Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Denmark
Our trip went as expected: quaint fishing villages, majestic fjords, impressive castles and lots of opportunities to eat herring. There were also museums, historic sites and some major cities with historic districts to wander. There were lots of Arte Nouveau and Gothic buildings to see (old stuff, too).
We flew into Bergen, Norway; trained into Oslo and then Stockholm, Sweden; cruised to Helsinki, Finland; ferried to Tallinn, Estonia and trained from Stockholm to Copenhagen, Denmark; then we flew home. (Tallinn was a side-trip from Helsinki.)
Norway
Bergen
Norwegian countryside between Bergen and Oslo.
Oslo
Oslo Train Station
Vigeland Sculpture Park
Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943) made it his life's work to create a sculpture park in Oslo.
There are 227 bronze and granite (naked) sculptures.
The park is open 24 hours a day.
There is no graffiti.
Stockholm, Sweden
It capsized and sank on its maiden voyage after traveling less than one mile.
The display is 90% original.
The display is 90% original.
Gamla Stan, Stockholm's Historic District
Palace Back Door
Narrow houses on narrow streets.
Rune
Church
Skansen
Skansen, the world's first open-air museum, began in 1891.
Skansen has homes, farms and shops displaying five centuries of pre-industrial Sweden.
Skansen has reindeer and other Scandinavian animals on display.
We sailed through the Swedish Archipelago for several hours on our cruise to Helsinki on a Monday evening and back through it the following Friday morning.
Helsinki, Finland
The cruise ship which took us from Stockholm to Helsinki and back.
When built, the Mariella was the world's largest cruise-ferry.
Swedes leave Stockholm, spend a night on the ship, a day in Helsinki and a night on the ship returning to Stockholm. Finns do it in reverse. Stopping for an hour (which was done at midnight) at a non-EU port (Åland) makes the onboard items duty-free for Europeans. 90% of the passengers were Finns or Swedes. The savings on the taxes can more than cover the cost of the trip.
We chose to stay two nights in Helsinki and take a day-trip to Tallinn, Estonia before returning to Stockholm. We got our VAT money back at the Copenhagen airport. US Customs does not recognize duty-free purchases, but we each get a personal exemption of $800 when we return from Europe. Our purchases don't even come close.
The ship has several restaurants (We did the optional smorgasbord dinner the first night and two optional breakfast buffets.), a cafeteria, bars, clubs and a small casino (with one roulette table and one blackjack table).
Helsinki became a city to service the 18th-century fort which was built in the harbor by Sweden.
A church (left)
A different church (right)
A government building
Our hotel was across the street from the central train station (below) which made it easy to catch a tram to almost anywhere in Helsinki or to walk around the historic district (above).
Tallinn, Estonia
Crossing the Baltic Sea.
Inside the city wall
Overview of the old city
The way up to the overview (left) and the way down from the overview (right).
One may go either way.
Leaving Tallinn
(by ferry, not balloon)
(by ferry, not balloon)
At sunset, we returned to Helsinki. Late the following afternoon, after a 'finnish'-up tour of Helsinki, we set sail for a final day in Stockholm, then took a train to Copenhagen, Denmark.
Leaving Helsinki
Copenhagen, Denmark
After three weeks of touring in Norway; Sweden, Finland and Estonia, we completed our trip with ten days in Copenhagen, Denmark [with a day-trip to see Elsinore (Hamlet's castle) and Frederiksborg Castle, the largest Renaissance castle in northern Europe.]
Copenhagen City Hall
H.C. Andersen and his Lille Havfrue
and Sarah
Tivoli Gardens
Rosenborg Castle
Christiansborg Palace
It's good to be the king
This Royal Kitchen is no longer in use. The king gets take-out for state dinners.
The take-out comes from a modern Royal Kitchen in the palace where he lives.
The kitchen has gurgling pots, crackling roasts and the aromas of cooking.
The palace and several museums are on Slotsholmen, a tiny island.
The king's neighbors (above) are across the canal.
The king's neighbors (above) are across the canal.
Kronborg Castle
Kronborg Castle is Hamlet's Elsinore. It is in Helsingør, a town north of Copenhagen. We took the suburban train line to get there. The fictitious Hamlet 'died' before this castle was built, but Shakespeare's eponymous play was performed here during Shakespeare's lifetime.
Frederiksborg Castle
Christiania
Christiania was founded in 1971 when a group of squatters took over an abandoned Danish military base. It became a mecca for hippies. They celebrated their 45th anniversary on September 26- Our last day in Copenhagen. We were there for the festivities.
We couldn't get seats for the free concert, so we ended up in the mosh pit. The music was loud and the songs in Danish. People often sang along, but not us. Many people were smoking a variety of strange-looking cigarettes. Sarah began feeling mellow - must have been from breathing the air.
Danish Jewish Museum
The Danish Jewish Museum was designed by the same architect who did the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Both designs are similar. I liked neither. Fortunately for me, this one was smaller.
THIS AND THAT:Food
Food is relatively expensive when eaten at a restaurant or a kiosk. A street-food hot dog costs $5, but a sit-down restaurant ethnic buffet cost $15. It depends on how hungry you are.
Bergen Fish Markt
Part of the buffet breakfast at one of our hotels.
The hot selections are shown above,
The hot selections are shown above,
the copious and varied cold selections were to the left and right under the overhangs.
That's where the fish was.
Allen does herring; Sarah does lox.
(Left) Allen chooses which of five herrings to eat for breakfast. Surprise! He chose some of each.
(Right) Fried fresh herring for lunch
(Right) Fried fresh herring for lunch
(Below) Sarah dines on reindeer stew.
Because of scheduling, we were in two hotels in Copenhagen. Five days at the Hotel Astoria and five days in an all-apartments hotel. Our suite at the Hotel Astoria had a terrace. Also, a Happy Hour with free wine. Our dinner on the terrace (left) included the happy hour wine. Several evenings we spent Happy Hour in the hotel lounge chatting with other travelers.
When we were in our apartment (right) for the final five days of our trip, we had to pay for our own wine and talk to each other. But we were still happy - It must have been the wine. We chose to eat our own breakfasts in our apartment, with food from the local supermarket, rather than pay extra for the buffet, but it will take a lot more than that to make up for what the extra calories a month of breakfast buffets (and some dinner buffets) did to us. Especially since we came home in time for several holiday feasts. Maybe we need several Yom Kippurs to compensate for the many young kippers we ate in Scandinavia.Statues, fountains and beautiful buildings:
Some were ancient Greek and Roman works; some were famous Scandinavians; some were bizarre. We saw many of each in every city we visited. Too many to include in this post, assuming you even got this far. However, there is one that I would like to share with you.
There's whole a lot of squirting going on here.
Scandinavians are concerned about and are following the U.S. elections...
Restaurant next to our hotel. Sign enlarged --->
...and interested in American foods.
Fly away home
On the way home, we chased the sunset for several hours across the Atlantic from Scandinavia to Greenland.
posted by Allen and Sarah at 2:04 PM
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