hey, y'all
i have roughly 8 days to spend in scandinavia (flying into copenhagen & flying out of stockholm)
i want to make the most of my time there while my best friend & i visit her new volvo (!), but i'm not sure how long to spend in either place, and i don't want to feel like i just glossed over an area that needed more time--can anybody help me?

I assume that you will be driving the Volvo and not just visiting it. A car in Copenhagen and Stockholm is a headache, but it is handy for side trips through the country. I would roughly split up my time between Denmark and Sweden. I would suggest a visit to Roskilde to see the cathedral and the viking ship museum. A drive up the coast north of Copenhagen to Elsinore to visit the Kronberg castle. If you enjoy modern art, the Louisiana Museum is on the way. Lots to do and see; you'll love your trip.

Hi S,

I suggest a visit to Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød.

See http://wictor.dk/wictor/frederiksborg/frbslotGB.html

we are not going to drive the car--we got the train pass thingy so that we could get around faster--not like either of us can take off school and go tromping around europe
of the 2 cities, which one is more affordable?
AND, for 2 gals coming from texas, how bad are we gonna freeze our heinies off?
what about tivoli?
what should we DEFINITELY not eat?

By all means visit Tivoli. It really is alot of fun and its not just tourists you will find there. The locals also love Tivoli and do all kinds of things there.
You'll probably be a little chilly, dress accordingly.

thanks a bunch--by the way, i love your screen name!
one other thing--how about rain--is it normally wet there this time of year?
is it worth it to pack an umbrella or should we just try to dodge the raindrops???

thanks somisseagle
as to weather....well, Scandivaia is very far north, prety much between the North Sea and the Baltic and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it rained quite regularly during late autumn. My last trip was an early spring trip and it rained quite a bit. Take the umbrella.
As to costs between the 2 cities, I think you'll find them both consistently rather expensive for food, drinks, hotel rooms although during the off season hotel rates get a little cheaper. It is cheaper than Iceland, but thats another story.
Can you get over to Norway while you are at it? The Norwegian fjords are some of the most beautiful spots in the world imho.

i would LOVE to get over to norway, but travel time is of the essence--how long would it take me to get to oslo?
i just want to see as much as i can so that i can share it with my students...
umbrella will be in the bag--thanks for the input

If I recall correctly, you can drive or take a train between Olso and Stockholm in about 5 - 6 hours. From Oslo you can take a couple hour train trip to fjord country and poke around. Some people like the 'Norway in a Nutshell' tours of varying distances and lengths. For as large as Sweden and Norway are, they are quite narrow east to west and getting around is pretty quick.
Another side trip to maybe consider is the overnight ferry to Tallinn Estonia. We did not do that but ran into a canadian couple that did and they loved Estonia. Helsinki is worth looking into as well. Seems to me you'll have your fill of Sweden before the 8 days are up.
And don't be afraid to take the car between places outside the big cities. Driving in Scandinavia is very easy and you'll see a litle more and also have a place to stow your stuff.

Did you mention when you are going? Tivoli is closed during the off-season. Sweden is the more expensive of the two countries. Norway is more expensive still. I don't think I would try to fit Norway into this trip. (don't get me wrong, I love Norway)

we arrive in copenhagen on the 19th of november and fly out of stockholm on the 26th
not so sound stupid, but what do folks over there wear? (i don't want to look like some gooberhead american tourist--would rather try to blend in a little bit)

In response to your question as what to wear, November is rainy, and cold so it's all about the coat...wear a cool coat and cool jeans! Scarfs are all over the place too, wear a cool scarf too. I'm not sure about Copenhagen, but Stockholm is trendy, keep that in mind.

I don't know how old you are but my neice who is living in Copenhagen this year has said that jeans tucked into mukluk style boots is very "in". She e-mailed me a picture of her new boots. Also scarves, scarves, scarves. Her boots were fake fur I think.

that's good to know--thanks a bunch
i'm 34--old enough not to try & dress like a teenager but far enough removed from the nursing home that i don't want to wear "sensible" clothes...
have the scarf...working on the shoes...
more heavy coat or just interesting layers???

You could go either way with the coat, a stylish heavy coat or interesting layers would work. Have fun! I'm actually heading to Stockholm this weekend! I love the shopping there!

would you mind letting me know (when you get back, of course) what the weather is doing over there?
here in texas we have no idea from hour to hour what it's gonna do, so i'm a little off on what to think about what all to pack
is there any snow anywhere over there right now? (snow is SUCH a novelty in southeast texas...)
have fun shopping--find something great & tell me where you got it!!!

You won't get a lot of snow in Copenhagen, if at all. It's too temperate, all the sea water, kind of like Seattle. It DOES snow there, but it's really pretty unusual. My local paper lists temperatures for all the major world and US cities every day. Copenhage was in the low 60's and cloudy today. Stockholm was much the same. It will get colder as it's gets deeper into the winter but its NOT the arctic circle. I live in Reno, and I looked on a couple of weather sites, and the average temps in winter are not much different than here, but damper I would suspect. 30' and 40' mostly. Take an umbrella. As always suggested, dress in layers. And, I have said this before so forgive me for repeating: I had read the suggestion on other posts about getting the very thin silk underwear and I ordered two tops on line. They are great. Very thin but adds the extra layer of warmth without bulk and I think these tops are going to be very useful when I get there the end of Dec. You might consider gettin some.

I'll let you know!!

y'all are the best--much love from texas!!

Stockholm was great. The weather was mild, although I'm usually there in the middle of winter when it's realy cold. No snow as of yet. One thing to remember is that it gets really windy. I don't know how long you have there, but check out Old Town if you can. It's pretty "touristy" but there are some great restaurants too. If you're a meat eater, reindeer filet is excellent. The shopping in the downtown area can be overwhelming for a first-timer, a lot of stores, and big department stores. We brought friends with us and they thought it was way too much for one day. Like most places in Europe, stores are closed on Sundays unless it's holiday time. Everything is within walking distance, and the walks are nice. Hope you have a great trip!!