Nordic Lights Film Festival in Seattle

The Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, Washington, presents its first annual Nordic Lights Film Festival October 23-25, 2009 at the SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall. The festival will feature contemporary, award-winning films from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. All movies are subtitled.

Admission is $7 for Museum members and $10 for non-members. Admission to the children’s feature (Saturday, 10:00 a.m.) is discounted: $8 for adults, $6 for adult members, $4 for children. A festival pass is available for $50 for members and $60 for non-members.

Tickets are available through the SIFF Cinema Box Office at www.siff.net or (206) 464-5830.
SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall is located at 321 Mercer Street in Seattle.
For information, please contact Charlotte Lehmann at 206-789-5707, ext 21., or
charlotte@nordicmuseum.org.

All ticket holders are cordially invited to the opening reception including welcome remarks and refreshments.

Film Festival Schedule:

Friday, October 23
7:00 Opening reception
7:30 Everlasting Moments

Saturday, October 24
10:00 My Uncle Loved the Color Yellow, Mystery of the Wolf
1:00 Misty Mountain, Herdswoman
3:00 Lights in the Dusk
7:30 When Elvis Came to Visit, Flame and Citron

Sunday, October 25
2:00 Family Reunion, The World in Denmark
3:30 Little Man, Back Soon
7:00 Black Ice
9:00 Mr. Mustache, Dead Snow

About the Films:

Back Soon (Iceland)
Anna Hallgrimsdottir, a poetess, dishwasher, and marijuana dealer in her late thirties, lives in Reykjavik with her two sons. This humorous look at Icelandic life follows Anna over 48 hours as she sells her drug business.

Black Ice (Finland)
Black Ice is a suspenseful drama about an unlikely relationship between two women. The main characters, Saara and Tuuli, are irresistible and unpredictable women of equal strength who are both connected to the same man.

Dead Snow (Norway)
The group of friends had all they would need for a successful Easter vacation: cabin, skis, snowmobile, toboggan, copious amounts of beer, and a fertile mix of the sexes. Certainly, none of them had anticipated not returning home alive! However, the Nazi-zombie battalion haunting the mountains surrounding the aptly named Oksfjord (Axefjord) had other plans...

Everlasting Moments (Denmark and Sweden)
In a time of social change and unrest, war and poverty, a young working-class Swedish woman, Maria, wins a camera in a lottery. The decision to keep it alters her whole life.

Family Reunion (Iceland)
A modern-day coming-out story about a young Icelandic woman living in New York, returning to Iceland for a family reunion. How will the family take her news?

Flame and Citron (Denmark)
In occupied Denmark, resistance fighters Flame and Citron are charged with liquidating Danish informers. In the struggle for freedom, all zones appear gray, and it becomes increasingly unclear who is friend and who is foe. Based on true events.

Herdswoman (Sweden)
Herdswoman is about three Sami women to whom reindeer herding is not only an occupation but a way of life. The film explores the vulnerability of indigenous peoples in modern society and conflicts surrounding rights to land and water.

Lights in the Dusk (Finland)
Koistinen, a lonely night watchman, is exploited by criminal elements because of his longing for love. This movie, directed by acclaimed Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, concludes the trilogy that started with Drifting Clouds and continued with The Man Without a Past.

Little Man (Denmark)
Eight-year-old Mathias is writing an essay for school entitled “How to Understand Women.” His fieldwork turns out to be quite difficult.

Misty Mountain (Iceland)
While based in a remote NATO radar station in Iceland in the late 1960s, Warren occasionally time traveled into the future, to the year 2006. Now, as his former destination in time becomes his present, he returns to prevent the death of the woman he fell in love with during his travels

Mr. Mustache (Norway)
Mr. Mustache is a film about men and their mustaches. Through several interviews woven together as a lively collage, the film’s ten participants convey both the disadvantages and positive effects of the hair growing beneath their noses.

My Uncle Loved the Color Yellow (Sweden)
A tragicomic short about a moving relationship between a boy and a rather special uncle.

Mystery of the Wolf (Finland)
A family film set in the wilderness of Finnish Lapland. Twelve-year-old Salla defends the wolves that are a threat to the local livelihood, reindeer husbandry.

When Elvis Came to Visit (Sweden)
An intimate film about a small, yet momentous, meeting in Sweden between Lukas and the young boy Elvis, whose parents are from Iran. Lukas, not an immigrant-friendly person, tries to keep his distance, but the young boy’s innocence gradually affects him.

The World in Denmark (Denmark)
With an even-keeled narrative, Max Kestner's film takes us on a kaleidoscopic tour around Denmark.

Nordic Lights Film Festival
SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA
October 23 to 25, 2009

Stunning Iceland photos by a local photographer

I just discovered the spectacular work of Icelandic photographer Örvar Atli Þorgeirsson. Check out his gallery on Flickr. These gorgeous images perfectly capture the beauty of Iceland (and some other places as well).

To whet your appetite, here are just a few of the photos:

Check out the rest of Örvar Atli Þorgeirsson's photos here 
Photos used under a Flickr Creative Commons license

The lowdown on Danish hot dogs, pastries, and other food

With President and Mrs. Obama in Copenhagen this week to promote Chicago's bid to host the Olympics in 2016, Denmark is suddenly getting a lot of press. Lisa Donovan of the Chicago Sun-Times takes a look at Danish food.

Danish eat a lot -- just not danish

Believe it or not, Denmark is famous for hot dogs - but (gasp?) with ketchup 

All eyes are on Denmark this week as President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama join Mayor Daley there for a final pitch to bring the Olympics to Chicago.

We dialed the Danish Consulate in Chicago and got Kristian Buur, who talked to us about the food scene in his home country and in Copenhagen, the capitol where the International Olympic Committee gathers Friday to vote on a host city for the 2016 Games.

First of all, let’s get this “Danish” thing — as in the pastry — straight. The Danish don’t eat danish. That would be, well, weird. Instead, their jam-filled pastry is called “wienerbrod.” Translation: bread from Vienna.

Read the rest of this article at the Chicago Sun-Times

Stockholm International Film Festival to feature giant ice screen

You may have heard of the Ice Hotel, but have you ever heard of a giant movie screen made entirely of ice? That's what organizers are planning for the twentieth annual Stockholm International Film Festival, which will take place in the Swedish capital November 18-29, 2009.

According to Reuters, the screen will be nearly 5 meters (16.4 feet) wide and will weigh about 10 metric tons. It will be made from slabs of ice that were cut from the frozen Torne River in Sweden's far north back in March. The total cost of the project is estimated at approximately 500,000 Swedish crowns ($71,140).

Continue reading at Seattle International Travel Examiner

Photo: Ice wall by Stockholm International Film Festival

Ingmar Bergman items fetch $2.6 million at auction in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM (Associated Press) - A chipped and incomplete chess set believed to have featured in one of Ingmar Bergman's best known films fetched one of the highest bids at a special auction for the late director's belongings, auction house officials said Tuesday.

The set, which had been valued at around 10,000-15,000 kronor ($1,430-$2,150), sold for 1 million kronor ($142,000), said Charlotte Bergström, a spokeswoman at Bukowskis in Stockholm. It is missing a white king and is believed to have been used in "The Seventh Seal," one of Bergman's most famous films.

Read more at the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Finnair begins daily direct flights to India

Finnair announced last week that it would begin offering daily direct flights between Helsinki and New Delhi, India. The route is the only direct service between northern Europe and Delhi, and easy connections are available between Helsinki and locations throughout Scandinavia, the Baltic countries, and other parts of northern and western Europe.

"Our route is the shortest between the EU and India, so it has found wide interest among travelers," said Petteri Kostermaa, Vice President, Networks Strategy and Planning. Flight time between Helsinki and Delhi is just 6 1/2 hours.

The daily direct flights began on September 25. For schedules and reservations, visit Finnair's website.

Photo courtesy of Finnair

Calling the Cows in West Sweden

by Alison Stein Wellner

From The Perceptive Travel Blog

I was hearing sounds that I couldn’t identify, but this didn’t entirely surprise me.

I was standing in the garden at Läckö Castle, on Lake Värnen near Lidköping, in West Sweden. I’d just gotten off from the red eye flight from the United States and I was in that jet-lagged, grainy-eyed, brain-riddled-with-bird-shot place where even ordinary things don’t make sense. It was a struggle to get my bearings, standing under a porcelain blue sky in the shadow of largest medieval castle in the Sweden. I was at a reception, in fact, so I attempted to make sensible conversation while I balanced a glass of white wine and a bowl of soup just made from long green beans plucked from the vines crawling up the garden wall.

Read more at Perceptive Travel Blog - Calling the Cows in West Sweden

Wild Sweden

From National Geographic Traveler's Intelligent Travel Blog:

JT Blatty, a former Traveler photo intern, has been spending the last month traveling through Sweden, and sends us a dispatch from their swath of national parks. 

During an impulsive, two-week road trip through the less populated landscapes of Sweden, it only took a few nights for my friend and I to realize that our spontaneous agenda was becoming quite predictable - but in a good way. A few hours before dusk, a quick look at the map would indicate a picture-perfect location to camp for the night and explore the next morning, whether forest, lake, beach, or mountain peak. In other words, there was no way of avoiding the 7,000 square kilometers of Sweden's 28 national parks.

At the time I didn't realize that 2009 is "Nature's Year" in Sweden, a 100-year milestone celebrating Swedish national parks and the successful measures taken to preserve their diverse ecological landscapes.   

Read more at Wild Sweden - Intelligent Travel Blog

Travel with Hurtigruten to Norway's far north, fjords, and other destinations

Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten recently announced several new adventures to go along with its already exciting catalog of expedition cruises. The company's 2010-2011 brochures include expanded offerings in Greenland, Spitsbergen, and the Antarctic, along with established Norwegian highlights such as the west coast and the fjords.

The traditional Hurtigruten cruise along Norway's west coast to the land of the midnight sun is offered in several variations: one-way cruises between Bergen and Kirkenes (7 days northbound or 6 days southbound) and a 12-day round-trip voyage from Bergen. The round-trip cruise calls at 34 ports. (Click here for pricing.)

If Norway's far north just isn't Arctic enough for you, Hurtigruten's Spitsbergen cruises will take you even further. Spitsbergen is the largest island in the Svalbard Archipelago, which lies between 76 and 81 degrees north latitude, about halfway between Norway and the North Pole. The northermost land in Europe, the islands have been part of Norway since 1925. Hurtigruten offers three different 9-day itineraries around Spitsbergen, as well as a 6-day version. The cost for the 9-day trips ranges from $3,532 to $8,887 depending on the itinerary and dates; the 6-day cruise starts at $1,145.

Hurtigruten also offers a 10-day Norwegian fjords cruise ($1,254 and up) that begins in Dover, England, and crosses the North Sea to Stavanger before visiting several of the country's most famous fjords, including Hardangerfjord, Sognefjord, and Geirangerfjord. The voyage calls at several coastal cities including Alesund and Bergen before ending in Oslo.

From Oslo, Hurtigruten also runs a 10-day round-trip Baltic Sea Tour that visits Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, and Gdynia, Poland (from $3,335).

If you've got money to spare, there are also 11- and 18-day cruise to Greenland, starting at $7,257 and $11,541, respectively (round-trip flights from Copenhagen included). New this year is a one-way cruise from southern Greenland to New York City, with stops in Newfoundland, Labrador, and Massachusetts. Prices start at $4,249 and include flights from New York to Copenhagen and Copenhagen to Greenland.

In the southern hemisphere, Hurtigruten also offers 13- to 22-day itineraries to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia Island.

Visit the Hurtigruten website for more information on their 2010-2011 expeditions.

Photo: Hurtigruten "Nordlys," by Terje Rakke/Nordic life/Innovation Norway

Scandinavians Are Descended From Stone Age Immigrants, Ancient DNA Reveals

Today's Scandinavians are not descended from the people who came to Scandinavia at the conclusion of the last ice age but, apparently, from a population that arrived later, concurrently with the introduction of agriculture. This is one conclusion of a new study straddling the borderline between genetics and archaeology.

Read the rest of this article at Science Daily

Renowned Danish chef tours U.S. to promote new Scandinavian cookbook

Well-known Danish chef Trina Hahnemann is in the midst of a U.S. book tour to promote her first English-language release, The Scandinavian Cookbook, published earlier this year.

As stated in her book and on her website, Hahnemann's philosophy about cooking is simple: "Food should be made out of the best, preferably organic, ingredients. It should be prepared with great care and love – without spending a whole day in the kitchen." Hahnemann has catered for numerous big-name rock bands and runs several in-house restaurants and cafeterias at large corporations and government entities, including the Danish Parliament. The Scandinavian Cookbook has earned rave reviews from critics and readers. (See the book's page on Amazon: The Scandinavian Cookbook)

Hahnemann has already made stops in Minneapolis and Chicago and will be in San Francisco for two events: a book signing tonight Omnivore Books and a seasonal cooking demonstration at the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture tomorrow morning. She'll then head to New York for guest chef appearances at Scandinavia House and the James Beard House. According to the Danish Embassy, Hahnemann will also be a featured guest at the New World Wine & Food Festival in San Antonio, TX, in mid-November.

Here are the details on Hanhemann's remaining U.S. appearances over the next week.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA
September 25, 6-7 p.m.
Book signing
Ominvore Books
3885a Cesar Chavez St.
(415) 282-4712

SAN FRANCISCO, CA
September 26, 11:45 a.m.
Seasonal cooking demonstration
Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture
One Ferry Building, Suite 50
(415) 291-3276

NEW YORK, NY
September 29, 6:30 p.m.
Cooking demonstration, discussion of Nordic food movement, and book signing
Scandinavia House
58 Park Avenue (at 38th Street)
(212) 879-9779

NEW YORK, NY
October 2, 7 p.m.
Guest chef for multi-course dinner
James Beard House
167 West 12th Street
(212) 627-2308

A taste of Sweden's first marine park

From The Guardian (UK):

Chris Madigan discovers abundant sea life, colourful cold-water reefs and wild, car-free countryside as one of the first visitors to Sweden's first marine national park in the Koster Islands.

It was rush hour at Västra Bryggan, a tiny harbour of ramshackle brown boathouses in the sound separating the two main Koster Islands, off the west coast of Sweden. You could tell it was rush hour because there were people waiting at both quaysides for the little covered chain ferry, akin to a floating bus shelter. A group of retired ladies was doing Tai Chi on the shore and two cormorants had been disturbed by a fishing boat returning to its mooring.

The previous morning the scene had been different. A ferry had brought hundreds of people over from the mainland to a ceremony marking the inauguration of Sweden's first marine national park, Kosterhavet ("Koster sea"), centred on this archipelago north of Gothenburg and close to the border with Norway. With cars banned on the islands (only little tricycle mopeds called "flakmoppe" help with goods deliveries), the crowds had continued on foot to see King Carl-Gustav ring the bell marking the official opening. It was all very feudal.

Read the rest of this article at The Guardian

Sweden to increase tourism budget by 50% for sustainable development

Sweden has announced that it will increase its tourism budget by 50 percent in order to promote sustainable development in the travel industry. Maud Olofsson, the Swedish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Enterprise, Energy, and Tourism, announced the news last week at the Gothenburg Symposium hosted by the World Tourism Organization, the European Travel Commission, and the national tourist board VisitSweden. With the budget increase, VisitSweden will receive 150 million kronor (US$21.45 million) per year, up from 100 million kronor (US$14.5). Olofsson emphasized that this increase is not the result of any lack on VisitSweden's part, but rather is a directly reflection of the "great job" the organization is doing, as well as the important role that tourism can play in sustainable economic development.

"The aim of the Swedish tourism policy is for Sweden to be a highly attractive tourist destination, and for tourism to be competitive in the long term. Tourism should contribute to sustainable growth and increased employment throughout the country," Olofsson said in her presentation.

She added that there is an inherent conflict between the tourism industry and the need to combat climate change, but added that she believes that travel can be a catalyst for positive change. Despite the economic downtown, Olofsson said employment has been rising in the tourism industry, with almost 160,000 people in Sweden working full-time in travel-related jobs.

"Environmentally friendly travel must be sought within the framework of international cooperation and regulations. We cannot only rely on travelers to be conscious and responsible in the way they travel. The various operators within the travel and tourism industry also have a real responsibility to adapt," noted Olofsson. "Ecotourism initiatives must be promoted and developed, and every company in the supply chain can step-by-step improve its products and services in a sustainable and eco-efficient way."

In an interview with Valere Tjolle, editor of VISION on Sustainable Tourism, Olofsson further outlines her goals for Sweden's sustainable tourism development. Among her goals, she mentioned reducing emissions from transportation and improving training and education within the travel sector to make people more aware of the issues and the possibilities. Olofsson also expressed a desire for continued and enhanced global connections and cooperation.

With Sweden holding the presidency of the European Union for the rest of 2009, the country has a tremendous opportunity for leadership on climate change and environmental responsibility. Olofsson believes that Sweden is well positioned to lead the way in the development of a sustainable tourism industry.

"I think the awareness of the environment is very strong here in Sweden, and I think that's why we also are a role model to develop a sustainable tourism industry because the consumers are asking for that type of products," the minister said. "So in that sense I think that Sweden can be a player as a role model and also show how you can train, how you can show best practice, how you can be active and develop a sustainable tourism industry."

Visit TravelMole.com to watch Olofsson's presentation at the Gothenburg Symposium or watch Valere Tjolle's interview with the Deputy Prime Minister.

Sleep on board a decommissioned jet at Stockholm's unique new Jumbo Hostel

Have you ever wanted to sleep on an airplane without being strapped into an uncomfortable seat and fighting an armrest war with the stranger next to you? Well, now you can, at the world's first hostel on board a real jumbo jet.

Parked at the entrance to Stockholm's Arlanda Airport, Jumbo Hostel is a decommissioned 747-200 built in 1976 and used by Singapore Airlines, Pan Am, and the Swedish airline Transjet. Its career in the air ended with Transjet's bankruptcy in 2002.

Continue reading at Seattle International Travel Examiner