In the community of Ballard in Seattle, Washington, we have a statue of Leif Erickson that stands majasticaly overlooking the yacht harbor at Shilshole Bay Marina. As of August 1997, Trondheim, Norway also has a statue of Leif Erickson that over looks the harbor there. In fact, this statue is a modern copy of the one in Ballard, and we were there in Trondheim to see it dedicated at the 1,000 year anniversery celebration of Leif Erickson.

The creation of this statue and its placement in Trondheim was initiated and organized by our good friend Kristine Leander who founded the Leif Erickson Society to get this project underway. Through donations from many people and organizations, including us, a rendition of the statue in Ballard was commissioned and after many months of hard work, the statue was successfully placed overlooking Trondheim harbor where the real Leif Erickson once sailed.

As a result of our gift to make this happen, the name of Dave's grandfather (on his mother's side),Victor Erickson, and Victor's sister Beda were inscribed on a plaque next to the statue to note their emigration from Scandinavia in 1905. And, they did in fact emigrate from this port in Trondheim after leaving Hackås and taking a train to Trondheim from Ostersund, Sweden.

Three years later, we added two more names to the plaque at the statue. These were Dave's grandmother and great grandmother on his mother's side, Matilda Erickson and Maria Gulbranson.

While in Trondheim, we toured the sights of the city. We went to Munkholmen, which is a small island in the fjord a short distance from the city, and had a dinner of fish soup at a restaurant there. During the Viking times, this was Trondheim's execution ground, and then later a monastery, a prison fortress, a customs house, and then a German anti-aircraft site during World War II.

Then we went to the Sverresborgnd Trøndelag Folk Museum, which is one of the largest cultural history museums in Norway. Here we entered Lo Church, which is a small chapel originally built in 1615, and we listened to a coral presentation by the Norwegian Ladies Choir from Seattle. We heard this group sing in Seattle, and it was extra special to hear them sing in this old and quaint little church here in the middle of Norway. After the singing, we had dinner at the tavern at Sverrsborgnd where Ovnsbakt Laksfilet med rømme og agurksalat was served.

And, we couldn't leave Trondheim without visiting Nidaros Cathedral. This is a massively large building with much detail in its facade. We were intrigued by all the statues on the front side of the building, and by all the gargoyles and other interesting creatures all around the exterior. Inside, we were treated to another concert presented by a large men's Norwegian Choir who were visiting from the United States.