Spring Break: Fictional Things from Scandinavia.

Those of you who spoke to me might have heard that there are many wonderful fictional things that were born in Scandinavia. Here is what they are:

In Norway, actually in all of Scandinavia, there are trolls. The myth is that before the glaciers melted and the land was all ice, trolls lived in northern Europe. The people moved up there after the last ice age, and they had to deal with these trolls, who could be evil or rather kind. They could only go out at night, love porridge, will eat you if pissed off, and will they can be rather helpful if you are nice to them. I bet this following picture is what you are seeing in your minds eye.

These adorable little troll dolls are NOT what these mythical creatures look like. They are horrifying. Note the picture below and my terrified eyes.

Erica was not half as scared as I was.

They were all shapes and and sizes, but they were all freaky.
Most trolls today work as models for the flourishing souvenir venue.
Yes, we saw trolls in every country visited, but in Norway, we truly felt as though one would jump out at us at any moment.

Next stop was Denmark, and did you know the Little Mermaid is Danish? The book from which the Disney movie was based was written in Copenhagen, and being there I would have to say I saw a lot of parallels with the movie's scenery; however, Ariel herself was not pictured as such:

She was not hopeful and bright, but she is forlorn and brooding. Seriously I met her; look below!

See! She's super sad right?

Poor super hot princess who can no longer dance with a crab under the sea.

Well, what about Sweden? PIPPI OF COURSE! Another famous book turned American movie was born in Scandinavia. You know Pippi Longstocking right? She is a super cool chick with a neglectful father, who, now that I think about it, is an obvious viking decedent. She is strong enough to lift a horse over her head and owns a monkey.
Both versions of Pippi that was came across were pretty similar to the vision I had imagined.

The last country we visited was Finland, and SANTA LIVES THERE. I was excited as Buddy the Elf. Here is the the classic, or slightly exaggerated, version of a crappy mall santa.
Nope, I met the real deal. I was all the way up in the Arctic Circle, and I met the guy who breaks into your house once a year.
Iceland, the one Scandinavian country that I had always planned to visit, was the only country in Scandinavia that we did not visit, but it does hold a magical creature.

BJORK

Just kidding. She's not mythical, but she is awesome.
And she is also kind of not real, isn't she?