My favorite spot in Stockholm is Rosendals Trädgård cafe and garden on the island of Djurgården, a testament to the Scandinavian love of nature. The island is a semi-wild haven an easy walk from town, with lovely architecture and a 19th C amusement park.
The city guides did an excellent job. Recommend you see the Vasa museum on your own if you have any interest. We had exactly 30 mins there. No time to view exhibits. This is the #1 attraction in Stockholm and 1-2 hrs are recommended by guidebooks. In Oslo, we arrived at our hotel at 4. most everything was closed by then so we climbed the Opera house roof. Bring eyeshades and ear plugs. The black-out curtains did not completely cover the windows (around the edges). Lots of street noise at a few hotels. Everyone speaks fluent English! Shoppers: it's expensive. 25% tax. We returned to USA via Copenhagen so spent a few nights at the Comfort Hotel connected to the airport by an enclosed walkway. Great choice. Surprisingly good breakfast. AC. Totally soundproof. The train from Sweden stops at the airport on the way to Copenhagen. The metro also stops in the airport. Both take 15ish minutes to Copenhagen. We were in the SAS business lounge and i asked how long it would take to walk to our gate. She told me I had to leave immediately (1 hr 15 mins prior to flight) because of USA clearance procedures. I don't think we needed that much time, but you might want to check if you are sitting in a lounge. Hope this helps.
carolv, when was your tour? We're going next year (2025) with 3 extra nights in Stockholm. Good to know that we might want to go to the Vasa even with Tauck including it on the itinerary.
This is in response to MotherOfPoodles comments on Norwegian Fjordlands thread discussion re Scandinavia. MotherOfPoodles. Interesting comments and review. Things sure have changed in Scandinavia since I was there way back in 1983 on a 19 day Maupintour (now defunct). Sigh. I still believe that the area is wonderful to see and different than the rest of Europe.
The ferry to Oslo was lovely. Sit on the back deck as you depart. Nice duty free shop. I think there were activities (bingo) and even a spa area. Some of us had much nicer rooms (deluxe) for no apparent reason. Those with the simpler, smaller rooms didn't complain since it was just a night and you only had an overnight bag with you. Deluxe rooms came with a perk, access to the Commodore lounge which had coffee, tea, wine, and snacks. Those with deluxe rooms (cardkey access) should invite others to the lounge to hang out after dinner! Dinner was served sit down in a separate area of the dining room. Can't remember the food, but I'm sure it was fine. We probably had to choose a fish, meat, or vegetarian entree ahead of time. Our TD director warned us to head down to disembark after 10ish am. None of us listened, always eager to be on time, and so we were stuck in huge lines with masses of people. Was not a rough sail!
Thanx Carol. I watched some YouTube videos of the ship and it looked interesting. Wondered about the luggage. Tauck had told me it was supposed to be Commodore cabins for all. We'll see.
Comments
Mowie - As indicated on the Scandinavia thread, what are your interests? Are you referring to independent travel or will you be on a tour?
My favorite spot in Stockholm is Rosendals Trädgård cafe and garden on the island of Djurgården, a testament to the Scandinavian love of nature. The island is a semi-wild haven an easy walk from town, with lovely architecture and a 19th C amusement park.
The city guides did an excellent job. Recommend you see the Vasa museum on your own if you have any interest. We had exactly 30 mins there. No time to view exhibits. This is the #1 attraction in Stockholm and 1-2 hrs are recommended by guidebooks. In Oslo, we arrived at our hotel at 4. most everything was closed by then so we climbed the Opera house roof. Bring eyeshades and ear plugs. The black-out curtains did not completely cover the windows (around the edges). Lots of street noise at a few hotels. Everyone speaks fluent English! Shoppers: it's expensive. 25% tax. We returned to USA via Copenhagen so spent a few nights at the Comfort Hotel connected to the airport by an enclosed walkway. Great choice. Surprisingly good breakfast. AC. Totally soundproof. The train from Sweden stops at the airport on the way to Copenhagen. The metro also stops in the airport. Both take 15ish minutes to Copenhagen. We were in the SAS business lounge and i asked how long it would take to walk to our gate. She told me I had to leave immediately (1 hr 15 mins prior to flight) because of USA clearance procedures. I don't think we needed that much time, but you might want to check if you are sitting in a lounge. Hope this helps.
carolv, when was your tour? We're going next year (2025) with 3 extra nights in Stockholm. Good to know that we might want to go to the Vasa even with Tauck including it on the itinerary.
This is in response to MotherOfPoodles comments on Norwegian Fjordlands thread discussion re Scandinavia. MotherOfPoodles. Interesting comments and review. Things sure have changed in Scandinavia since I was there way back in 1983 on a 19 day Maupintour (now defunct). Sigh. I still believe that the area is wonderful to see and different than the rest of Europe.
claudia-we were there in June 2024. Hopefully, they will change the length of the visit for 2025!
Thank you Carol. Yes I hope they make changes re the Vasa museum. What was the ferry trip to Oslo like - cabin, dining, etc?
The ferry to Oslo was lovely. Sit on the back deck as you depart. Nice duty free shop. I think there were activities (bingo) and even a spa area. Some of us had much nicer rooms (deluxe) for no apparent reason. Those with the simpler, smaller rooms didn't complain since it was just a night and you only had an overnight bag with you. Deluxe rooms came with a perk, access to the Commodore lounge which had coffee, tea, wine, and snacks. Those with deluxe rooms (cardkey access) should invite others to the lounge to hang out after dinner! Dinner was served sit down in a separate area of the dining room. Can't remember the food, but I'm sure it was fine. We probably had to choose a fish, meat, or vegetarian entree ahead of time. Our TD director warned us to head down to disembark after 10ish am. None of us listened, always eager to be on time, and so we were stuck in huge lines with masses of people. Was not a rough sail!
Thanx Carol. I watched some YouTube videos of the ship and it looked interesting. Wondered about the luggage. Tauck had told me it was supposed to be Commodore cabins for all. We'll see.