New York City’s Scandinavia House is hosting an exhibit on Denmark’s world renown colorful bricks and building blocks. Lego is a combination of two Danish words – leg and godt– which means, not surprisingly, play good. The number one goal and request from any tired parent or babysitter. The Danish inventor was a carpenter, and the first Lego bricks were created from wood in 1932, followed by plastic 15 years later.
The original workshop:
An online estimate stated over 400 billion Lego bricks were produced since the 1950s or about 62 per person. This many Legos provides plenty of opportunities for good play-time to create something with our global friends and neighbors. Maybe the leader of North Korea and our Secretary of State could build something harmless, besides a wall or nuclear launch site, with their 124 Legos!
The Lego exhibit closes on August 4thso don’t wait too long. You can even ‘play good’ with some Legos and create a temporary masterpiece. Sean Kenney, the first Lego Certified Professional artist who also happens to be a Brooklynite, created the Lego sculpture and mosaics in the exhibit. Check out his website for more info. www.seankenney.com
As only a professional could do – the Chrysler Building & Chicago’s Wrigley Field:
If you get a chance, eat in their café, Smörgås Chef, for a typical Scandinavian meal. Curious about what’s on the plates below? Another reason to stop by.
My novel Aquavit doesn’t include Lego, but if you’ve never tried food Scandinavian-style, part of my story takes place in Copenhagen with some typical Danish dining and drinking. After all, a girl’s got to eat, and a drink helps wash it all down!
Karen Stensgaard is the author of the novel AQUAVIT, the first book in the Aquamarine Sea Series with a second novel on the way soon. AQUAVIT is available as a paperback from Amazon and Ingram Spark or as an e-book from almost everyone else. Libraries have free access via Overdrive. Link to free chapters on Amazon
KAREN STENSGAARD 