Lutefisk

New Ulm was dreamy! A wealth of fancy stoops, guarded by lions and gilded birds. And castles to boot! Once this gnome gets started it's hard to stop him though. So off I go, in the direction of adventure. Time to add to the growing collection of stoops I've felt under the stone under my boots.

A building caught my attention, not because of any kind of stoop it had, but because of the pictures painted on the outside walls. The pictures showed people gathering and then eating a big feast. When I saw this, my belly grumbled. Would you believe it sounded like it said, "Grrrrgo inside. Hungrrrry."


"Ugh. Not another one." I heard a gruff voice say when I got near the front door.
"Oh no. Don't look at him."
"Quick, let's block the door."

I got to the front door and was greeted by trolls. "Hello! Are you out having adventures? I thought I might find lunch in here."

"Go away, gnome. There's already enough of you in here."
"Go away."
And the third one told me to go away, too.

Good thing gnomes don't listen to trolls. If there are other gnomes in Ingebretsen's then I want to salute and say hello to them! I politely walked past their long lumpy noses, which were turned up at me. I made a point of not looking at them. When I was a young gnome I made the mistake of looking at a troll when its nose was turned up. I had frightful dreams for months afterward!













A viking! I saluted the large fellow and asked if, by chance, he knew Big Ole of Alexandria. He let out a hearty belly laugh that shook his body armor. "Me and Ole go way back. How is the big guy? Still luring visitors down main street to visit him, is he?" I told him he was. "He always did like company." My stomach growled again. I think it said, "Grrrrrrub."



I told the viking I was looking for some lunch and he pointed to a bright counter filled with delicious looking food. "Personally, I can't get enough of the lutefisk. But that's just me. I know it's an acquired taste." I'd love to try Lutefisk! I've learned that if a viking recommends something to try, you'd be smart to try it!


"Okay!" Said the viking as he clapped his hands together. "Suit up! We'll prepare your lunch together. This will be a good addition to your list of adventures." The viking handed me a chef's hat and a cooking utensil and we got to work preparing my lutefisk. "Morrre," said my stomach upon finishing my first piece of lutefisk. We prepared one more piece and finally my belly had nothing more to say.









Ingebretsen's is quite a place! I found a book titled Gnomes. I couldn't help but stop and read it. We're pretty fascinating!








It was especially nice to speak to a Miss Dala eye to eye! "It's not often I meet someone who I can talk to without having to look way way up or way way down."
She said, "Don't look now, but there are a few fellows across the room who seem pretty curious about you."
"I'll be happy to say hi to them!" I said. "They'll be happy to see you. But they're shy and may not be the best of conversationalists."
I walked across the room toward these supposedly shy fellows the Dala Horse told me about.





Along the way I exchanged friendly hellos with some pointy fellows.







I heard whispers at this point, and then silence. I continued across the room when I noticed about a hundred eyes following my every movement with silent awe.

"Hello there." I said, quietly. I didn't want to startle the little fellows. "I'm Aaron's Lawn Gnome. Who are all of you?" Silence. I told them that I was out having adventures and searching for stoops. I complimented them on their nice home and before I left I told them not to let those nasty trolls bother them. They're all bark and no bite.

A Stoop of Note and Mr. Ole

While chatting with this fellow on Lake Street the conversation naturally turned to stoops. It is the reason I am out and about after all. Toward the end of our talk I asked if he knew of any stoops of note in Minnesota. He closed the paper he was reading and closed his eyes to think. After a few seconds he opened his eyes and with a snap of his fingers he said, "Alexandria is where you want to go!" So I asked him to point me in that direction and, with a last salute to this helpful fellow, I was on my way!

I was following some train tracks in the direction of Alexandria for a few miles when I felt a rumble under my stone -- a train! I stopped to watch it pass when I felt a tug on my belt! All of a sudden I was on the train, face to face with the train conductor. "You're a gnome!" he said. "I love gnomes! You must be on a journey if you're all the way out here." And he let me ride on the train all the way to Alexandria. He even let me ride in the conductor seat! I've never ridden the rails before and was happy to add the experience to my growing list of adventures.

I arrived in Alexandria today -- much sooner than I had planned, of course. I followed the main street through town and met a very large fellow with an incredible hat! I introduced myself and asked if he could tell me where in town I could find a stoop of note. He had a booming voice and I was a little frightened at first! He announced himself as Big Ole. I must have been staring because he said, "This is my viking hat." And we got to talking about our hats, his shield, and arrows and hatchets. I practically forgot the reason I came to Alexandria when Big Ole told me that the stoop I was looking for was just across the street! What luck! I thanked Mr. Ole and ran across the street to something called The Runestone Museum.

Inside I found the most ornate piece of stone I have ever seen. I watched a short movie that explained that Olaf Ohman, a Swedish immigrant farmer found this ancient and strangely carved stone on his land in 1898. People accused him of making the runestone himself. To make the accusations stop, Ohman made the stone his front step. A stoop is supposed to be a friendly and welcoming place -- not something that someone would make out of shame!


I couldn't find any information about there being a gnome who guarded this runestone stoop. I wonder if I'll find a famous and historic step to call home, or just stand on for a day! The ornate carvings, the thickness and color of this stone; I stood and luxuriated at being so close to such an ancient stoop until the museum closed.