H and I are making our future plan list. On my top is Scandinavia. His is India (heat and humidity makes me very ill).
We agree on Australia where we have been before. Next in agreement is Ireland.
So, am looking for your experiences traveling in Scandinavia! H says he could be convinced.
H and I are going back to Sweden in late August. My sister lives there so we have been to visit several times. I can give you specific recommendations about Stockholm, but not much more. We’ve also been to Iceland. Hopefully, I’ll know a bit more when we return!
We do have a favorite pub in Sodermalm, one of the hip areas of Stockholm. It is called Soldaten Sveik and specializes in Czech beer. We also love Rosendahl’s, slightly off the beaten path on the Djurgarden (island). It is an organic farm and grows many of the ingredients in the dishes they serve. A simple place, but it used to be the ONLY place in Stockholm where you could get a salad that wasn’t just a few leaves of Iceberg lettuce.
There’s an island off the coast of Sweden called Gotland (actually closer to Finland) that was settled largely during the reign of the Hanseatic League. For some reason, labyrinth building was very popular there and you come across them while just driving around. It was an interesting place to visit.
Wow, super information. Hope you will post again!
"It is called Soldaten Sveik and specializes in Czech beer. "
Lol, how appropriate. It is a classic!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Soldier_Švejk
We are possibly going to Sweden in the near future, so I’ll look it up! Mr. B is a fan of Czech beer.
I you are interested in buying a new Volvo, you can get two free round-trip tickets to Sweden and an overnight hotel stay, as well as a factory tour and lunch (Swedish meatballs), to pick up your new car there. If you have it shipped back to the US from there, the price is included. If you want it shipped from another port, you have to pay an additional sum. The vehicle also has up to 2 weeks of insurance included. All fees associated with getting the car to you are covered. S is trying to convince us to get a new Volvo. 
You also get 4-8+% off MSRP if you get a new Volvo there, which is said to be lower than any price you can get in the US.
I’m a big fan of Czech beer, too, but I wouldn’t go to Sweden for it. I can get it here but if I must travel for it, I’d rather go to Prague!
The old city (Gamla Stan) in Stockholm is absolutely charming, with narrow cobblestone streets and alleys and medieval architecture. It’s also home to the Swedish Royal Palace, the Stockholm Cathedral, the old Stockholm Stock Exchange, the Nobel Museum, and much more, including the world’s oldest restaurant continuously operating in its original location, Der Gyldene Freden which dates to 1722. Beyond Gamla Stan, Stockholm is a sophisticated modern European city albeit one that has preserved much of its past. Excellent restaurants, lovely parks, good public transportation system, and waterfront everywhere as the city is built on a series of islands and peninsulas. Very chill. Boat tours are popular and an excellent introduction to the city and surrounding area.
Less than an hour north of Stockholm is Uppsala, a charming old (medieval) university town and ecclesiastical center, the seat of the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden, with a fine old cathedral (dating to the 13th century) smack in the middle of the campus of Scandinavia’s oldest university, founded in 1477. The world-renowned botanist Linnaeus was a professor at Uppsala University. Uppsala also has an impressive medieval castle. During the Viking era, Gamla Uppsala (the old city just north of present-day Uppsala) was an important site for worship of the old Norse gods; a Christian church was built there in the 11th century to eradicate their influence.
“I’m a big fan of Czech beer, too, but I wouldn’t go to Sweden for it. I can get it here but if I must travel for it, I’d rather go to Prague!”
Lol, I’d do that too, but the itinerary does not allow for that. So will have to do with whatever is available.
I second suggestion of just walking around Gamla Stan. Awesome place with narrow cobblestone streets and cute shops and cafes. We, a bunch of science nerds, found the Nobel museum underwhelming. If one has very limited museum time, Vasamuseet and the Army Museum are the two worth visiting, IMO.
It is funny in downtown Stockholm to see H & M stores right across the street from each other.
I loved going up in the tower of Stockholm city hall. It’s only open from May to October because the window openings aren’t glazed. Great view from the top, of course, but it’s also just a fun climb.
There’s also a coffee trolley. I’ve never managed to catch it but this time I’m determined! It runs from downtown onto the Djurgarden. It’s purple with a little golden yellow coffee cup on the roof ( the Swedish coffee company Lila runs it and that is their color since lilla is the Swedish word for purple). Anyway, it has seats and tables with little lamps and they serve you coffee. Knowing Sweden, they probably don’t have decaf!
The last stop on the coffee trolley is for Skansen, a sort of cultural park and small zoo. They have old traditional buildings there, people folk dancing, and pensioners demonstrating crafts. Nearby are the Vasa museum, the Nordiska museum, Rosendals, and Groena land, a little amusement park.
I found the Swedish palaces pretty boring. They were all redone in a faux French style in the 17 or 1800’s.
“It is funny in downtown Stockholm to see H & M stores right across the street from each other.”
Mr B and I laughed so hard - it looked just like Seattle with its Starbucks! 
Lonely Planet’s book arrived today and now my reluctant H is devouring it.
He lived some years in his youth in Pakastan and so gravitates to other areas of the world and places that I am no longer going to visit. We spent 3.5 weeks with a 3 yr old and a 9 yr old living in a bungalow in a rice paddy in Bali.
I was seriously ill with a cough and fever and no air conditioning or even fans. So, that was an exciting and awful trip for me and I no longer have the need to visit hot humid places.
But! H now sees how beautiful and wild (we are hikerers and canoing and trees and water people) this trip might be.
Also, we love modern design and there is so much in Scandanavia for that!
Hope for more info from all of you and thanks so far.
So, stupid question, and I will figure this our myself but how much land are we talking. Are we talking Texas or is it Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania?
On the maps it looks overwhelming but that does not really tell me anything.
I loved my trip to Scandinavia. Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo are all great , walkable cities. Tbe fjords, in Norway,are, of course, beautiful. We took public transportation in Cophenhagen. Loved Tivoli Gardens. Most people speak English and it is easy to get around. Great museums, palaces. Very pretty part of the world and I highly recommend it.
In thinking more about this, here are some things I enjoyed-as others have said, just walking around, exploring the cities-lots of good restaurants and shops-is great.
Stockholm-Vasa Museum, Stockholm City Hall , Skansen.
Oslo-Vigeland and Frogner Park, Munch Museum. The fjords in Norway. I loved Bergen. A highlight in that area was Troldhaugen (Edvard Grieg house)-very moving.
Copenhagen-Tivoli Gardens, Rosenborg Castle, Christiansborg, Palace.
If you can squeeze in a car trip up to Lapland you won’t regret it. In The Land of the Midnight Sun where the sun never sets in the summertime, you can stay up late and climb a mountain, to get a view of several countries at four o’clock in the morning. There are more reindeer than humans and the Lapps are an interesting people.
I just spent 3 days in Norway. Stayed in Oslo and saw Oslo, but also took a 22 hour round trip up to the fjords. If you have questions about any of that, I may be able to answer. It was really worthwhile!
sooz did you drive/boat/train to the fjords?
Wondering what month all of you traveled and how you found the crowds or lack of crowds? Thanks!
So many beautiful places and I agree with all the previous comments.
In Denmark we love the charming mix of old and modern in Copenhagen http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/nyhavn-gdk474735 with it its welcoming ways and amazing restaurants. To the south are the white cliffs http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Denmark/Storstroems_Amt/Moen-161502/Things_To_Do-Moen-TG-C-1.html to the north the magnificent Louisiana Modern Art museum and the Kroneburg (Hamet) Castle http://www.kronborg.dk/test/the-castle/hamlet/ or the Frederiksborg Castle http://www.dnm.dk/UK/Forside.htm
Norway - Bergen http://www.visitbergen.com/en/ , Tronheim and anything to do with fjords!
Sweden - http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden-us/ Sweden offers a wide variety of nature and hiking opportunities. One of my fave places is Lake Siljan and the tiny town of Tallberg http://tallbergsby.se/en/
It is very easy to drive in all 3 of these countries.
If I every make it to Iceland, seeing the puffins is at the top of my list - http://puffins.is/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=1&Itemid=8&lang=en
I was in Norway in May. Had no issues with crowds.
While based in Oslo (and spent a full day and evening exploring it), our trip to the fjords was a 22 hour roundtrip excursion. We only had 3 nights in Norway. I researched the best options to see the fjords based on the cost and the time. The most popular trip is the one we took. It is called Norway in a Nutshell. Basically, this is an all inclusive type ticket you buy, but it is not an organized tour. But it is all mapped out for you every step of the way and includes all transportation tickets. By the way, it is only available May through September. There are a few options. We started and ended in Oslo. But you can start at other spots. You can even break the trip up and stay overnight at some of the spots. Given the time we had, we did the roundtrip option that doesn’t involve any stays along the journey. While it was 22 hours long, we could sleep on the final train trip back to Oslo which was overnight. To be specific, the one we did was Round Trip from Oslo via Bergen.
Several modes of transportation are involved. The scenery along the way in every mode is wonderful and so it is not boring between destinations at all. First, we took a train from Oslo to Myrdal. Toward the end of that part, we were very high up in altitude and where it was like winter and full of snow everywhere! The, we took the Flam Railway which is an engineering feat including tunnels created by hand. Once in Flam, we boarded a boat for a two hour cruise in the fjords to Gudvangen. Gorgeous!! Then, we boarded a bus in Gufvangen for an hour to Voss. This ride was not only scenic but quite something with the switchbacks. Then we had to take a train from Voss to Bergen. Finally, we took a long train ride from Bergen back to Oslo (this was overnight). It was all sooooo worth it. You don’t have to figure out or plan the details. The price includes everything I just mentioned.
Oslo itself is a walkable city, plus there are cable cars. Some interesting things to see, plus there is a gentrified harbor front. The Opera house is very beautiful in terms of architecture.
That sounds like fun, sooziviet. In Norway, in addition to Bergen, I enjoyed Lillehammer and seeing the Olympic stuff, including the big ski jump.
My husband and I took a ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo during the winter. It was an overnight trip , a day spent in the city and back on the ferry for another night.
His family is from southern Sweden, so we tend to go to Denmark when we visit. We both prefer Denmark to Sweden. I have only been to Stockholm once and it was 18+ years ago , so no recommendations.
We went to Iceland too and it was really amazing ! Like Sevmon, we saw that ski-jump in Norway ( despite the fog ) I would like to go back and see more of Norway than what we saw
When we got off the ski jump chair lift, they had a shot of aquavit waiting for us. It burned the whole way down!
I went to Scandinavia most wanting to see Sweden because one of my grandmothers was Swedish. I loved Sweden but really also liked Denmark, and especially Norway. I would love to go to Iceland some day!