Lego's Beginnings in Denmark

How did Lego bricks come to be?

From humble beginnings in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen a carpenter and furniture maker.

After his workshop burned down in 1924 he began again by building a larger workshop and increasing production but the depression in the 1930’s almost forced him out of business when a social worker encouraged him to begin making toy reproductions of his furniture.

He began with pull toys, piggy banks, cars and trucks and enjoyed a modest amount of success but his toys were expensive and he was forced to return to furniture making.

In 1934 the company name was coined. A contest was held encouraging his employees to come with a name and two names were considered “Legia” a combination of legion of toys and “Lego” from the Danish phrase “leg godt” or play well.

When plastic came into widespread use Ole Kirk stayed with the times and began producing plastic toys including a modular truck that could be taken apart and reassembled and in 1949 began producing plastic bricks designed after Kiddicraft bricks produced by Hilary Harry Fisher Page.

The Lego bricks were developed to resemble traditional wooden blocks that could be stacked one upon the other the difference was the several round studs on top and a hollow rectangular bottom so that they would stick together and the rest is history.

Legoland Denmark in Billund can easily be reached by car from Copenhagen and on the way a stop in Odense for a visit to the Hans Christian Andersen home and museum may be in order.

Sincerely,
John and Don

Our research was based on our reading of lego.com - feel free to visit there yourself for more information!

The Lake District of Finland

There are lakes of all sizes in every region of Finland but the eastern part of Finland is very well endowed with pristine lakes. The Saimaa lake system following along the eastern border of Russia is a vast interconnecting network of waterways. It is this region that has earned Finland its reputation as the land of a thousand lakes. For anyone that is longing for the peace of unspoiled countryside and a clean environment, a visit to this area will provide a rejuvenating experience.

Another area and equally beautiful are the lake systems extending on either side of Tampere and in the vicinity of Jyväskylä in central Finland. The Finnish Silverline offers programs that feature restaurant boats with dining cruises. Silverline has operated on lakes Pyhäjärvi and Vanajavesi for more than 60 years with scheduled service between Tampere and Hämeenlinna.

It’s easy to reach Helsinki with Scandinavian Airlines from any one of their gateway cities including Chicago, Newark and Washington, Dulles where non stop service is offered to Copenhagen and/or Stockholm with convenient connecting flights. A visit to Finland can easily be added to your Scandinavian adventure.

Sincerely,

John and Don

Dear Readers,

Today is our first time 'going live' onto our new blog, and we plan to keep you up to date with our "Inside Scoop". Please visit us again soon, as we are preparing our next post!

In the meanwhile, feel free to visit our Nelson's Website, www.nelsonsscandinavia.com


Sincerely,

Don and John
Nelson's Scandinavia