Scandinavia in the spring!
 

Hi, everybody! Happy New Year!

Thank you for all the advice you've given me on previous posts. Now your comments are welcome again!

Scandinavia trip has been moved to late April or early May. Can you share your experiences with me? Best airline, best city to fly into (Berlin or Brussels seem to be cheapest thus far), train or car, names of small commuter flight airline city-jumpers to save time...we've got 12 days max. Stockholm is paramount, Oslo would be nice, considering Helsinki...

Also, any suggestions on crash courses in language? I know a tiny bit of Norwegian, and I know it's a close relative of Swedish, but I'd like to learn more as a courtesy to native speakers.

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with me!

Sue

If you want to see Scandinavia flying into/out of Berlin or Brussels is a complete waste of a couple of your VERY limited number of days.

As far as what to do/see

Agree that Stockholm is the biggest hit - you should have at least 4 full days there

Copenhagen is also worth at least 4/5 days once you add day trips to Roskilde and Helsingborg etc

Oslo is cute but has less to do = you can see a lot in 2 days - but then to see the fjords will be a couple of more days

I found Helsinki the least interesting of the group

And you've left your self little time for countryside.

I would fly into Stockholm and back out of Copenhagen (or vice versa) putting Oslo in if you think you 'll have time (I wouldn't in 12 days).

if you find the time go Bergen or Stavanger + west country instead of Oslo

A couple of thoughts:

1) You should be flying. The distances between the cities you mention are pretty substantial. And neither gas nor trains are particularly cheap in Scandinavia.

2) I would double-check my math. I would be a little surprised if flying into Berlin or Brussels saved you enough money to offset the cost of getting from those cities to Scandinavia.

3) I wouldn't worry about the language. Everybody in Scandinavia speaks English and I have yet to meet anyone who will admit to being offended that others don't speak their language. Scandinavians are nothing if not practical and recognize that maybe only 15 to 20 million people speak a Scandinavian language. Indeed, many major companies in Scandinavia have switched to English-language workplaces in recognition of this.

good for you ! and if 12 days is all you have then 12 is well spent anywhere other than on home turf i say !
most people simply cant get time off work for much longer and i find that i can cram in quite a lot and still fly home feeling sated..( ok i must be very shallowbellied and easily pleased!! )
im not waiting til i have more time to travel...ill be retired then and who knows what my health will be like..ive seen too many folk counting on those big trips once theyre out of the workforce and then one of them gets sick and there go their plans
im using up my youth ( what precious little of it is left) and even if its poor value for money ..id rather do a 10 dayer than nothing at all...
it is probably awful as far as jetlag is concerned but still ill take it!
ill be watching this thread..hope you get lots of responses...please report back!

nytraveler-do you mean Helsingoer

Agree with travelgourmet about the language. You can feel confidant that any person under 50 will be able to speak with you in English.

In all of Scandinavia just say TAKK (thank you) and you'll be fine. I too think Helsinki is the least interesting. Oslo has wonderful things to see, don't miss it. Stockholm is wonderful esp. the Vassa Museum. Stavanger and Bergan are also charming cities if you have the time.

Norwegian is pretty easy as languages go, and even Danes and Swedes (in my experience) are sometimes pleased that you know some. The "Teach Yourself Norwegian" book goes a long way in a short amount of time. Like English, Norwegian has modal verbs like "Can, may, must, will, shall"... and they're very similar to English.

And yeah, 98% of people will speak English, and good English, but if you learn even a few cute phrases you'll make friends. Ha det på badet (The Norwegian equivalent of 'See you later alligator') especially impresses people for some reason... :P

Not that I'm an expert or anything, but Scandinavian languages are fun, so if you have any time and energy for it, you'll find a little goes a long way.