Sweden - Home of ABBA, Nokia, Stieg Larsson and Andy Warhol's Cows
Between my trip to Paris to visit Saram and my trip to Cyprus to visit more friends, I had two weeks of solo travel through Scandinavia. Though I have been living in Northern Europe for the last year, I wanted to go really really far North.
Finland- Home of reindeer, cloudberries and Santa
NOTE: I had originally intended to write separate blog posts for each of the countries I visited on this leg, but my departure date for Macau is less than 2 weeks away and I need to blog through the rest of my European Summer Adventure before I leave.
Norway - Home of fjords, Sonja Henie and Gustav Vigeland
I traveled between and through the countries on every form of public transportation available. I flew from Paris to Stockholm, took a train to Uppsala, a ferry to Tallinn and Helsinki, a train to Rovaniemi and Turku, both a ferry and a train to Oslo and both a bus and a train to get to Copenhagen. I also rode the Tunnelbana and took buses in each city just to get around. However, I never once took a cab or drove a car.
Denmark - Home of Hamlet, Christiania, and the Little Mermaid (sorry crappy photo)
Unfortunately, I did not have time to visit Iceland, otherwise my Scandinavian Leg would have been truly complete.
First Stop – Stockholm, Sweden
Due to the last-minute nature of my travel arrangements (mostly due to cash flow issues during the aftermath of the Zürich Wallet Theft). I had very few options in choosing hostels in all of the Scandinavian cities I visited. While visiting Stockholm, I actually had to stay 40 minutes outside of town at the Jumbo Hostel at Arlanda Airport. It is the first of a chain of hostels created in retired jumbo jets. The hostel was very clean and cute. The staff was also quite friendly and I loved that shoes were not allowed indoors.
The Arlanda Jumbo Hostel
A plane taking off into the sunset (as seen from the tarmac beneath my hostel)
The commute was a drag, but it actually inspired me to visit nearby Uppsala which was only about an hour from my hostel, but almost 2 hours from Stockholm. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have made that trek if I had actually been staying in the center of town.
A View from the Skeppsholmsbron Bridge
I enjoyed Stockholm very much, there is a tremendous amount of public art and a lot of great neighborhoods. I was really impressed by the Moderna Museet. It has a great collection and is really well laid out. Decorating the lawn outside the museum, are the works of Calder, de Saint Phalle and Tinguely.
Alexander Calder's "The Four Elements"
Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely's "Le Paradis Fantastique"
Day Trip to Uppsala
Upon the recommendation of one of the receptionists at my hostel, I took a day trip to nearby Uppsala. I found the town quite cute and inviting. My absolute favorite part was the University’s botanical gardens.
Cool art at the Orangerie
More photos of Stockholm and Uppsala here.
Second Stop- Helsinki, Finland
I actually spent a day in Tallinn, Estonia between Stockholm and Helsinki, but as Estonia is a Baltic state rather a Scandinavian one, I will write about it separately.
My stay in Helsinki, was somewhat marred by the rain. I spent most of my time there soaking wet and cold and trying to find shelter. I did mange to find many great coffee shops and bars around town, though. And I did manage to snap a few decent shots when the sun came out.
Eila Hiltunen 's Sibelius Monument
1952 Olympic Stadium
The Rock Church
Next Stop – The Arctic Circle, Rovaniemi
Though it cost me a chunk of time in train travel from southern Finland to the Laplands and back, my trip to the Arctic Circle and Santa’s Village was well worth the sacrifice. I do not recommend making a trip this far North in the winter, as the sun barely shines. But in the summer, a month after the Midnight Sun, the days were still long enough to enjoy the sights. By the way if you want to buy canned reindeer meat, this is the place to go. Rovaniemi (and Napapiiri).
I crossed the line
Santa on Top of the World
Giant Cloudberries - They're Orange!
More photos of Rovaniemi and here (also includes a few shots of the pit stop in Turku)
Onward to Oslo (Norway)
I took a 6 hour train ride from Rovaniemi to Turku, then hiked through town to get to the ferry terminal, then took the ferry overnight to Stockholm, then hiked through town to get to the train station, and from there I took a train to Oslo. All told, the journey took a day and a half.
The sun sets as the ferry sails away from Turku, Finland
A few hours later, the sun rises as we approach Stockholm, Sweden
Again, I felt lucky that it was August and I was able to enjoy a long well-lit evening on my first partial day in the city. Although I did spend a couple of hours indoors seeing the movie Alexandra. (Side note: I do not recommend this film. It is more boring than a nightmare about boredom.)
Here is a great Norwegian to English translation.
Kylling = Chicken
I ❤ Ibsen
Way Cool Opera House - you can go on the roof!
My absolute favorite sight in Oslo was the Vigeland Sculpture Park. The whole park is adorned with magnificent sculptures. The sun was shining gloriously and a I got many great shots.
Unfortunately, it was tough to get an unobstructed shot of some sculptures
Last Stop – Copenhagen, Denmark
By the time I arrived in Copenhagen (after an overnight bus trip and an early morning train ride), I was exhausted. I opted to take a boat tour to hit all the main attractions.
Shiny New Theater
Funky Opera House
We also saw the palace and converted shipyards and the Little Mermaid.
I did also do some walking and visited several areas on foot both the during the day in the evenings.
On the outskirts of Christiana
Ssssssssh, I'm Thinking
Some acrobats for my acrobats
See more photos of Copenhagen here.
I leave you with some more birds for Elise to name.
Spotted outside the Munch Museet in Oslo
Ducks in Helsinki
Stocky in Stockholm
International Stage Manager of Mystery 