Hello! We've decided against St. Petersburg and instead are thinking about one of these trips for the last week of April. We have 9 days, starting and ending in Munich. <BR>1) Norway - Fly to Oslo, train to Bergen stopping for a day or 2 in fjord country, Bergen, back to Oslo, fly to Trondheim then home. <BR>2) Fly to Stockholm, overnight ferry to Tallin, ferry to Helsinki, fly home from there. <BR>Are there any Scandinavia experts out there that can offer advice and opinions on the 2 trips? Is there something better we should do? Any guesses on how the weather will be then? Thanks for helping me sort this out!

One more question: would the weather, hours of daylight, opening hours, etc be so much better in June that we should consider going then instead? Are there hoards of tourists in June?

Have done both trips you mention and you can't go wrong with either. However, Norway trip much more scenic. Fjord country most beautiful I have seen. Bergen magical...Stockholm wonderful, beautiful and SO civilized, Tallin interesting but this trip involves too much time on the ferries. Ferry travel also quite expensive although all of Scandinavia can be expensive, especially Stockholm.

Forgot to mention......June weather better......Crowds not that bad....

I would definitely be concentrating on Bergen and the fiords, which I think is the best part of Scandinavia by a long way. <BR>There is a boat leaves Bergen every night at 2230, with sleeping accomodation, and which arrives in Trondheim at 0600 on the second day. That is the Monday night boat arrives Trondheim Wednesday morning etc. A much better way of getting there from Bergen than via Oslo - probably cheaper too. <BR>The boat stops briefly several times, and the journey up the coast is quite staggering at times. <BR>On your way to Bergen from Oslo, it is best to leave the train at Myrdal, for a short train ride to Flam, and then a boat trip either direct to Bergen or to rejoin the train at Voss.You get tremendous views of and from the fiords on this route.

April isn't the greatest month for travelling in Scandinavia...June is MUCH better. There are never real tourist "crowds", most of the visitors come in July, anyway. <BR>

Auca, why isn't April a good month? If I can't come in June, is April so bad that I shouldn't come? Thanks!

Hi, Page <BR>I'm Norwegian, living in Oslo and knows Norway very good. <BR>April weather can be unpredictable. <BR>The last weekend may get crowdy along the Oslo-Bergen railway due to a large skievent in the mountains April 28th. <BR>A"norway in a nutshell" easily can be planned together with the Oslo-Bergen. <BR>9 days will be more than fine. The Trondheim detour and your flight plans seem a little confusing to me, though. <BR>Don't hesitate to email me. <BR>Weather in June normally is very nice. Crowds should not be a problem any time of the year, but it might be wise to reserve rooms early. <BR>Bjorn

Hi again. <BR>Forgot to mention two sites: <BR>www.nsb.no <BR>and <BR>www.fjordinfo.no <BR>The former is the site of the Norwegian Railroad Company (NSB), the latter concentrates on the Western coast, Bergen etc. Both with good links. <BR>NSB's combined trips (rail-boat-bus) Norway in a nutshell and the "triangle" trip are both good alternatives and can be made very flexible according to your plans (Bergen stay etc). <BR>Bjorn

Paige <BR> <BR>John is right: Norway's fjord country is the most beautiful part of Scandinavia (though neither Bergen nor Oslo can match Stockholm). <BR> <BR>One thing to consider is driving (if you end up going in summer) instead of flying or taking the train. It's a thrill to drive the mountain passes, the views are spectacular, it gives you the chance to better explore fjords and glaciers, you'd still be able to cruise a few fjords on ferries, and you can visit some great stave churches along the way. <BR> <BR>With nine days available, you might be able to spend a couple in Stockholm and then train to Norway. I'd hate to miss Stockholm. <BR> <BR>But whichever you choose, it's tough to go wrong.

Any more votes for Stockholm? We still haven't decided what we're going to do. We haven't been to Scandinavia and this may be our only chance for awhile. We're considering either 5 or 9 days. What would you recommend? Thanks!

I love Stockholm -- definitely my favorite city in Scandinavia by a long shot. You will have a lovely time there. I also think there is a lot of natural beauty to be seen in Sweden, but the fjords of Norway are truly remarkable. If you have any way of getting up to Ulvik in Norway and the area around it, it is breathtakingly beautiful. <BR> <BR>I would definitely vote for Norway most of your trip, then a stopover at the end in Stockholm for 2 days.