuously used national flag in the world. According to legend, it fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse in 1219, inspiring Danish troops and leading them to victory. While the story is legendary rather than historically proven, Dannebrog became a lasting symbol of Denmark and later inspired the flags of neighboring Nordic nations.

🇸🇪 Sweden – Blue and Gold
Sweden adopted its blue flag with a golden-yellow cross as a reflection of the nation's royal colors. The blue is often associated with loyalty, justice, and the country's many lakes and skies, while the golden cross represents generosity, light, and Sweden's rich cultural heritage.

🇳🇴 Norway – Freedom and Unity
Norway's flag features a blue cross outlined in white on a red background. Adopted in 1821, its colors were inspired by the ideals of liberty, democracy, and independence. The combination also reflects Norway's close historical ties with both Denmark and Sweden.

🇫🇮 Finland – Land of Snow and Lakes
Finland's flag is one of the simplest yet most meaningful in the world. The blue cross symbolizes the country's thousands of lakes and clear skies, while the white background represents Finland's snowy winters and pure northern landscapes. It has become a proud symbol of Finnish resilience, nature, and national identity.

✨ What is the Nordic Cross?
Unlike many national flags, the Nordic Cross is positioned slightly to the left, extending to all four edges of the flag. Originally representing Christianity, today it also symbolizes the shared history, cultural connections, and close cooperation between the Nordic countries.

07/09/2026

07/03/2026

🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴

𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞.

If you tried to reach a Norwegian office this week, you may have noticed something: nobody is answering. That is called 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆, and it is one of the unique things about the country I come from.

𝑭𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆 translates roughly to "common holiday."

It is the collective leave period that many Norwegian companies observe in July, and its origins date back to the interwar years, when employers and workers in the metal smelting industry agreed on a shared three-week holiday.

For the factories, it was simpler to close down completely and reopen when everyone returned than to juggle staggered vacations all year.

The idea spread from there until it became, as one writer put it, about as Norwegian as bunads and brown cheese.

This year, the block runs from July 6th to 24th. Roughly half the Norwegian workforce is off at the same time, and offices literally close.

Calling a meeting in July is a fool's errand, and people will not answer a single email or text until early or mid-August.

There are even stories of entire hospital wards closing for the summer (the local advice being: do not get sick in July).

A few things make it work that would short-circuit an American brain:

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐰.

Fellesferie itself is a tradition, not a statute, but under the Holiday Act, employees can demand three consecutive weeks off between June 1st and the end of September.

Most people get five weeks of paid holiday a year. And guess what: if you get sick during your vacation, you can claim those days back with a doctor's note. 🙂

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝.

Norwegians pay for the whole thing with 𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧, holiday money paid out in June that amounts to roughly a month's salary, set aside from the previous year's earnings.

You are quite literally paid to leave.

𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐲.

Little is expected of anyone, and people disconnect completely, often without a phone signal at the cabin anyway.

And of course.. the food!

𝙁𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚 is cabin season. Families decamp to the hytte for weeks, or fly south to Syden to thaw on a beach.

Back home it is the season of long tables and slow meals: grilling several times a week when the weather cooperates, berry picking in the woods, selvplukk, where you wander a farm or forest and fill a bucket.

The koldtbord, that gorgeous spread of cold dishes. Bread, pålegg, strong coffee, repeat.

This is the whole philosophy behind Arctic Grub.

The Norwegian summer table is already half plant-based if you let it be: new potatoes still warm from the pot, cucumber salad, flatbread, strawberries that taste like they were grown three feet away. Y

You don't need to do much when the ingredients are this good, and you finally have the time to sit and enjoy them.

So consider this post your permission slip.

You don't have to close your business for three weeks, but you might pick one slow Norwegian evening this July.

Grill something, pick something, and put your phone in a drawer. Let the meal take as long as it takes.

Det er fellesferie. Nyt!

🌿 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇? 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒘.

06/04/2026

Come support our grand concert at the end of our convention! ❤️

06/02/2026

Have plans this Friday? Is so, CANCEL THEM! Come hear us sing as we celebrate Swedish National Day at The Swedish Club. Ticket includes a dinner buffet featuring herring prepared three ways, salmon, and, of course, Swedish Meatballs! You will also hear us sing some of the classic National Day songs, as well as a sample of our set that will be performed during the AUSS National Convention later this month in Minnesota!

Bar opens at 5:00pm, dinner buffet opens at 6:00pm - we hope to see you there!

Join us for our annual celebration of Sweden's National Day—an evening filled with traditional food, lively music, and spirited cheer!