Sweden or Norway or Denmark?
Discussion
I was in the middle of planning a 3 to 4 week trip to OZ next year for our main holidays, but after a mate of mine came back from Sweden (Stockholm) it got me thinking about maybe instead of using up money on expensive long distance flights (along with 'wasting' numerous days actually getting there and back - and also with the jet lag etc), whether a trip to one (or a few) of the Northern European countries would be better.
What are you experiences of Sweden, Norway or Denmark as a holiday destination?
If anyone has experience of exploring the countryside rather than just visiting the cities, that would be useful info for me.
Still haven't decided whether to make this in to a road trip or not.... as I could take this route (on link below) and take in all three major cities as well as drive through the countryside. (Taking the Kristiansand to Newcastle ferry on the return).
http://goo.gl/maps/UwV6e
What are you experiences of Sweden, Norway or Denmark as a holiday destination?
If anyone has experience of exploring the countryside rather than just visiting the cities, that would be useful info for me.
Still haven't decided whether to make this in to a road trip or not.... as I could take this route (on link below) and take in all three major cities as well as drive through the countryside. (Taking the Kristiansand to Newcastle ferry on the return).
http://goo.gl/maps/UwV6e
Been to Sweden & Denmark.
Denmark is the less picturesque, made it to Esjberg from Germany, quite flat.
Sweden is lovely have been to goteburg, malmo trolhatten and Jonkoping ( home of the safety match).
Lots to do and lovely friendly people, do your research and have a good time.
Its a tad pricey though
Denmark is the less picturesque, made it to Esjberg from Germany, quite flat.
Sweden is lovely have been to goteburg, malmo trolhatten and Jonkoping ( home of the safety match).
Lots to do and lovely friendly people, do your research and have a good time.
Its a tad pricey though
Mrs P and I went on a road trip to Denmark in June this year via the overnight DFDS ferry Harwich to Esjberg. Countryside is a bit like rolling downland with some very flat areas. No mountains IIRC. Weather was fine.
Denmark is bigger than you think, we went on day trips every day for 20 days and still missed out big chunks
Could have done with four cottages not two.
It's quite expensive to eat out, we ate in most evenings in our holiday cottages 90% of the time which was very pleasant. You will also be saving a huge chunk of time and money not flying to Aus.
There is a lot to see. Quaint and modern historic sites, lots of Viking stuff very interesting. Not mountainous like sweden/norway but nice relaxed driving. We found a very impressive vehicle/engineering/stationery engine museum, some blokes private collection, huge sheds full of stuff. Even my Mrs liked that. I can't remember the name but a bit of googling will find it no doubt. Pic below.
Saw one police car in 20 days and he was just pottering along in the other direction. Friendly people who virtually all speak English. Learn a few phrases though. Population and traffic density much less than here
You can pop over to Norway via the impressive link bridge and continue that way if you want. Copenhagen is well worth a visit. Tivoli gardens etc.
We used http://www.sologstrand.com/ to book our two cottages. They were very nice and the service was very efficient.
Weather was nice but the wind is deceptive and Denmark is a big player in Wind Turbine manufacturer.
I rate that holiday as 9/10.
One final thought nice tall good looking women as well IRC.
Denmark is bigger than you think, we went on day trips every day for 20 days and still missed out big chunks
Could have done with four cottages not two.It's quite expensive to eat out, we ate in most evenings in our holiday cottages 90% of the time which was very pleasant. You will also be saving a huge chunk of time and money not flying to Aus.
There is a lot to see. Quaint and modern historic sites, lots of Viking stuff very interesting. Not mountainous like sweden/norway but nice relaxed driving. We found a very impressive vehicle/engineering/stationery engine museum, some blokes private collection, huge sheds full of stuff. Even my Mrs liked that. I can't remember the name but a bit of googling will find it no doubt. Pic below.
Saw one police car in 20 days and he was just pottering along in the other direction. Friendly people who virtually all speak English. Learn a few phrases though. Population and traffic density much less than here
You can pop over to Norway via the impressive link bridge and continue that way if you want. Copenhagen is well worth a visit. Tivoli gardens etc.
We used http://www.sologstrand.com/ to book our two cottages. They were very nice and the service was very efficient.
Weather was nice but the wind is deceptive and Denmark is a big player in Wind Turbine manufacturer.
I rate that holiday as 9/10.
One final thought nice tall good looking women as well IRC.
Edited by peterperkins on Friday 11th October 06:45
Wolff said:
Don't think the Kristiansand to Newcastle ferry route runs any more... you might want to check that out! The ferry from Stavanger to Newcastle has also been cancelled...
Been cancelled for years now. Used to run from Newcastle to Stavanger then Bergen. It was a pretty eventful crossing full of Norwegians who went to Newcastle to drink cheap beer.They are trying to get the Ferry back from Newcastle to Bergen.
Let's hope so.
We spent a week in a house near Strangnas (an hour or so from Stockholm) and had a really great time. Marifried is great with a miniature steam railway and paddle steamer to do a circuit of the lake on. Using a supermarket is a challenge because the language is like nothing else but everyone is friendly and speaks English.
One thing to note is that tourist infrastructure is limited especially out of season, and Swedes go on holiday in June iirc.
One thing to note is that tourist infrastructure is limited especially out of season, and Swedes go on holiday in June iirc.
Bill said:
Using a supermarket is a challenge because the language is like nothing else
Eh? I mean, sure, it's tough to follow when someone's talking but the average supermarket transaction consists pretty much of "hi, 140, thanks, receipt?" and the written language is easy enough.Tourist stuff outside of cities shuts down outside the summer, but during the summer in cities the effect of people all being on holiday at once can be noticable.
June/July is probably the best time for visiting, but be aware that everything shuts down to a crazy extent for Midsummer - if you're in a city, it'll be like a ghost-town.
I'd say it makes for quite a nice road-trip. However, I'd make some minor changes to the route - Roskilde is worth a day, as is Uppsala. As others have said, the shortest ferry routes back are from Esbjerg, though you can get a ferry from Gothenburg to Frederikshavn which cuts out the bridge tolls (which are expensive). Frederikshavn isn't particularly interesting, but Gothenburg would be a nice end to the trip.
Restaurants are very expensive, but cafes aren't so bad - they're pricey but not insane.
Edited by ImpossiblyDaft on Sunday 13th October 06:11
ImpossiblyDaft said:
Eh? I mean, sure, it's tough to follow when someone's talking but the average supermarket transaction consists pretty much of "hi, 140, thanks, receipt?" and the written language is easy enough.
Try finding fresh cream in amongst the huge variety of similar products. The Swedes seem to have a thing for dairy.It is mostly straightforward but it's unfamiliar enough to be interesting.
I've spent a bit of time in Copenhagen and absolutely loved it, a truly brilliant city with friendly people. Unfortunately thats all I've seen of Denmark outside of passing countryside from a train and Kastrup airport.
I went to uni in Sweden whilst doing the Erasmus programme and as such lived there for roughly 5 months. I was in the far south in a town called Karlskrona. It's about 3 hours from Copenhagen via train and really is quite rural. As other posters have said though, it is a bit dead in the non-summer months but pleasant. Stockholm is a lovely place too, but rather pricey! The only place in Sweden I would not recommend is Malmo, really didn't like it.
I've got no experience of Norway but I imagine it's much the same, but a bit more expensive.
I went to uni in Sweden whilst doing the Erasmus programme and as such lived there for roughly 5 months. I was in the far south in a town called Karlskrona. It's about 3 hours from Copenhagen via train and really is quite rural. As other posters have said though, it is a bit dead in the non-summer months but pleasant. Stockholm is a lovely place too, but rather pricey! The only place in Sweden I would not recommend is Malmo, really didn't like it.
I've got no experience of Norway but I imagine it's much the same, but a bit more expensive.
I live in Norway, really wouldn't advise driving here in the winter, the novelty would wear off pretty quickly.
I like Oslo, but you can do it in a day. Copenhagen is tops, Gothenburg is nice also.
Norway is bloody expensive for tourists, We drive over the border to Sweden to do a 'big shop' when we can be arsed.
I like Oslo, but you can do it in a day. Copenhagen is tops, Gothenburg is nice also.
Norway is bloody expensive for tourists, We drive over the border to Sweden to do a 'big shop' when we can be arsed.
Been to Denmark and loved it. Spent 10 days in Jutland near Aarhus. The countryside around Ebeltoft (Djursland & Mols) is pretty rolling hills and coastal inlets. The coast of West Jutland has some terrific tall dunes and long beaches. Lots to do, people very friendly, supermarkets about the same price as here, eating out prices similar to France. We drove from Dunkirk, with a stopover in Hannover on the way there, and in Holland on the way back. Easy drive.
If you go in the last 2 weeks of August, the local kids have gone back to school and accomodation prices can drop a lot, but the weather is still decent.
If you go in the last 2 weeks of August, the local kids have gone back to school and accomodation prices can drop a lot, but the weather is still decent.
jinkster said:
Sneijder,
Is it expensive to live and work there as a Brit?
I moved here to be with my Norwegian missus. It takes a couple of months to catch up, although things are expensive, the wages are in line.Is it expensive to live and work there as a Brit?
I'm 6 years in now, we have a daughter and a mortgage. Not long until I can become Norwegian.....have to improve the lingo a little first though.
Bill said:
ImpossiblyDaft said:
Eh? I mean, sure, it's tough to follow when someone's talking but the average supermarket transaction consists pretty much of "hi, 140, thanks, receipt?" and the written language is easy enough.
Try finding fresh cream in amongst the huge variety of similar products. The Swedes seem to have a thing for dairy.It is mostly straightforward but it's unfamiliar enough to be interesting.
I thought you went out to get milk and cream, wtf is this s
t?Well you gave me a b
king the other day for bringing skimmed milk instead of full cream, as I said the carton was blue so I thought it was full cream not skimmed. Did you know they have the colours the other way round. So this time I brought fil mjölk, how the hell am I supposed to know that's sour milk that tastes like the cat pissed in it, and as for cream, you go next time and pick which one of the 15 different sorts of grädde you think it is.Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff