Trip - Scotland, Sweden, Copenhagen, and ?

KIm,

Edinburgh offers some cool museums there along with the Edinburgh Castle. Theres also the Camera Obscura next to the entrance. The city itself has alot of character and i just loved it there. But i guess it will depend on what floats your boat. There is also the Royal Yacht nearby too.

As far as the places you are going to be in, i would do some homework and see what they have to offer, or state what you all like to do and see so others can have a better chance at saying whats there. I havent been to Gothenburg, yet but thats on my radar for the next trip to Sweden.

If you or your kids are into ships, old ships, there is the VASA museum in Stockholm. Its a 14th century ship that sunk in the bay and was raised and is now housed in an environmentally controlled museum. It looks like its still sea worthy too. agian, if you or your kids are into ships. There is also some museums around town and i found Stockholm really cozy and cool. The old part is cute with the narrow and windy streets. Theres a park on the S-SE part of town with the TV tower and you can go for a horseback ride in the park if you like. There a naval museum on the opposite side too.

Copenhagen is another cool city to visit if you have the chance.

There is a bullet train from Copenhagen to Hamburg along with a train ferry. I took the train/ferry since the concept of driving a train onto a ferry sparked the nerd in me and i wanted to see how its done. Really cool and once on the ferry, they boot you out of the train so you can spend $$ on the ferry. The ferry ride is short, but there food and stuff you can chow down on if youre in the mood.

Hamburg is a newer city since during WW2, the allied bombed the snot out of it. But it has its things to do/see too.

I enjoyed all of the Scandinavian cities when i was there a few years ago.

happy trails.

Hello Kim. I travelled in the Scandinavian countries, and I liked it. Gothenburg in Sweden is a good place for meeting and talking with Swedish people. But seven days at Gothenburg may be too much time there. If you will be at Gothenburg, yes, I suggest that you travel in trains to Copenhagen, and from there to Stockholm. I recommend : be at Copenhagen, 2 whole days (minimum). And be at Stockholm 2 whole days. From Copenhagen, there are good places to go to, as day trips. I suggest : do not try to travel to Germany in this trip.

I'll just say that if you like cities on water, Stockholm will delight you (it's made up of lots of islands), and Copenhagen and Hamburg will appeal as well (both are "designed" to highlight their relationship to their bodies of water). Since the Spree river in Berlin was a large part of the boundary between East Berlin and West Berlin, for decades the city turned its back on its river. That's starting to change, but much like New York City, you could spend a whole visit in Berlin and be barely aware of its water. That said, Berlin is one of my favorite places. But I think for this trip it's easier to stay in Scandinavia, particularly since Stockholm has fewer designated "sights" than Berlin, so three days there will be very satisfying. I agree that the Vasa is a particular highlight.

In other words, I don't think you can go wrong, but in your situation I'd pick Stockholm over Hamburg or Berlin. If you do go to Stockholm, I found Rick's money-saving tips particularly helpful (for instance, during the summer there's a promotion where you can get a hotel and a transit and sightseeing pass for not much money, and the restaurants have lunch specials that are downright cheap). Using his tips, I didn't find Stockholm particularly expensive (but note that the hotel/pass deal is only good in summer and on some other weekends; that should work for you, but at other times it would be much more expensive).

Going to Hamburg or Berlin from with only 3 days seems a bit crazy to me, when there is already enough interesting places to keep you occupied closer to Copenhagen, that are easy day trips.
If you are into castles there is Kronborg Castle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronborg (famous as the setting of Shakespeares Hamlet) in Helsingør north of Copenhagen. Helsingør is easy to reach by train from Copenhagen and the town itself is also interesting, and there is the maritime museeum of Denmark if thats your thing: http://mfs.dk/en/
Another option could be Frederiksborg Palace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederiksborg_Palace in Hillerød also north of Copenhagen and easy to reach by train, though the town is not that interesting.
The town of Roskilde has a cathedral and a viking ship museeum if you are into that sort of thing. Again easy to reach by train.

If you are very keen on going to Germany i find the town of Lübeck more interesting than Hamburg. It is on the train line between Copenhagen and Hamburg.

My first thought, sensing you'd be sort-of in that part of the world already, would be to visit St. Petersburg, Russia, but if you're not too interested in art, then the big draw, the Hermitage Museum, wouldn't hold enough appeal for making the journey. Copenhagen, though, is worth some time, and you can savor Tuborg beer there.

From a sporting perspective, just as what we call football is a different game than what Europeans call football, Danes have a game called handball that's not like our game of smacking a small rubber ball against a wall. Their handball is indoors, and is kind-of like soccer without using the feet to move the ball, or water polo without the swimming pool.

I'm sure that your friends who lived there will advise you to travel around Denmark rather than heading to Hamburg. Denmark is full of lovely destinations, including plenty of castles, open-air museums, Aero island, and LEGOLAND, and Rick's Scandinavia book covers much more than what's listed online here. Once you read the book, I'm sure you'll feel inspired. Consider reading a copy from the library now, then buy the new edition when it reaches stores in March, 2015.

So, you like out door activities, beer, and cities near the water, and BTW castles are good, but you are only semi excited about Scotland? You need to do a wee bit more research, lassie! ;).

Stirling Castle is a great castle, but you might also want to go to the Trossachs. It is one of their national parks and on Loch Katrine you can rent a bike, take a real steamboat ride out the end of the Loch and then cycle back. You'll need a car for this, but it might be worth it. Also, check out Doune Castle of Monty Python and Outlander fame.

Edinburgh is very easy to get to by train from Glasgow. It's castle is great as well, but you might enjoy hiking up Arthur's Seat. Great views of the city and the Firth of Forth. If you want to get closer to water, take the bus to Leith and visit the Royal Yacht Britania. Have lunch near the harbor.

While you are in Glasgow, you need to get to the new Riverside Museum on the Clyde. It is the old transport museum and more.

I have not done this, so double check elsewhere, but a day trip to Aran might be really good. I think it is possible. If you have budding engineers look into the Lanark Wheel. If you want to spend a day walking in the hills, look at Dunkeld. You can get there by train.

Post in the Scotland forum when you know what your free time is really like and others will help as well.

And, the beer/ale is great.

Pam

OK thanks everyone for the excellent advice!! We are meeting again on 1/6 to see if the trip is a go, or may get pushed to summer 2016, which I would actually prefer since planning only 6 months out is really late in my planning world!!

But if we do go, we will stick with Copenhagen and Stockholm I think... seems easier that way! And looking around at more of the things to do, I am getting more excited about those places. Great suggestions!

And I will definitely be asking for more specific advice once I find out if we are a go!

Thanks all!!!
Kim