When Viking cruise founder Torstein Hagen was a child, he called his beloved mother “Mamsen.” His hard-working mother Ragnhild Hagen’s kitchen was a family safe harbor in any storm.

Now Mamsen’s on the Viking Polaris is a loving tribute to the family matriarch serving food that Torstein Hagen enjoyed as a child. It’s a good spot to enjoy a light breakfast or Nordic lunch buffet or afternoon snack.

As with all Viking Polaris restaurants, there is no extra cost to dine at Mamsen’s. The breakfast buffet features breads, cheeses, herring, oatmeal, sweet rolls, cinnamon rolls and those delightful freshly made waffles with fruit and syrup. Lunch has sandwiches and soup with some cakes.

Mamsen pulling her granddaughter Karine

The dishware in Mamsen’s is the same design as the set Torstein Hagen remembered from his childhood. Coincidentally, the pattern was called “Tor Viking” – maybe a foreshadowing of what was to come.

One of the photographs in Mamsen’s shows the woman herself, pulling her granddaughter Karine in a traditional pulk or sleigh.

“In the winter, when the sun hardly rose, she made hearty soups and stews from scratch,” Karine once wrote. “In the summer, when the sun hardly set, we ate lighter fare of cured meats and fish and open-faced sandwiches which we call smorbrod.”

The grownup daughter of Torstein Hagen, Karine Hagen is now senior vice president of Viking cruises. For a memorable journey, book a cruise aboard the new Viking Polaris and discover other Hagen family touches onboard the ship.

Photos by Jackie Sheckler Finch

Ed. Note: Please contact us for more information and to book a cruise Crown Cruise Vacations | Cruise Getaways You Can Afford!

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