Itinerary Help for June 2011!!! Desperately seeking input

People's thoughts?!? My thoughts are: stay in Scandinavia where you can see Viking ships, fjords, stave churches, a Nordic museum, and oh so much more. Fly into Copenhagen and out of Stockholm. But don't rely too much on people's thoughts; just choose what you want to do.

You have only got two weeks. Why not use it to see Scandinavia- you have a great opportunity of building on your daughters experience. Besides travellers I respect rate the Norway fjords by ferry boat alongside Yosemeite Valley in California as among their favorite sights. Thats only 4 or 5 days per country (if you dont count finland)

I think I would stay in Scandanavia. The daylight hours will be extra long and this whole area is so beautiful. Save Italy and Germany for some other time.

Thank you for the input. It is helpful. It is still a hard decision to make because ultimately when you travel, you have to do what is calling to you. : -) Anyone else wishing to chime in, I'd love it. Thanks again!!!

Kathy, just for some crazy fun I looked at Copenhagen to Munich by train - under 12 hours! Now, while I don't exactly champion the idea - you'd be there in time for dinner at 7:00pm - people have done worse. Now, to get to Italy (Rome) is another 'wasted day' on a train if you don't fly between cities. The other alternative is to fly from Copenhagen (or wherever) to Rome. While I'd love to think that I'd want to stay in Scandanavia for 2 full weeks - the entirety of my vacation - I know myself better. Sorry - tough call.

Can't tell you which route to take... either would be perfect, but if you do stay in Denmark there is supposed to be a small fishing village called Skaagen that sounds wonderful. I have not been there yet, but desperately want to go. It is suppose to be a village where many artists go and lots of paintings of the seaside were painted there... sounds amazing! A little off the beaten path...

Oslo is a lovely city and there are some great things to see and do there. The Viking ship museum is excellent. There is a silver mine nearby and a cobalt one, too. Also some "outdoor" museums with houses and buildings from various places. The Vigland statue park is a great free,outdoor museum of his work. and an afternoon cruise on the fijord is really fun. If you can't do "all" of Scandinavia, I'd try to include Oslo if at all possible.

Scandinavia is the practical thing to do. What do your kids prefer doing? I'd probably lean toward what your daughter wants to do since it's her special time to be in Europe.

"Thank you for the input. It is helpful. It is still a hard decision to make because ultimately when you travel, you have to do what is calling to you. : -) Anyone else wishing to chime in, I'd love it." Ok, I will translate. I think you are saying that while Scandinavia is geographically logical for this trip, it isn't what you want to do! It sounds like you have a Roman itch. Well itch it then. Why not a few days in Copenhagen, then fly to Italy on a budget airline? June 14 you can catch a €30 flight to Milan (MXP). From there you can head south on a fast train, or ease your way south with some stops in other places in Italy. Maybe spend a day in Milan and see the Last Supper if you haven't seen it before.

Why don't you ask each family member where they would most like to go, what they would most like to see in Europe before returning home? Then weigh the answers against your own desire to return to Rome.