Coming To Scandinavia

Late May through early June is a great time to visit Stockholm. If your timing is right, you’ll get to witness the Swedish rite of passage known as Studenten.

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Need a reason to cruise to or from Stockholm? I’ll give you ten good reasons.

1. Stockholm is immensely beautiful. The city is built on 14 islands that appear to be floating on water.
2. If 14 islands should prove to be insufficient, not to worry: At Stockholm’s doorstep are 30,000 islands in the archipelago.
3. Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s Old Town, is one of the world’s best preserved Medieval cities. Enjoy strolling the Old Town’s narrow alleys and cobble-stone streets, taking time to stop in cozy cafes, shops and world-class restaurants.
4. Stockholm is a walkable and bikeable city. The Swedish capital is compact and easy to get around. You can see and do a lot in a short amount of time. Be sure to take time to bicycle through the former royal deer park known as Djurgarden. Some of the scenes in Djurgarden fool you into thinking you’re in the Swedish countryside.
5. You can fika in Stockholm. Fika is where catching up with friends meets with coffee and cakes. But Fika is about much more than caffeine and carbohydrates. It’s a Swedish social institution, where friends sit down and chat about life and current events over snacks like kanelbulle, the Swedish version of a cinnamon bun, and a cappuccino. You will want to fika in one of Stockholm’s many cozy cafes.
6. Stockholm has dropped from 23rd most expensive city to live in to 31st. By comparison, Copenhagen ranks 7th, Oslo, sixth. Stockholm offers the best value among the Scandinavian capitals.
7. Stockholm is a city of culture. It has the world’s highest concentration of museums and an abundance of attractions, sites and galleries. There’s something for everyone: for families, for singles, young and old, gay or straight.
8. With one third of its land area covered in parks, and one third in water, Stockholm is a green city. Stockholm is Europe’s first Green Capital.
9. Getting to Stockholm from destinations worldwide is easy thanks to numerous flights daily from all over the world, including some low-cost carriers. Getting around once in Stockholm is easy and efficient.
10. Stockholm is the capital of Scandinavia. The city is a Nordic hub in business and in culture. Today, instead of Stockholmers going abroad for a fix of glamor and sophistication, visitors are coming to Stockholm for a taste of the international high life. Why not join them before or after your next cruise to or from the Swedish capital?

Celebrating National Day, originally uploaded by Ralph Grizzle.

Ah, but to be Norwegian, particularly on Norway’s National Day, which took place yesterday under sunny skies in Oslo. It’s hard to imagine any ceremony that could make a citizen more proud of his or her country. The whole city turned out. At least it seemed that way. Men, women and children wore national costumes as they paraded down Karl Johans Gate (Oslo’s main street) waving Norway’s flag and shouting in appreciation of their nation, “Hipp Hurra!”

I was one of the few fortunate enough to obtain special seats in front of the Royal Palace to watch as parade participants marched up Karl Johans Gate to the Royal Palace, where they were received by the Royal Family standing on the front balcony, waving to the crowd.

The event, marking the day in 1814 when Norway adopted its new Constitution, is celebrated across the nation.

The weather forecast had not been good, but the day turned out to be a beautiful one, with lots of sunshine and brilliant blue skies.

It’s too late to take part in Norway’s National Day celebrations this year but not too early to begin planning to attend the events next year. Cruise ships often dock near the city center, so that you can easily walk into the heart of Oslo. Of course, the city is also a great destination to spend a few days before or after your cruise in Scandinavia and Northern Europe.

View a Flickr slideshow of yesterday’s events in Oslo.

Some of the things that I love about Sweden: the lovely jagged snow-covered peaks, fat cows roaming the valleys with bells around their necks, chocolate and yodeling. Wait a minute! This isn’t a description of Sweden. Yes, occasionally people confuse Sweden, a nation in Scandinavia, with Switzerland, a nation with a population that yodels.

Sweden, in fact, is more than two hours by air from Switzerland. There is no Matterhorn here, the cows don’t wear bells and if you hear yodeling, check your documents. You may have landed two hours south.

Situated in Europe’s northernmost latitudes, Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union in terms of land area. Sweden is the length of California, and it would take you 25 hours to drive from North to South.

With 9 million people, Sweden is also spacious. There’s lots of room for everyone to spread out, and in fact, there are only 52 people per square mile in Sweden.

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I play a game with one of the cashiers at the local grocery store known as Hemkop here in Helsingborg. She rings up my groceries and then without looking at the amount on the register, I try to guess how much I owe simply by listening to her.

Then, I try to repeat the numbers to her. Inevitably, however, the digits always include what is for me and many other non-Swedes one of the most difficult numbers to pronounce: seven.

For the foreign tongue, saying seven is simply too much of a mouthful. It’s true that most foreigners have no trouble pronouncing the number six, which is “sex.” But the number seven, sju, sounds like little more than exhaling air, impossible for the non-native Swede to pronounce properly. So that I never have to say sju, I make it a point not to accept seven of anything. Seven tomatoes? No, I’ll take sex instead.

Today, as I loaded my groceries on the conveyor, I joked that we would know doubt have a seven to contend with. When the cashier hit the total button, she burst out laughing: double sevens or sjuttiosju. Take my word for it: Don’t even try to pronounce it unless you’re a Swede.

Room With A View: Scandic Palace Room 301, originally uploaded by Ralph Grizzle.

Room 301 at the legendary Palace Hotel boasts one of Copenhagen’s best views. French doors open onto a balcony overlooking the bustle below and beyond at City Hall Square.

Acquired by the Scandic chain and re-opened in April 2009, the long-established landmark Palace Hotel, built in 1910, got a complete make-over to its 170 rooms, restaurant, bar and lobby area.

I found Room 301 to be extremely comfortable — and spacious, with a walk-in closet, a large workspace, giant flat-screen television, a sitting area and spacious bathroom. But my favorite feature was the balcony.

With its location at City Hall Square, near Strøget, the shopping street, and opposite the amusement park Tivoli, the Palace Hotel is as central as it gets in the Danish capital.

Room 301 is certainly a room with a view.

Watch a video review of room 301.

Click on any of the thumbnails below to view photos of the Palace Hotel.

I like Scandic’s no-nonsense approach. Corner room 324 at Copenhagen’s Scandic Webers, for example, is light and spacious and comes equipped with everything tourists or business travelers need: coffee and tea maker, ironing board, safe, air-conditioning, a large workspace/desk, flat-panel television and free wireless internet.

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Copenhagen’s beloved Little Mermaid, known from the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, will leave the city in 2010. She will travel around the world to be part of World Expo in Shanghai from April to November 2010. The Little Mermaid has never left her spot at Langelinie Pier, where cruise ships dock, since the statue was erected in 1913. While in Shanghai, her place in Copenhagen will be temporarily taken by a sculpture created by a Chinese artist.

Tags: Copenhagen, Denmark, Little Mermaid

To understand Copenhagen and the Danes, you must grasp the concept of “hygge.” The candle-lit, snow-covered, outdoor tables on a snowy night in Copenhagen are one example of hygge.

Although translated as “coziness,” hygge has no exact English equivalent. It is a complete absence of anything annoying, irritating, or emotionally overwhelming, and the presence of and pleasure from comforting, gentle, and soothing things.

Hygge is often associated with family and close friends. Christmas time when loved ones sit close together with candles lit on a cold rainy night is “hygge”, as is grilling a pølse (Danish sausage) on a long summer evening.

These examples, although they do not precisely define “hygge”, can give an English speaker an idea of a deeply valued traditional concept of Danish culture.