SubscribeLe Viking
During the twenties and thirties, the building at 29-31 rue Vavin was occupied by a Scandinavian themed café called Le Viking, which featured live jazz and dancing. Miller described the Viking in a March 1931 letter to Emil Schnellock:
Cold Greenland women at the Viking blazing under polar ice, their blond wigs refulgent with exotic heat. A whore opposite me smiling lasciviously and scratching herself under the table.
In the spring of 1932, Miller and Anaïs Nin met at the Viking for a succession of intimate conversations. Nin described the setting in her diary:
We sit at the Viking Café. It is all of wood, low-ceilinged, and the walls are covered with murals of the Viking history. They serve strong drinks which Henry likes. The lighting is dim. One has a feeling of being on an old galleon, sailing Nordic seas.
On March 4, they met at the Viking to discuss their approaches to literature. Nin felt that Miller’s style was too harsh and realistic. Miller told her that she wrote imaginatively only because she had not lived out what she was writing. He watched her dance the rumba alone for a few minutes and told her he had observed her true nature on the dance floor. Nin remained coy, responding in the form of a note in violet ink on silver paper: “The woman will sit eternally in the tall black armchair. I will be the one woman you will never have”. When she took her leave of Miller he stayed behind and wrote a love letter:
Three minutes after you have gone. No I can’t restrain it. I tell you what you already know—I love you. [...] I am in a fever. I could scarcely talk to you because I was continually on the point of getting up and throwing my arms around you. [...] Without you realizing it I have been living with you constantly. But I have been afraid to admit it—I thought it would terrify you.”
After receiving his letter, Nin met Miller again at the Viking on March 8. Nin’s diary records that she initially rebuffed his passion, which provoked him to respond, “I’m a peasant, Anaïs. Only whores can appreciate me.” Then, “suddenly he leans over and engulfs me in a tremendous kiss. I do not want the kiss to end. He says, ‘Come back to my room’.” They returned to his room (room 40) at the Hôtel Central and made love for the first time.
Unfortunately, the Viking is no longer in business. It’s former address is currently occupied by a tanning salon.
The site of the Viking Café as it appears today
Location
29-31 rue Vavin – See it on Google Maps
Next Stop
To reach our next stop, walk back up the rue Vavin and turn left onto the boulevard Raspail. When you reach the boulevard du Montparnasse, turn left again and proceed to 125 boulevard du Montparnasse where you’ll find the Tschann bookstore … 
