| Good company, ambient lighting, soft music, comfortable seating and above all great food combine to create what the Danish call hygge, loosely translated as a 'warm fuzzy comfortable feeling of well-being'. But imagine the roar of Valhalla in years gone by, Viking warlords, pillaging war parties, the great hall of Odin where warriors who die as heroes in battle dwell eternally, tables laden with the warriors' feast, molten candlelight guttering in the draught, the clang of weaponry and the rich smell of a battle won. |
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| Escorted to Valhalla by the valkyries, Odin’s mounted female messengers whose sparkling armor supposedly created the famed Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, the fallen warriors enter via the main gate, Valgrind. The hall itself has 540 doors, so wide that 800 warriors could walk through side-by-side, walls made of spears, a roof made of shields and benches covered with breastplates. It is said that there is room enough for all those chosen. Here, every day, the slain warriors who will assist Odin in Ragnarök, the gods' final conflict with the giants, arm themselves for battle and ride forth by the thousands to engage in mock combat on the plains of Asgard. At night, they return to Valhalla to feast on roasted boar, pickled herrings and smoked ham and drink intoxicating mead, mulled gløg and the potent liqueur Aquavit. |
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| The majority of historians believe that 'Viking' is an Old Norse word for 'pirate' and referred to the way that the seafarers raided and traded. Though notorious for their fearsome Viking raids, Nordics were also farmers and craftsmen and Nordic cuisine reflects this subsistence based livelihood. |
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