Spring in Nordic/Western Europe Questions
 

I am in the planning stages of a trip to Europe in April/beginning of May time frame and I am wondering if it is typically rainy during that time of year? Here in New York and along the Mid-Atlantic of the United States April is the rainiest month.

My wife and I have brainstormed ideas and are still trying to come up with some sort of 10 day itinerary. We are going to try to get a flight via Norwegian Air into Oslo or some other similar city. Then do you all recommend the train or regional flights for trainsportation within Europe? Is it more cost effective for train? I haven't had the time to price it all out yet.

Cities we have on our list but haven't prioritized yet (Please comment on as many as possible! Feedback welcomed!):

Oslo
Stockholm
Copenhagen
Brussells
Bruges
Amsterdam
Maastrict (My wife has been here and wants to return) - we are thinking of using this as a "home base" and taking days trips to Brussels/Bruges/Amsterdam possibly.

We want to explore this general region of Europe since we have both been to mediterranean/southern europe and western europe and UK.

Looking forward to your feedback!

You only have 10 days so I'd only do Belgium/the Netherlands using two bases at least.

Or Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen but that would be pretty rushed w/ all the travel time.

Then do you all recommend the train or regional flights for transportation within Europe? Is it more cost effective for train? I haven't had the time to price it all out yet.>

Trains for sure within a regional area but if going between Scandinavia and Benelux of course with your short time fly.

Maastricht is simply too far from Amsterdam or Bruges or Brussels to do much justice to any of them on a day trip - Maastricht is a nice town but poor base for those places - base in perhaps Bruges and day trip to Brussels and in Amsterdam, a town that simply can't be done justice to in a day or two.

For lots of great info on trains check www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com. You will not be traveling enough to warrant looking at any railpass - but for long-distance trains in Scandinavia advance booking on national rail sites can save money - in Benelux most trains are flat fare so no real reason for buying in advance unless you take Thalys trains which you do not have to.

For 10 days trip I'd say you should visit at most 3 cities - not more, otherwise you'll exhausted yourself. Belgium/Netherlands is doable for 10 days, but if you absolutely want a Scandinavian country then perhaps Copenhagen/Amsterdam/Bruges? Copenhagen has everything a tourist could hope for: palaces and great museums, picturesque canals, the Little Mermaid, and even a beach! In Copenhagen city center you can take a train through Oresun bridge and you'll be in Sweden after 20 mins, not bad!

But then all 3 cities I listed have beautiful canals, so maybe that'll be the theme of your trip? :D

Bruges will be good for beer sipping and chocolat shopping, aside from its landscape. Amsterdam is also a city I'm very fond of, because of its many colours and its blooming life.

And Norwegian Air do flight into Copenhagen.

Of course, you can take any other Scandinavian capital instead of Copenhagen, each city has its own charm. I just think that Copenhagen is not too far from Belgium/Netherlands compared to other cities. And as I said above, it even gives you a peep into Sweden.

I day tripped to Lund, Sweden from Copenhagen, an easy one hour by train for a taste of Sweden and Lund is so so neat - a university town with nice campus and just neat all around town.

In Copenhagen city center you can take a train through Oresun bridge and you'll be in Sweden after 20 mins, not bad!>

It's actually a bridge and tunnel and the bridge is high so you can see for miles around - worth the trip in itself but rather pricey as I recall.

I don't think it's that pricey: I took the trip this July and it was something like a little bit more than 10E one way through Oresun bridge. But you're right, the scene on the sea is worth it alone.

Thanks so much for the feedback. So if we had to choose only a couple cities or areas it seems like you all suggest Copenhagen is a good place because all it has to offer. Any more feedback for a strictly Nordic trip to Norway and Sweden?

The distances in Sweden are a bit long and boring (vista is trees rocks and ponds), but Norway is worth driving around, the waterfalls are especially worth looking out for. I'd look at something like, Bergen/Lillehammer/Oslo in 10 days.

You could try and force Stockholm in but I might look at Gothenburg instead.

I might also look at Malmo/Copenhagen/Odense/Aarhus as another good combo.

You could argue that you are used to driving a lot and long distances don't worry you, but given the views in Norway, why would you journey when you could stop along the way? Nearly all our best walks in Norway occured when we just stopped and headed off to the hills.

<<something like a little bit more than 10E one way through Oresun bridge.>> How did you cross the bridge? We pay EUR47 one way, you can get weekend return tickets but even so, it is not inexpensive. We prefer to take the ferry from Helsingoer to Helsingborg, not that it is cheaper.

I would suggest Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen for a 10 day trip if you want to do three countries. I would not choose Gothenburg over Stockholm and there is much of nothing of interest in Malmo, I would not spend time there at the expense of Copenhagen or Stockholm.