Finally seeing the rest of the Nordic NationsSince Sri Lanka we’ve been doing a bit of easy and indulgent travel. We have finally entered the phase of our trip when we are splashing out on dreams we never thought we could afford to do on this trip. We started off returning to Thailand with my (Riv’s) Mum and taking her to some of our favourite places as well as Petchaburi (we can highly recommend this as an off the beaten track but close to Bangkok stop). We were due back in the U.K. for friend’s weddings and the cheapest flights I could find had a stopover in Almaty, Kazakhstan. If you are looking for a cheap, decent airline and a new stopover destination try out Air Astana. We had three days on our stopover in Almaty and this was just enough for us to explore the city and get a nice taste of Kazakh culture. When booking our flight and stopover we took advantage of a package they offered which included airport pickup and drop off, as well as a very nice hotel at a discounted rate. This may not have been the most economical way that we could have visited Kazakhstan but it was still a very good deal and one we were willing to splash out on for ease and convenience. Kazakhstan is an interesting place to visit as well as being extremely budget friendly once you are there. From the U.K. we indulged in one of Dani’s big travel dreams by booking a cruise to Greenland. We had tossed up the benefits and costs of independent travel versus and cruise and established that to see more than one place and to have a better chance of actually visiting (a friend recently had multiple days cut of his trip due to flight cancelations) the cruise was actually by far the better option. Now that we have actually been it turns out this was even more of a good decision than we had initially believed. Once on the ground day-to-day expenses in Greenland are more expensive than you imagine ($4.50 for a cucumber) and even eating once a day would have blown any budget. If you would like more information on the cruise that we took in terms of cost, itinerary etc feel free to contact us at [email protected] Also on the expensive travel bucket list were the final two countries in the Scandinavian/Nordic band. On our previous big trip in 2013/14 we had visited Iceland, Norway and Denmark and having recently returned from Greenland we were both desperate to see what the last two had to offer. We flew into Helsinki in Finland and were immediately pleased to find that it continued our beloved Scandinavian trend of being eccentric in the best possible way while also being incredibly warm and welcoming. Helsinki is a beautiful city and has a lot to offer. Surprisingly the tourist card for exploring the highlights of the city actually offers very good value (€48-68/$77.60-109.95 AUD/54.60-77.35 USD for 1-3 days). It includes several interesting museums, public transport, a hop on hop off bus tour, a harbour tour and discounts on restaurants and souvenirs. Taking advantage of the card we took the harbour trip, visited the photography museum (strange), the restaurant and hospitality museum (amusing) and the theatre museum (fun) which are all in the same building at the cable factory in the Tallberginkatu district. We also spent time wandering round the beautiful city (check out the Art Noveau architecture in the old town) which is surprisingly easy to navigate on foot and has a range of options for self guided walking tours depending on your particular interests. After three days in Helsinki we went up to Roveneimi in Lapland. As we were travelling with Dani’s Mum this again would fall into the more luxurious bucket list category and wouldn’t necessarily fall into the essential travel list even if you were exploring Scandinavia. This being said we had a wonderful time really enjoying what the town had on offer. If you are interested in the official home of Santa Claus there are daily flights offered by Norwegian Air from Helsinki to Roveneimi (ours cost £98.20/$179.80 AUD/127.45 USD per person) and direct flights from London Gatwick. If you’re on a budget, the much cheaper option is to catch the overnight train from Helsinki, which would then also save you the cost of a night’s accommodation. While we were in Lapland we took advantage of all this region had to offer. We were there in autumn, which is a bit of a shoulder season for the area in terms of its main attractions but there is still plenty on offer to enjoy. We went to Santa Park to visit Santa Claus, took a husky ride (on a wheeled trailer rather than a sled as the snow had yet to fall) and went out to a boat to go aurora hunting. As it is on the Arctic Circle this is a great place for aurora watching but unfortunately for us luck was not on our side and all we saw was a few grey/green wisps before they disappeared behind the clouds. This was a bit of a shame but enjoyable nonetheless, and as our guide pointed out, it is called aurora hunting for a reason… Our next stop was dipping out of Scandinavia across the Baltic Sea to Tallinn, Estonia. We flew back to Helsinki the night before and stayed at Eurohostel, which is a great hostel in the old town (€71.75/$116.25 AUD/82.35 USD for a private triple room). Tallinn is only a 2hr ferry ride from Helsinki, which makes it very accessible. The ferry cost €23 ($37.40 AUD/26.40 USD) per person on Tallink Ferries and is a really well equipped with duty free shops, bars, restaurants, free hot water taps and lockers for you to store your belongings in. At the right times of year you can get deals for €1 each way, so keep an eye out for these deals! Tallinn is a surprising place. I know we both expected it to have a real eastern European feeling to it, but until you head out of the old town and into the suburbs it definitely feels more Scandinavian. The old town is beautifully preserved and it feels magical wandering through the twisted alleyways and cobbled streets. We spent one day aimlessly wandering around and then on the second day we did a tour of the old town as well as the Presidential Palace, which was fantastic. This was quite an expensive private tour but there were 3 free walking tour companies available and they all appeared to focus on different aspects so pop into the information centre and see which one interests you the most. Tallinn is well worth the visit and is much cheaper than its neighbouring countries across the sea. If you are considering Helsinki it is well worth tacking this on to your trip or even visiting it in its own right. Also if you are looking for a great local watering hole check out Hells Hunt in the old town. It has good food and great beer at reasonable prices and it is still very much frequented by locals so hasn’t lost its charm. From Tallinn we were saying goodbye to Dani’s Mum and sailing back across the Baltic Sea to Stockholm, again on Tallink. This is a fantastic option to get to Stockholm as your ticket price includes a cabin for you to sleep in on the 15hr ferry journey. We paid €44.50 ($72.10 AUD/51.05 USD) which included a small upgrade to a quieter cabin and a buffet breakfast in the morning. Great value all around! From the moment we stepped foot in our last Scandinavian nation we were hooked. We both have a deep love for Scandinavia but very quickly we realised it seemed we had the best till last (sorry to our friends in the other five). Stockholm completely won us over. The wonderful people we met through another travel friend in part helped this. A Swedish friend we had met in Thailand was unfortunately going to be out of the country when were visiting so she put us in touch with some of her friends. They turned out to be a fantastic bunch of people and staying with them really showed us a different side to the city. Stockholm is a stunning place with incredible waterways that can be explored by commuter ferries and the transport system is cheap and easy to use. The daily and weekly passes are really cost effective if you are moving around the city a lot or the weather is bad (24-hour travelcard: 125 SEK/$18.85 AUD/13.85 USD) adults, 72-hour travelcard: 250 SEK/$37.75 AUD/27.65 USD) and a 7-day travelcard: 325 SEK/$49.05 AUD/36.25 USD) Information regarding the different options are available at all big transport hubs and everyone speaks nearly perfect English so are able to help and guide you) One particular trip definitely worth taking is the ferry from Slussen (Near Gamla Stan/Old Town) to Allmänna Gränd and walking around this very pretty island. It is home to many different museums including the Nordic Museum, Vasa Museum (The Swedish Titanic) and the Viking Museum as well as Grönalund Amusement Park. But even if you aren’t interested in any of that it is still worth just walking around. We also did a fantastic walking tour that explained some really interesting things about the city like the origins of Stockholm syndrome. We also went to the Nobel museum in Gamla Stan but unfortunately for us most of it was closed for refurbishment but this did mean there was no entry fee (usually 120 SEK/$18.10 AUD/ 13.30 USD) After three great days in Stockholm, we moved on to Gothenburg (I found the Goeuro app the best way to see all the options and booked tickets on the train for $50 AUD/36.75 USD). Gothenburg has a very different vibe to Stockholm. It is much more student focused and has a big nightlife scene. That being said it is also very pretty. We were staying near Haga at Slottsskogens Youth Hostel which was great and cost 500SEK ($75.05 AUD/52.75 USD) for 2 people in a 4 bed dorm. One of our favourite buildings was the fish market on the river which was designed by an architecture who actually wanted to build a church so that’s what he did…he built the fish church. Gothenburg is a great walking city. There are few things that can’t be explored by foot. If you are interested in a great green space then the Slottsskogens garden is perfect to walk around and has free animal enclosures to visit such as seals, moose, elk and penguins. Near to this you also have Haga area, which has the most amazing cinnamon buns in a variety of sizes in the local cafes. They are particularly famous for their extra large varieties of these and I can vouch that they are totally worth it if you have a sweet tooth! You may not be able to consume a whole one alone in one sitting but snacking on one all day is no hardship I can assure you! A lesser-known museum worth checking out is the museum of world culture, which has free entry. It is located next to the Universeum and it currently (September 2018) has an amazing exhibition about migration and refugees. It is not only moving but very well put together and very much worth a visit. Obviously there are also the hot spots like Universeum, which we are sure is fabulous and worth the visit but on the day we planned to visit there was a school children’s open day scheduled at the museum and that seemed like it might be a little…intense! From Gothenburg we were heading to our favourite retreat with friends in the South of France for a relaxing 9 days and while trying to find the cheapest flight it turned out that heading 4 hours south to Copenhagen, Denmark would be our cheapest option. BUS TRAVEL DETAILS As Copenhagen is not only a capital city but also a Norwegian Air hub it makes it a cheap and viable option for visiting western Sweden. As we had a morning flight we opted to spend the night in Copenhagen first and found a wonderful hostel not only close to the bus stop but also the main train station to get to the airport in the morning. Urban House (242.80 DKK/$52.30 AUD/36.75 USD for 2 people in a 6 bed dorm with private bathroom) was a great find as it was clean, comfortable and had not only great facilities but also fantastic location. Having finally seen the last two Scandinavian countries (which is something that we have wanted to do since our last big adventure) we can definitely say that we love this part of the world. There is something about it that has captured us both and will always hold a special place in our hearts. Yes it is expensive and there is no getting around that but if you’re willing to self cater and sleep in dorms these nations will reward you for your efforts. LGBT: Kazakhstan is a little seperate from the rest of the nations above. Homosexual and Trans idendities are legal in Kazakhstan but that is about as far as it goes. It is a conservative but realtively accepting country and we did not face any issues even when reaffirming we wanted the double room we had booked (It was a wedding anniversary treat trip). Nordic nations Finland and Sweden have been leaders in LGBT rights worldwide and are open, friendly and accepting. As for Estonia they have been unfairly lumped in with their ex-soviet neigbours. They are the leading nation on LGBT rights from the ex-soviet block and they are also more culturally leaned towards their Nordic neighbours than say Russia and Latvia.
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