Finland, Sweden and Norway

Finding the right name for this page proved elusive - Scandinavia does not include Finland, and Nordic countries would include Denmark which we did not really visit, only changed plane which does not constitute a visit.

Helsinki

Being able to fly direct from Aberdeen to Helsinki, with a quick change of plane in Copenhagen, rather than going through Heathrow or Rotterdam or Frankfurt made for a very pleasant journey despite having to be up at 5.20 am to catch the plane. Although there was no in-flight entertainment on the flights, the SAS inflight magazine was an interesting read profiling the airline on its 70th birthday. For those interested in the history of flying, staff uniforms over the decades you might want to go here https://scandinaviantraveler.com/en/sas70

Before taking the Finn Air Bus into town, we picked up our Helsinki Passes which proved to be a worthwhile investment. From the main railway station, one stop on the subway brought us to our accommodation on Runeberginkatu - very simple, but perfect for our needs: it had facilities to prepare a simple meal, do laundry and walk or take the tram into town. We headed out immediately on an exploratory walk through the downtown, stopping to check out the occasional boutique, before heading to the adjacent university area.The city has much to offer the tourist. It is very pedestrian and bike friendly, with an effective transit system and is very clean, with lots of buskers playing music to accommodate many tastes! The sidewalks were busy well into the evening. There are numerous cafes on the sidewalks, with seats set in rows so that everyone is facing the pedestrians walking by! Much to our chagrin, smoking is allowed in outside cafes, forcing us to eat inside, although we would have preferred to be outside. On our first night we had a fabulous dinner at Aino Ravintola on the Esplanade where we enjoyed an outstanding “Rudolph” filet.

A focus for our visit was to take in as much design and architecture as we could. We were spoiled for choice; since we were only there for 3 days, we had to plan very carefully to ensure that we could fit in all our top priorities. On our first full day, we put on our walking shoes. The first stop was The Rock Church, so-called because it is excavated into the rock, rather than built on top. Helsinki and Victoria share a common topography - lots of exposed rock! It is a magnificent building with many unique design features. It turns out that a friend here in Victoria was married in this church! It attracts crowds of visitors most of whom respect that it is a place of worship and behave accordingly. The one exception was Chinese tour buses - this despite signs in English and Chinese. From the church it was a short walk to the Finish National Museum [opened in 1916] which was undergoing remediation, and on to Finlandia Hall designed by Alvar Alto and opened in 1971. Behind the concert hall is a large park area that extends right into the main train station. Fringing the park is a series of modern buildings including the home of the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Music Museum  the Museum of Contemporary Art and finally the main railway station designed by Eliel Saarinen and opened in 1919. We had worked up an appetite by now and headed to the cafeteria in Stockmann’s “the” department store in Helsinki - think David Jones in Oz, Nordstrom in North America or Harrod’s in the UK. We had excellent food at a very affordable price, especially by Finnish standards. Then off to climb the steps up to the Helsinki landmark, the glistening white cathedral (Tuomiokirkko) . The thing to do (we are told) is to sit on the steps and contemplate the world go by in the big open Senate Square below. However our square was filled by a charming octopus and sea creatures constructed for an event - you need to see the photos! Later we wondered through town to the Kappeli Cafe on the Esplanade for a coffee and pastry before taking a 90 minute harbour tour which really demonstrated how much water-front there is in the city and how that shoreline plus the many islands are a major recreational resource for the city. The harbour tour passes Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the fortress has been controlled by the Finns, Swedes and the Russians at different points in its 250 year history underscoring its strategic value. Finally, we explored the the harbourside market stallsand surrounding buildings. We were tempted to buy a reindeer skin, but weren’t sure if Canada Customs would approve!

The next day, we took a bus tour which took us to parts of the city which have been “gentrified”, much as is happening in other cities around the world. It also took us to the Sibelius monument and the Olympic Stadium which was unfortunately closed while undergoing a major refurbishment (like a lot of other structures in the city, including the Parliament Building). After the tour we revisited the market where we lunched on smoked salmon on rye in the Old Market Hall. Refreshed, we headed over to explore the Design District and visit the Design Museum to view a major exhibit of work by Eero Aarnio https://eeroaarnio.com [designer of the Ball Chair and Double Bubble Lamp]. On our walk back “home” we stopped at the small, wooden Kamppi Chapel , another Finnish church with a unique design. Located adjacent to the busy Kamppi Shopping Centre, it is intended as an oasis for quiet contemplation.

On our last day, we took our suitcases on the tram to the ferry terminal where we could store them until departure in the afternoon. With everything so close, we walked back to the harbour and market area where Norm had to have a coffee from the barista on a bike! We walked through town to the Museum of Contemporary Art which had some very interestingand innovative installations on exhibit. It was interesting to watch the reaction of other patrons as they interpreted the works. When checking in for the overnight ferry to Stockholm, we got a very pleasant surprise - we were upgraded to Commodore class which gave us a suite rather than a cabin, a bottle of bubbles in the fridge, access to the Commodore Lounge and preferred seating at the buffet. A classy farewell to Helsinki!

A few random observations from our short stay:

• costs are high, especially for alcohol
• ATM’s are scarce and usually inside buildings
• smoking is remarkably prevalent
• it is a low rise city with a higher proportion of people living in apartments [usually 5 or 6 storeys] than in Canada, Australia or UK.
• almost everyone has an excellent command of English
• the city is absorbing immigrants from the Levant and Africa - many of whom seem at ease in speaking Finnish
• the citizens have a great sense of style

You can navigate the photo gallery below by clicking on the left/right arrows

Stockholm

Stockholm Blog

The overnight ferry crossing from Helsinki to Stockholm was very pleasant - a great way to travel between the two capitals, even with an extra hour of sleep because of the time zone change. The first part of the crossing is over the open waters of the Baltic, the second part in the sheltered waters of the fjards [not fjords] where the large ferry has speed limits to obey. The ferry operates a direct bus service to main railway station in downtown Stockholm which was ideal for us since our hotel was a 12 minute walk from the station. We checked into our “hip” hotel which seemed very popular with millennials in the IT sector - the long meal tables had outlets for charging one’s devices, and there was free Spotify Premium [a music streaming service] Our room was very compact with no cupboards or drawers!

After checking in, we set off on a short walk around the Opera House, Royal Palace and Parliament. Our accidental timing was perfect for the daily changing of the guard at the Royal Palace - different branches of the armed services and different regiments are rotated through the guard duty. On this day, the Navy were the incoming guard. Traffic is stopped in the centre of the city while the troops march and play their way from their barracks to the royal palace. We then joined a guided walking tour of the old city [Gamla Stan] where the streets are so narrow that vehicular traffic is severely limited. We learned about how the growth of the city was in large measure due to German migrants who had come to Sweden because of the country’s ample supplies of iron ore; also that long ago the island kept growing as residents dumped their garbage which eventually compacted enough to provide a base for new construction. This explains why some buildings are now sinking/tilting/cracking due to lack of solid foundation. After the walking tour of the old town, we took a bus tour of the city - the tour was disappointing - perhaps because we were tired, or the overcast skies dampened our enthusiasm.

Our second day in Stockholm was rather wet, but we did not let that slow us down, although we lingered over breakfast watching the young hipsters glued to their computers. Indeed we continued our pattern of walking everywhere. Our first stop was the Vasa Museet . It is a maritime museum, home to a salvaged, almost intact 16th century ship that sank as soon as it was launched! Next stop was to be the ABBA Museum which we were going to visit till we found out the prices [$80] and what it offered - you could dress up in ABBA costumes and cut your own record. Not our cup of tea!. Moving from the ridiculous to the sublime we took the ferry across to Gamla Stan [the original site for the city] and walked to the Nobel Museum which proved to be most enjoyable and informative. It was interesting to see trends, especially in science with an emphasis on electrons, particle physics and astrophysics. There was a fascinating exhibit called Sketches of Science - check here. We took special notice of the Award for Medicine presented to John Boyd Orr, one of several Scottish Nobel Laureates. Why did we pay special attention to him? My sister and brother-in-law live on a street named after him! Opposite the Nobel Museum we enjoyed an early dinner outside in the square at Chokladkoppen

Next morning we woke to sunshine which was most propitious for our planned canal tour. Before that, we walked over to Stockholm City Hall opened in 1923.  Although it is the home to the city government it is perhaps most famous for hosting the Nobel Banquet, where all but the Peace Prize is presented. The Peace Prize is presented in Oslo. Why the split? When the Nobel Prizes were instituted in 1901, Norway was part of Sweden, not gaining independence from its neighbour till 1905.
From City Hall, we sprinted over to catch the Under the Bridges canal tour which, as in Helsinki, emphasized the amount of waterfront in the city - this is an asset, but because of the number of islands, they spend a lot of money on bridges! Another parallel with Helsinki was the conversion of former industrial areas to residential areas. The number of boats that we saw on the tour was beyond what we had expected - we are sure every one in the city owns at least one boat.
Later we walked over toBirger Jarlsgatan which has become home to some exclusive brands - window shopping was the order of the day! Next stop was the Riddarholmen Church in the old town where the royalty have been buried since 1632.
Since we still had time left, we ambled through the narrow cobbled streets of Old Town, revisiting and exploring some more. Since we were in Sweden, we thought we ought to eat some Swedish meatballs; after much research on Google, it was deemed that we should go to Meatballs for the People - if we believed what we read, people from all over the city come to this place to dine, or take home frozen meatballs. If you are asking for our opinion - we would give it 2.5 stars, tops. Although the meal was “average”, the walk to the restaurant offered us some great views down on the city and introduced us to a quirky street call Master Michael’s Street . Master Michael was the city’s executioner from 1635 to 1650.

On our last day, we went back to the City Hall for a second, more thorough visit. On the guided tour, we learned that the Blue Room which accommodates 1300 hundred seated guests at the Nobel awards are held was originally intended to be open to the elements - that might be practical in Australia, but not in Sweden! The banquet hall was closed; the ceiling is now covered with sail cloth on to which stars are projected creating the illusion of being open to the elements. When we were there, the hall aka the Blue Room was being set up for the “Water Prize” . Events are scheduled on 300 days in the year. The “Gold Room” does indeed use real gold with the gold compressed between two layers of glass.

From City Hall we walked to the Royal Palace on Gamla Stan to see an amazing changing of the guard: a mounted regiment of the army was today’s incoming guard! Most horses were chestnuts that might not have been out of pace on the race-track. The horse for the mounted drummer was a handsome Clydesdale more at home ploughing a field! The very many participants (on foot and on horseback) were dressed to perfection. The band actually played while riding, which is apparently a very hard and unusual occurrence. The whole performance lasted more than 45 minutes - a spectacular show. We followed this by a most pleasant outdoor lunch at the Soderberg Cafe on the edge of Kungsträdgården before walking back to our hotel to pick up our bags and head to the station. The train was most comfortable, spacious with free wifi, arriving in Oslo right on time.

Some observations about Sweden

• like Finland, it is expensive - in a very modest restaurant, it was $58 for 2 small pizzas. Wine would have been $15/glass!
• ATM’s are scarce
• going from Finland we switched from the Euro to Swedish Krona
• refugees are more visible than in Helsinki with quite a number begging or busking on the street
• it is common practice for tourists to arrive in the centre of town and walk to their hotel - the sound of suitcase wheels is very common
• the city seemed “grubbier” than Helsinki
• signs of the global juggernaut with American brands much in evidence: Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, Hillfiger, Gant, Esprit, Klein.
• like Finland, English is both spoken and understood by almost everyone. While people are quite relaxed about using English, few English words have been absorbed into Finnish, Swedish etc. (In contrast, the French resist using English whenever possible, yet many English words creep into the French language.)

OSLO

Our accommodation was in a new apartment buildingwithin a short walk of the station, an ideal location. Construction is everywhere and construction cranes dot the skyline - the Norwegians are investing their “petro krone” in significant infrastructure programs. One example is the new state opera house (knick-named the iceberg) which we visited on our first day in Oslo after a coffee and tasty Norwegian cinnamon bun at a cafe in the station. It isa magnificent structure both outside and in, and unlike most buildings one can walk freely all over the structure (especially the roof) - the only other one I can think of is Parliament House in Canberra, although that is now changing. Our next activity was to participate in a three hour bike tour of Oslo - something recommended by a friend here in VIctoria. We thoroughly enjoyed it - cycling in Oslo was very “relaxed” as it is in many European countries. Cyclists have lots of privileges which are not mis-used in the way we see back here in Victoria. The tour was led by Curtis from Philadelphia married to a local; he speaks fluent Norwegian and is fully immersed in the local way of life. Thus he was able to “bridge” the cultural differences between the city and his clients, providing comments which were a hybrid of the local and the visitor perceptions. It was an easy ride through downtown and suburbs, with many stops along the way including:

• Frogner Park home to the prodigious collection of sculptures by Vigeland
• The Royal Palace,
• Parliament,
• Home of the PM and
• military h.q. - all with remarkably “light” security - typically Norwegian we were told
• Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art - built on reclaimed industrial land.
  • Outside the Museum, Curtis pointed out Terje Brofos aka Harlton Pushwagner a prolific artist - he is extremely rich, but is often found sleeping on the street.

Our conclusion after the tour was that Oslo seemed more like a large country town than a city.

The next day we reverted to walking, staying close to the shoreline with a return visit to Astrup Fearnley before going to Rådhuset [City Hall], an interesting building with a controversial history. It is home to the presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize. There is a separate Nobel Peace Centre which houses a very informative exhibit. In between these destinations we managed to fit in a stop at the open air Oslo Food Festival held on the waterfront. For lunch we had an elk burger! There were lots of stalls well-patronized by the locals taking home all kinds of food - meat, fish, cheese. Distances are short in Oslo, so it was no trouble to head over to the Royal Palace to take in the changing of the guard, Norwegian style. The ceremony was less engaging than its equivalent in Stockholm [sorry Norway] although the venue was equally impressive. To be consistent with our visits to Helsinki and Stockholm, we then took to the water - in this case a ferry to the island of Bygdøy home to visit the Polar Ship Museum, Frammuseet. The exhibits focused on Norwegian explorers in Arctic and Antarctic areas - those were tough, resilient fellows! The ferry trip also afforded us good views of the city not possible if we had stayed on land. On our last evening, based on the recommendation of our bike tour guide, we headed to East Oslo - another of those areas undergoing gentrification. There was definitely an “edginess” to the area. We never felt unsafe, but there were some people pushing shopping carts, graffiti and some drug use - something one doesn’t see in the tourist areas. After walking around for a while checking out a number of restaurants we ended up eating Italian. If we wanted wine, it was $50 for a bottle of Chianti Ruffolo!

It was off to an early night because we had an early start tomorrow taking the Norway in a Nutshell tour - a combination of train, bus and ferry - to Bergen

Some observations about Oslo/Norway:

• Norwegians have experience in building tunnels in this mountainous country; they have used these skills to build tunnels under Oslo making reduced traffic congestion on the surface.
• A few facts about electric cars in Norway:
  • Oslo has more Teslas than ALL of the USA
  • Recharging is free all over Oslo and in most of the country
  • Electric cars don’t pay car tolls on highways - which can be expensive
  • Electric cars don’t pay for parking on city streets
  • Electric cars can use transit lanes
  • There are reduced taxes when purchasing a new electric car
  • All electric cars have a special licence plate
• Norwegian approach to crime and punishment is different - many crimes don’t result in prison time. The focus is entirely on rehabilitation. This all started in the 19th century when there was a labour shortage and prisoners were “hired out” daily to provide extra workers.
• The maximum sentence for murder is 4 years, although there are exceptions e.g. Anders Breivik.
• There are 200km of ski trails and a ski jump in the city
• It is legal to cycle on the sidewalks and crosswalks
• Women do not change their surnames when they marry - never have.

BERGEN

It was a 5.55 am start to catch the train on the first part of the “Norway in a Nutshell” trip to Bergen. As in Sweden, there is no one checking tickets as you board the train - the inspector only got to us about an hour after we had left the station! Again the train ride was very smooth - there is no banking on Norwegian railway tracks (unlike Sweden) providing an even more comfortable ride. This was told to us by Norwegians - there is a great deal of rivalry between the two - a bit like Scotland/England, Australia/NZ or Canada/US. Norway sees itself as the poor relation having been ruled by both the Swedes and Danes, only regaining its independence in 1905. We travelled through two long tunnels before we even left Oslo. The train journey to Myrdal reminded us at times of Scotland while at other times it was reminiscent of the area where the Canadian Shield and marginal farm land meet - lots of trees with islands of farmland relying mostly on hay. As we climbed towards Finse (elevation 1222 metres), a bike trail paralleled the railway track - despite pouring rain and rough terrain, cycling this trail is a popular recreational activity!! It is possible to take your own bike or to rent one and only do the journey one way. Arriving at Myrdal, we changed train to get to Flåm - this line has to navigate some very steep terrain [1 in 18 in places] requiring special engineering of both the train and track. It is only 20km long but it drops [or ascends] 866m requiring lots of tunnelling. Once at Flåm, we boarded the ferry to take us through Aurlandsfjord (an arm of the massive Sognefjord) and the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Naeøfjord - it is stunning country reminiscent of BC (but much steeper) and the west coast of South Island NZ. Along the way, we saw a number of paddlers who were dwarfed by the towering mountains. Unfortunately, the weather was “atmospheric” - the term used by Kiwis when it is misty and full-on rainy!  Arriving at Gudvangen a bus took us to Voss along a narrow twisting switchback road with a steep drop along most of the way. We were thankful for the skills of the bus driver. This is a link to a video, of the road, not taken by us. From Voss it is a relatively short regular train ride to Bergen, the former capital.
It was late by the time we arrived at our hotel in Bergen - again a short walk from the station.
Our first day in Bergen was a Sunday - we enjoyed the buffet breakfast which included rare roast beef and gjetost [a type of brown goat’s cheese only found in Norway, but exported for you to enjoy]. Then we took the bus to the bottom of Mt Ulriken on the south west outskirts of Bergen. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day (after only 4 such days in the whole of July) - that was the good news. The bad news was that everyone in Bergen had come out to enjoy it, resulting in an hour long wait to get a cable car to the summit. (The athletic young locals were there in large numbers too - except they hiked up!) The wait was worth it - the view from the top was truly spectacular, looking over the city and out to the coast for over 180°. Our original plan was to walksome of the advertised trails after we reached the summitbut the trail conditions were so bad that you needed proper hiking boots, so we had to settle for the view and a cup of coffee. Since we didn’t stay on top for long, we thought we would beat the rush for the cable car on the way down. Wrong! We had another hour-long wait, but it was still worth it. Once back again sea level, we walked along the UNESCO World Heritage site - Bryggen. They continue to do marvellous work on restoring the buildings along the waterfront, using original tools and equipment, as required to preserve the UNESCO status. Bergen was a northern outpost of the Hanseatic League when it was a major trading block in the 14th to 16th centuries. We enjoyed exploring the stores and studios along the narrow alleys. The arrangement of the buildings - narrow side of the building facing the water with properties stretching back from the water - reminded us of the seigneurial patterns in parts of Canada first settled by the French, also of fishing villages in NE Scotland. Since this was our last dinner in the Nordic countries, we made a reservation at Bryggeloftet on the Bryggen where we had a window table upstairs giving us a view of Bryggen and the harbour. Reindeer fillet was on the menu, so we decided to “book end” our trip with a special reindeer dinner on the first and last nights. It was a good choice - excellent food with excellent service.

Our flight to Aberdeen didn’t leave till late afternoon, but with a bus every 10 minutes from our hotel to the airport, we were able to enjoy another relaxing day in Bergen. We went back to Bryggen where several stores were selling furs which attracted the Russian visitors! The Norwegian approach to furs, as well as the sealing and whaling industries is not universally shared. Along the waterfront there were stalls selling fish as well tables where seafood meals were served. Lots of seafood for sale, including whale meat!

The route to the airport took us through yet more tunnels - the Norwegians seem to build tunnels where others would build bridges. A direct Aberdeen-Bergen flight on Widerøe (a major domestic airline in Norway, with Aberdeen its only destination outside Norway and Sweden) was perfect for our needs. Interestingly, though Bergen and Aberdeen are about the same size, Bergen airport was much busier.