THAT’S A WRAP!

My trip to Scandinavia is in the books! This is my third blog for this trip, so I guess I had a lot to say. The other two blogs were on The Doors of Scandinavia and Scandinavian Street Fashion and Stores. This one will be about the experience and the sights seen.

The tour I took was through EF Go Ahead Tours. This is the second EF tour I have been on and I enjoyed it very much. It was a two week tour with a very ambitious itinerary. We joked that this was the “planes, boats and trains” tour! The itinerary had us flying into Bergen Norway, for days 1-4. Then we flew to Oslo, Norway for one night and then an overnight cruise to Copenhagen, Denmark on day 6. On day 9 we flew to Stockholm, Sweden. On day 11 we cruised overnight to Helsinki, Finland. While in Bergen Norway we also traveled on trains to see the Fjords. And of course we were on motorcoaches for the tours in each city. The thing I like best about EF is that there is built in free time for you to explore and do what you want to do. We had a fabulous tour leader who was very knowledgeable and had plenty of patience to cope with 35 adults! Imagine the skill set one needs to successfully manage all of the modes of transportation and managing all of the local tour guides in each city. Our tour leader got a 5 star rating from me!!

The hotels in each city were good choices. In Bergen we were at the harbor. Easy walking distance to anywhere! This was The Clarion Admiral Hotel. The hotel was older and there was no air conditioning. I got that information from one of the housekeeping staff…”there is no air conditioning in the rooms. You can open the windows”. Well, since I could hear all the birds flying around the harbor, I opted to just open the windows a little bit so that I would not have any guests come in while I was out! The bar and restaurant were air conditioned, so I did survive!! The hotel in Oslo was the Radisson Blu Park Hotel. I do love Radisson Hotels. I love the scent of Radissons. I forgot to ask what the name of the air scent was, and I am hoping to be able to find out! This hotel was a bit out of the mainstream but we were only there for one night so it was fine. Very nice hotel and restaurant. In Copenhagen we were at the Copenhagen Island which is part of the Arp-Hansen Hotel Group Copenhagen. This was a very stylish hotel on an artificial island in Copenhagen’s harbor. Beautiful, and it was a good location too. It was right near a Metro stop which we did use as well as Uber and of course, walking. In Stockholm we were at Courtyard Stockholm Kungsholmen. “Stockholm’s city center is located on 14 islands while the entire Stockholm archipelago stretches into the Baltic Sea, consists of nearly 30,000 islands, inlets, and skerries.” In Stockholm we opted for Uber to get us around as well as walking. The hotel in Helsinki was another Radisson, Radisson Blu Aleksanteri. Terrific location and the restaurant was good. Helsinki is a walkable city. The two nights we cruised overnight were really fun. These ships have lower levels for cars. People living there plan getaways on the ships for an overnight to get to another country and then drive their cars off in the morning! Accommodations were simple, but adequate and there were several restaurants on the ships as well as duty free shopping!

When I travel, I love seeing how people in different countries live. For the 4 countries I was in, the one main feeling I got was one of calmness. They are very athletic people. Most cycle EVERYWHERE! I think Copenhagen had the most cyclists. Everywhere you would see people out running. And I have to say, everyone looked happy! Studies show that Finland has the happiest people on earth…Do you think that is even more than at Disney??? I think all of Scandinavia is “happy”. Our guide in Finland said it is more like people are content. Isn’t that great?? Interesting comparison, Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen served as an inspiration to Walt Disney in 1951 when he visited Tivoli Gardens. He took notes on landscaping, food and the family friendly environment. Funny, I entered Tivoli Gardens and said to my friend that it reminded me of Epcot and at that time I had no knowledge of Walt Disney being there in 1951!! One happy place breathing life into another happy place.

I learned about Fika in Sweden, this is “a coffee and cake break”, but it is “a cultural and social ritual rather than a quick break”. Everyone should start this practice to slow down, connect with friends and acquaintances and recharge. In Sweden it is coffee or tea and a sweet treat which is usually their outrageously good sticky cinnamon buns. And did I mention how the DANISH DANISH is a perfect start to each day??

The weather is fairly unpredictable in Scandinavia. It rains a lot. In fact, we had such beautiful weather everywhere that the guides kept telling us how fortunate we were. Every day showed rain on the weather map in each country, but it was beautiful. The rain did not catch us until Finland and even there it rained for a morning and then got nice!! And then when winter comes, it gets really cold. But what they say is there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing! Everyone is outside for a portion of every day. School children go out regularly for recess…their warm clothes are there at school with them to put on! They are outside regardless of the weather forecast.

Can’t say enough good things about this trip. The Fjords were amazing. Photos don’t do it justice. You can’t A-fjord to miss seeing them in your lifetime!!! So many beautiful sights in all four countries.

Yes, I was tired at days end, but it was a good tired that made sleeping each night easy. How could you not say all good things about a trip that started with seeing a rainbow on the first afternoon in Bergen Norway after a shower? And then we saw a second rainbow at the airport in Helsinki Finland before we boarded our plane home.

There was another “luck” theory I have too. My parents would say if you see a bride and groom while you are on vacation it will bring you good luck. Well, we got see a couple in Copenhagen outside of City Hall and then we saw another couple in Helsinki at Temppeliaukio Church. I figure with 2 rainbows and 2 weddings I should be looking at some good luck ahead!

Here are some highlights from the trip.

Bergen Norway-Rainbow #1 in the first photo