Marquinius Posted May 8, 2011 Share #1 Posted May 8, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) In four days, we're off to Sweden, starting just south of Norrköping at Björkfors. We're still thinking of what to do afterwards, as we plan to move from that fisrt stop after a couple of days. Into Norway? Go east and see the Swedish coast? We're driving, so anything within, say, 500 miles is Okay. Any suggestions? Anyone? E.g. if we go into Norway, what's a good spot to hit the fjords? And yes, the M8 is travelling with us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 8, 2011 Posted May 8, 2011 Hi Marquinius, Take a look here Off to Sweden and Norway, where to go.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Doc Henry Posted May 8, 2011 Share #2 Posted May 8, 2011 "Bon voyage" Marco to you and your family ! Bring back some nice pictures ! Best Henry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted May 9, 2011 Share #3 Posted May 9, 2011 Marco - I think this would be better placed in the "Customer" section, but I'll leave a "redirect" in Travel & Landscape. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Want-a-leica Posted May 9, 2011 Share #4 Posted May 9, 2011 Are you planning to include Stockholm in your trip? If so, your M8 will be suing you for overworking it to death:) Bring about ten spare batteries. Stockholm is insanely photogenic. When I went there, I was taken to a huge open-air museum/zoo called Skansen: Welcome to the oldest outdoor museum in the world and S It is a wonderful place and makes the zoos here (in Japan) look like squalid, degraded houses of ruin. And there's Gamla Stan, the old part of Stockholm, as well. Awesome place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted May 9, 2011 Share #5 Posted May 9, 2011 Sweden in general is not spectacularly scenic, like Norway. It is mostly fairly flattish woodland, interspersed with about 10,000 lakes. But Stockholm IS scenic. An early spring has transmogrified into summer, the leaves are out, trees are blossoming, in short, old Slushburg is into its habitable six months of the year. The tip about Skansen is good, like that of the Old Town. Any stroll along the quays will pay off photographically, but don't miss the view from Fjällgatan on the South Side, high above the water. One unique part of the country is skärgården, the Archipelago. It is a belt of hundreds of large and thousands of small islands between the coast and the open sea. Make a day trip by boat from the quay in front of the Grand Hotel, or from the nearby Nybroviken harbour. On the inland side, there is the watery world of Lake Mälaren. You can make a trip out to Drottningholm Castle by the eponymous s/s Drottningholm, a charming steam-driven floating dining room. But dress warm, at this time of the year the sea and the large lakes are quite a bit colder than dry land! Have fun! The old man from the North-of Stockhom Tundra Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erlingmm Posted May 9, 2011 Share #6 Posted May 9, 2011 As a Norwegian, I of course have to tempt you to go west. If you have limited time, I would do the following: - Go to Oslo, it has become an interesting, modern city with a mix of old and new: The new Opera building, the new Holmenkollen ski jump (yes, it is beautiful also in summer!), the boats on the fjord, the Bygdøy museums (Folk Museum, Viking ships, Kon Tiki), and the exotic and strange Emanuel Vigeland mausoleum (Oslo's best kept secret). - Then, leave the car in Oslo and take the train/boat trip over the mountains to the fjords in western Norway, "Norway in a Nutshell": Norway in a nutshell® - Official site — Fjord Tours This is a much better option than trying to drive yourself. You can do it in as little as 24 hours t/r Oslo, but it can be expanded with hotel stay in Bergen, a beautiful city (despite some rain ;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
patashnik Posted May 9, 2011 Share #7 Posted May 9, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have to admit that Stockholm never won me over, always found Copenhagen much more charming. I live in Norway (Bergen), and would honestly skip it altogether. Small and cramped, and the Norway in a Nutshell trip is not really all that interesting. If you want to see the Fjords, it's better to go further north. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erlingmm Posted May 9, 2011 Share #8 Posted May 9, 2011 I have to admit that Stockholm never won me over, always found Copenhagen much more charming. I live in Norway (Bergen), and would honestly skip it altogether. Small and cramped, and the Norway in a Nutshell trip is not really all that interesting. If you want to see the Fjords, it's better to go further north. Well, I always recommend Lofoten, but the OP indicated a certain max distance. I am a bit surprised by this comment from a fellow countryman, I have sent several international guests on the Nutshell trip, they have all been very happy with it, it is the most compact approach you can get to the fjords, starting from Oslo. But of course, living in Bergen all year, I can understand you long for something else. Hawaii? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
patashnik Posted May 9, 2011 Share #9 Posted May 9, 2011 Well, I'm not saying that it's not decent enough, I just think it is a waste of time going all that way, and spending it cramped together with a bunch of other people. Sure, you get to see the parts of the fjords, but I would rather take the time to drive myself - or buy a DVD with some nice imagery. The ferry to Geiranger would be a good substitute, just make sure you turn the car around when you get there and get the hell out (in the summer it really is the most crowded place one can imagine). My choice would be to drive from Bergen to Ålesund, if one can stomach some of the roads. Lofoten is the best Norway has to offer, but as you say - way to far. So to keep it somewhat on topic, my recommendation would be to jump in the car and drive to Denmark. Copenhagen and Skagen are personal favourites of mine. But if you visit Stockholm, don't miss the Wasa museum, it never fails to amaze me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share #10 Posted May 9, 2011 Ah, how nice to read so many ideas and thoughts. Go east (Stockholm) or go west (Oslo and Bergen). Hmmm, I'll have to think about it some more. Btw: the 500 mile radius is just a general limitation ... from there, I have to drive back and just don't plan on driving 3.000 miles ... although I'm sure that somehow we'll end up doing just that In itself, the idea of leaving the car and travelling a bit by train is interesting. Or by boat. Some more thinking to do. And go back there next trip, no doubt. Last thought: what really intrigues me, is the remark that Sweden is not so photogenic: that's what they say about Holland and I've taken some rather spectacular photos just around town ... some more thinking to do. And relaxing, canoe, drift, take a picture (or not), sit and sip a small drink, read a book. Holidays are here. At last. @Henry: I'll bring back some shots, no worries! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erlingmm Posted May 9, 2011 Share #11 Posted May 9, 2011 Well, I have the perfect compromise: From where you start, it is not far to go to Stockholm (I like Stockholm, too), from there 1 day drive to Oslo. From there, 1 day or more on train/boat on the "Nutshell" trip. And, if I understand correctly, you live in Holland, from Oslo you pass through Copenhagen on your way back But IF you are ready to go, Lofoten is a truly uniquely beautiful area, with midnight sun in mid-summer. What a contrast to Holland! It is far north, above the Arctic Circle, and you should do most of the driving from where you start through Sweden (flat, straight forest roads), and then cross over to Norway further north. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted May 9, 2011 Share #12 Posted May 9, 2011 Anywhere that isn't home can be scenic. I'm extremely bored by Stockholm now, and find Copenhagen far more picturesque and charming, but if you've never been here then there's plenty to photograph for at least a week, or so. The downside can be the drive up to town and then (worse still) the whole insanely boring drive back again. But then again, if you've never seen hundreds upon hundreds of kilometers of flat forest, then maybe you'll think that's scenic too! If you do visit Stockholm, then the parks are great - Hagaparken has been partially spoiled by our recently married royal couple, but it still has some lovely views, and you can really lose yourself in Djurgården (and if you don't mind elbowing your way through the unruly queues, there's a lovely café/restaurant there called Rosendals). Otherwise I guess you'll spend 99% of your time in Gamla Stan - that's the tiny part of Stockholm that everyone who visits thinks is typical of this town, but in reality the rest doesn't resemble it at all. Oh - and call by the new photographic museum (Fotografiska) - the windows from their restaurant really do have the best view of the entire city! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
christer Posted May 9, 2011 Share #13 Posted May 9, 2011 Oh - and call by the new photographic museum (Fotografiska) - Said to be one of the better ones around. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Verrips Posted May 9, 2011 Share #14 Posted May 9, 2011 Defenitly go to Norway. Start in Oslo and drive Direction Lillehammer, Otta, Lom, Sognefjellpass, Sognefjord, Bergen and from Bergen choose your own way back. Fjord area is a beautiful part of Norge. Up to the north is also a nice one! Have fun and enjoy your trip. P.S. Sweden is a beautyful country, but for me, compared to Norway, Norway is nr. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted May 9, 2011 Share #15 Posted May 9, 2011 P.S. Sweden is a beautyful country, but for me, compared to Norway, Norway is nr. 1 I think the main problem is that Sweden is often vast areas of nothing. Not epically picturesque nothing - just flat, pine-wooded nothing. Then there are a lot of very, very ugly towns where the beautiful centers were ripped-out in the sixties and seventies, and replaced by brutally barren shopping areas. Driving for hundreds of kilometers can also be dispiriting when the only thing to eat along the route is a burger. I've actually thought of doing a photo-essay of the burger joints along the motorways: they're often carved from the area's most scenic spot - a glowing, alien, obscenely ugly blot on the landscape. But then there are nice places to explore - you just need to know where they are, and have the time for the detours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
janki Posted May 9, 2011 Share #16 Posted May 9, 2011 Hi Marco! It's nice that you want to visit Scandinavia. But I don’t think you shall try to reach over too much at once. Norway has gradually become a very rich country. But that does not show in road quality at all. 500 miles ( 500 x 1,609 km => 800km ) on Norwegian roads can be experienced both time-consuming and tiring. Due to high taxes, the fuel is very expensive as well. Norwegian roads have also many automatic Toll plazas that scan your license plate number. When you get home, there can be a significant bill from the Norwegian state in your mailbox as a thank you for your visit. Since you don’t have so much time available, I think the advice from erlingmm makes sense. The railway stretch "Flaamsbanen" is very spectacular. The Norwegian fjords are world famous. I think you should have them as a separate destination. Have a nice trip ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted May 9, 2011 Share #17 Posted May 9, 2011 Hello Marco, I think I would not try to do too much or have too extensive an itinerary for this trip. Personally I would go to where the Cloudberries are. You might also re-read Lars's #5 this Thread & take his advice. The Archipelago goes all the way to Finland w/ only a small gap of open water in the middle. It is a very nice experience & now is a good time of the year to do it. My only disagreement w/ Lars is I think Sweden is a very nice place to be. Somewhat flatter on average than Norway but none the less just fine. Mountains, forests & all. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted May 10, 2011 Share #18 Posted May 10, 2011 Well, to a Dutchman or even to a German, Sweden is of course strikingly exotic: Sparsely populated, immense stretches of woodland and bogland (and clearcuttings the size of a normal parish). Some people take to it. Many Dutch and German families are actually settling here, just for the elbow room. But 'scenic'? Not in the conventional sense. The old man lost in the woods Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Valdemar Posted May 10, 2011 Share #19 Posted May 10, 2011 Just drink some Gløgg and eat some Gjetost and stay home. Everything looks better on television. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 10, 2011 Share #20 Posted May 10, 2011 Surely Gjetost is from Gubrandsdal in Norway? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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