Home from Scandinavia

It's time to reflect a bit on our July in Scandinavia.  It's too early to talk in superlatives except I thought I'd be able to say it was our most expensive trip ever.  We don't really keep records, but the total for this trip seemed about the same as for other similar length European trips.  Happy surprise!!  About half of our tour was on our own and half with an organized tour.  The organized portion was low stress, we covered a lot of ground, and we enjoyed our American traveling companions.   However the independent portion was more rewarding. There is a sense of accomplishment finding your own things to do and see, you can linger at attractions that are of special interest, and more importantly the opportunities to interact with the "real people" are much greater.  The Finns, Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians were all super friendly and helpful.  They were a joy to talk with, share a glass of wine with, and sweat in a sauna with.  Being passionate about sailing and skiing, I could get used to spending a lot more time in the land of the Vikings!

There were a few challenges:  The weather was unusually hot and air conditioning scarce.  Fortunately we always had good shower facilities.  Carol encountered a pick pocket in the Copenhagen main train station who didn't get much for the risk he took.  It was still a very unpleasant experience for her.  Lastly near the end of our trip she fell on some steps,  had to go to an emergency clinic, and left with 12 stitches.  She is feeling much better now and has the stitches removed tomorrow.

Several Highlights from our trip stand out:

Trip up the Troll Fiord on the Hurtigruten Ferry

Norway in a Nut Shell Tour

Slottets Bed & Breakfast in Roskilde DK our hosts Fin and Helge

The "Free Walking Tour" in Copenhagen conducted by the incredible Simon.  The most amazing thing about this tour were the number of Danes walking right along with us and learning a few new things about their city.

You are welcome to view a large collection of photos from our trip on Picasa Web albums.  Unfortunately Picasa keeps scrambling my photos, so the order may be a little confusing. Click on the link below:

Scandinavian Trip Photos