Exploring Ballard | Frankie the Troll and Swansons Nursery

November 18, 2023

Exploring Ballard | Frankie the Troll and Swansons Nursery

My family and I went to Ballard the other day to see yet another troll from the NW Trolls: Way of the Bird King project. This is the third troll we've visited. We've also seen Jakob Two Trees in Issaquah and Bruun Idun from West Seattle. The one in Ballard is outside of the National Nordic Museum in Ballard and is named Frankie Feetsplinters! Just like the troll in Issaquah, his eyes seem to follow you as you walk around him.

I find these trolls so whimsical and artistic! It's hard to believe the Danish artist, Thomas Dambo, has made at least 100 of these trolls and they can be found all over the world. If you like these trolls, I recommend doing a Google search of all of his trolls. I thought he only made the six trolls for the PNW, but the other ones all over the world are crazy and cool looking.

This is Frankie Feetsplinters from the National Nordic Museum in Ballard.

We arrived right when the sun was setting, and I had just enough light to take some photos!

After taking a bunch of photos of Frankie, we drove about ten minutes to Swansons Nursery. This popular flower store has been in Seattle a really long time. You can read the story here. But this was our first visit and we were stunned by the size of the store. This time of year, the whole place is decked out in lights, holiday decor, and even a really cool train to check out. The miniature holiday train has a ton of features and things to look at, even a Barbie Dream house! Perfect for the Year of the Barbie. They change the theme of the holiday train every year. There's even a cafe and a Koi fishpond.

I highly recommend checking out Swansons this holiday season! It's the perfect spot for kids to go and walk around. There are even photos with Santa, and a holiday yurt with activities for the kids. You can also mail letters to Santa! It was fun going at night and seeing all of the holiday lights. We liked the big green lit up dinosaur right outside the main entrance.