[Archived] Scandinavia

[Nate]

Hey guys. For some silly reason, I decided to end my life and propose to my girlfriend a couple of months ago.

Anyway, I am looking after the honeymoon and was keen on some beautiful places to visit in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. I would be looking at going in an August-September. Any suggestions would be great.

[Al]

The only place I have visited in that area is Stockholm. Absolutely beautiful city but the prices for alcohol are astronomical.

[rebelmswar]

The only place I have visited in that area is Stockholm. Absolutely beautiful city but the prices for alcohol are astronomical.

Hell yes it is!

Pulled in with the USS Ross and got utterly destroyed on some beer called Quack. Cost me a fortune and it tasted vile coming back up.

[Sverre]

Congratulations!

I'm a Norwegian, so I'll give you some advices on Norway.

Steer away from Oslo. Although a capital, there are really no memorable places to visit other than a few odd buildings. I really dislike the city to be honest.

What you want is to look at the west-coast of Norway and/or North of Norway. You want to check out the dramatic scenery that the fjords and the mountains provide!

Many tourists choose to take the "hurtigruta" (a boat)from Bergen to North of Norway: http://www.hurtigruten.com.au/norway2/

I'm unsure whether or not the boat heads into the Geiranger fjord. Norway's most famous fjord. I'm sure the information is listed on the site.

Now the thing that sucks about norway is that the prices are steep. Especially alcohol.

A picture of Geiranger

[cn174]

Whilst I wouldn't have fancied standing on a rock like that, you should definitely go to the Fjords. When I was there I did the 'Norway in a Nutshell' tour. The tour is pretty touristy, but you could probably do the same route or similar by yourself. http://www.norwaynutshell.com/

Also the Bergen - Oslo train line is pretty cool and cheap also. For £20 I took the night train from Oslo to Bergen, but didn't go to sleep the entire time for looking out of the window. It goes up through the mountains, so it a bit surreal when you come out of a tunnel and it is all snowing, it's 3 in the morning and still daylight!

For a city trip Copenhagen is quite cool. I only went for 1 day on the train but I'd have liked to stay for another day. It's got a really nice theme park thing called Tivoli Gardens. Bit different to a theme park here, it had rides, but also a parade, live shows and stuff. It also sometimes has concerts on.

[Sverre]

Good advices cn174.

I've taken the train between Bergen and Oslo a few times and the nature still fascinates me. The train stops midway, where you can go outside and take a look for 15 minutes I think.

[Commondore]

Sweden (and Scandinavia in general) is at it's absolute best May-July. August ain't bad either, but fall starts to creep in quite early in September. There's no snow in Sweden this time of year, so stuff like the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi is probably out of the question. I've never been to this place, but it seems fantastic if you're trying to experience nature.

Stockholm is in my opinion the most beautiful of the capital cities in Scandinavia, but as many have mentioned before it's also a very expensive city.

[Eddie]

I lived in Stockholm for a while and absolutely loved my time there. Beautiful city, (mostly) nice people, fair bit to do and easy to get out of the city and explore the region. If you are going for only a few days and you aren't that interested in seeing the natural beauty of the area then it is hard to beat.

[Nate]

Thanks guys. I'll look in to these places further.

It's not for ages anyway, so will have the luxury of saving a fair bit up for it.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

I'm going to Norway this summer to do research for my dissertation, on the boat from Bergen to Sogndal.

Excited!

[RoyRover]

I too am looking at going to Stockholm in the summer at some point for a few days. Maybe in June. I have a tripped planned to a friends wedding in Virginia in August, but would like to get a way for a few days before that. I take it from the above posts that it is a good place to go? Surprisingly you can get reasonably priced flights out of Dublin to Stockholm at the minute for £150 return all in. I've never been to Scandinavia before so would love to see somewhere new. My mum has been to Denmark and a few times and to an island off Denmark called Bornholm which she said was absolutely beautiful.

[rubecula]

Congratulations!

I'm a Norwegian, so I'll give you some advices on Norway.

Steer away from Oslo. Although a capital, there are really no memorable places to visit other than a few odd buildings. I really dislike the city to be honest.

What you want is to look at the west-coast of Norway and/or North of Norway. You want to check out the dramatic scenery that the fjords and the mountains provide!

Many tourists choose to take the "hurtigruta" (a boat)from Bergen to North of Norway: http://www.hurtigruten.com.au/norway2/

I'm unsure whether or not the boat heads into the Geiranger fjord. Norway's most famous fjord. I'm sure the information is listed on the site.

Now the thing that sucks about norway is that the prices are steep. Especially alcohol.

A picture of Geiranger

Spot the Loony? You have to have lost something vital to stand on a rock like that. I have the Heeby Jeebies just looking at the picture.

Lovely looking place though, very scenic and looking idyllic... if you ignore the bloody splatters on the ground below the cliffs