Two Months in Northern Europe

I believe the OP is interested in suggestions for the Northern Europe part of his trip.

Since you like to cruise, consider taking a cruise up the coast of Norway to the North Cape (if possible),
We did a fantastic one on Royal Caribbean in June of 2019. NCL, Celebrity and Princess also have cruises of Norway. Perhaps HAL does as well. It is a great way to see the fjords and take excursions from those ports.

Geiranger, Alseund, Bergen, Flam had great fjords.

Also, you could take a river cruise on the Rhine or Danube.

Two months are quite a long time, even if Northern Europe is a very large area. A bit more information would not be a bad idea, because there are many options. Where does your trip in the UK end? Anything special you want to see apart from museums? And any special kind of museums you are looking for?

Thanks for the ideas so far. The cruise is a delightful idea, but unfortunately our budget doesn't reach far enough to support the kind of cruise we'd want to embark upon, at least this year. As for our time in the UK, it will begin and end in London, but we've got our UK itinerary pretty well figured out. As for what else we'd like to see, we haven't seen enough of northern and central Europe. I'm thinking about Poland, since we've neither of us been there. We wouldn't object to revisiting the countries of the former Yugoslavia, but our hearts aren't set on it. We're certainly going to visit Geneva, though the rest of Switzerland might be a bit dear for the budget.

As for what kind of museums, pretty much all kinds! We enjoyed the shipbuilding museum in Nantes, the Jules Verne museum, obviously all the great art museums of Paris and elsewhere, la Cité du Vin, the Musée du Vin et du Négoce de Bordeaux, natural history museums, the National Museum of Scotland ... you get the picture. We're learners, I guess would be the best way to put it.

Looking forward to more ideas. Thanks again!

Train from London to Harwich, ferry to Hook of Holland (there's your cruise), spend some time in the Netherlands, including museums in the Hague, Amsterdam, and Haarlem, then to Germany, wherever interests you (don't miss all the museums in Berlin, though unfortunately the German History Museum is closed for multi-year renovations), then Poland. You could also head north to Copenhagen and Stockholm if you want more of those cities than the cruise offered (I would), even a ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki (another cruise!).

Your wife's German makes that an obvious choice, and there's plenty to see and do there, especially if you're willing to do some by car. You should be able to rent a car in one country and drive it into another, but you should try to return it in the country (not necessarily the city) where you got it, to avoid a big dropoff charge.

Your time on the continent will be subject to the 90-day limit in the Schengen area, so count the days carefully to avoid a big fine for overstaying, even by a short amount.

I've spent a lot of time in northern Europe in the last two years, so I'll focus my recommendations there.

Poland has a lot of very interesting cities and towns, and it's generally affordable. I spent 6-1/2 weeks in Poland in 2018 and returned for 10 more days last year. The country has done a really good job of developing new, English-accessible museums that introduce visitors to fascinating aspects of the Poland's history.

I loved my time in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania last summer; temperatures were usually very moderate. Those are comparatively inexpensive countries. I'm an architecture and 20th-century history junkie, so all the capital cities got more than a week of my time. Each country has secondary cities worth visiting as well.

The scenery in Norway is spectacular, but it is a very expensive country. City-wise, I think Oslo and Bergen hold the most interest for the average traveler, but I liked Alesund and Trondheim as well.

I'm also a big fan of Hungary and Czechia, which I visited in 2018, but one should be prepared for some hotter weather in that area in the summer. With total freedom to select destinations in the summer, I'd try to include a lot of time in Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic countries, northern Poland and northern Germany.

Sweden and Finland are also more costly than places like Italy, but they aren't as bad as Norway. I love Stockholm; it's a gorgeous city in terms of architecture and setting, and it has a lot of interesting sights. There are many other worthwhile destinations in Sweden--Gothenburg, Lund, Uppsala, Ystad and Visby just to mention a few of them.

In Finland Helsinki seems by far the most important urban center. It's a great destination for lovers of Art Nouveau architecture and has the sort of museums you'd expect in a capital city. While there are points of interest in places like Turku and Tampere, I wouldn't tell someone with limited time it's a mistake to see only Helsinki.

Great that you earmarking 2 full months for Northern Europe. My introduction to Germany on my first Europe trip was by way of arriving by night ferry in July 1971 from Malmo to Travemünde, staying hostels and focusing the next 5 weeks going from place to place in North Germany.

A ton of places to visit and explore, depends upon your interests and depth of interest and priorities, lovely landscape and scenery, super interesting cities (Hamburg, the cultural center of North Germany), plus small captivating towns that survived the war intact, were spared mass destruction, etc

I'll comment here on modes of transport, which the locals, Swedes, Germans, Finns, etc use....the ferry links. Besides ferry links from Germany to Oslo, Helsinki, Lithuania, Poland, they link the countries in Scandinavia as well with Poland. I would suggest not disregarding this transport option.

I would also suggest taking that cruise through the Kiel Canal, (Nord- Ostsee Kanal) , something quite different and the Kiel harbour cruise, goes all the way to Laboe (the site of the naval museum and monument ) before turning back. Of course, you can take the bus from Kiel Hbf to Laboe too. The ferry is not the only option.

For the Kiel Canal at least before Covid one of the Kiel harbour cruise companies used to do semi regular one way canal trips. So you didn't have to take a conventional cruise to transit the canal.

Googling is not producing anything, and I can't find my notes and my local printed timetables/publicity to give me any clues about the name of the company.

There also used to be a cargo boat from Goole (England) to Sweden which you could book on as passenger one way which transited the canal but I don't think that they still take passengers. Goole is an inland port, but one which is still able to take ocean going ships. I actually finally did the Kiel Canal on a boutique cruise ship from Poole (England) to the Baltics calling at Wismar among other places. Outbound passage by day, return passage by night- and can very highly recommend the transit if you ever have the chance. You can actually walk or cycle the whole distance along the canal bank- most of which is lit at night- another option.

A giant rail circle through Scandinavia would be from Harwich to Berlin, Poland and through the three Baltic countries to Tallinn then ferry to Finland (or Sweden), up through Finland, into Sweden, then either to Stockholm, or on the Iron Ore Line to Narvik (when it re-opens after a major freight train derailment).
From Narvik there is a local boat to Svolvaer for the Hurtigruten or Havila coastal ferry north or south; or bus to Bodo for the train south through Norway, Sweden and Denmark (or another cruise ferry from Oslo to either Copenhagen or Kiel (Germany).

If going in mid summer another possible route off the Narvik line is the Inlandsbahn railway from Gallivare to Ostersund for either Trondheim (Norway) or Stockholm.

Yet another Baltic sea ferry cruise you can do is the 30 hour trip on Finnlines from Travemunde (Germany) to Helsinki.

The possible routes in the Baltic countries and Scandinavia are almost endless.

Many really great ideas here. Our Baltic cruise traversed the Kiel canal, so that one's ticked off the list, but I think we'll do all three Baltic ex-SSRs as well as Poland. Maybe we'll also cross via ferry to see more of Sweden and Finland. Finally, the ferry to the Hook of Holland was a new one to me; we'll consider that as an alternative to taking the Eurostar through the Chunnel.

Thanks, all!

The reason I asked about your plans for the UK was just to know where you're leaving from, as some places are easier to reach from some places than other. If your trip had ended in Scotland I would have suggested a short trip across the north sea to Norway and continue from there. But from London there are many more options.

However I'm still going suggest that you start in Bergen or Stavanger. There are direct flights from London, but if you want to rearrange the trip in the UK and end in Scotland there are direct flights from Edinburgh and Aberdeen that will make it a bit easier.

A rough suggestion for two months:

Bergen, Norway in a Nutshell to Oslo. Train from Oslo to Trondheim with a stop in Røros.

Train from Trondheim to Östersund, a night in Östersund and then Inlandsbanan to Mora. A couple of nights in Dalarna (don't miss the Zorn museum and his house!) and then train to Uppsala. A couple of nights in Uppsala and then the overnight ferry to Helsinki.

From Finland, take the ferry across the gulf to Tallinn, spend a couple of days in Tallinn and include at least one day trip. Tartu is well worth a visit. Then take the overnight ferry to Stockholm.

Spend a couple of days in Stockholm. Then take the ferry to Gotland. By now it should be mid August so the peak tourist season on Gotland will probably be over. Spend 2-3 nights (or more) in Visby. Then ferry to Oskarshamn and bus to Kalmar.

A night or two in Kalmar, then continue by train to Copenhagen. Add a stop in Lund or Karlskrona on the way if you want to see a bit more of southern Sweden. After a few days in Copenhagen continue to Hamburg. Either direct or spend a night or two in e.g. Odense or Århus on the way.

From Hamburg I'd suggest a more eastern route via Berlin-Leipzig-Nürnberg to Munich. But you can also choose a more western route if you want to get to Geneva. From Munich you can take the train Innsbruck and stay there if you want a short visit to Austria and then take the train south to Bozen and you are in Italy, and the German-speaking part of Italy.

That should be doable in two months.

There also used to be a cargo boat from Goole (England) to Sweden
which you could book on as passenger one way which transited the canal
but I don't think that they still take passengers.

I'm not familiar with that route, but there are no boats between the UK and Scandinavia anymore. There is a freight route from Gothenburg to Immingham that runs pretty frequently but they don't take foot passengers anymore since someone in charge decided to not provide the needed facilities for foot passengers in Immingham.

As mentioned above, the possible routes in northern Europe are almost endless. The route above is just a suggestion.

Also, two months in northern Europe and one month in Italy sounds like you're getting dangerously close to the 90 day limit. With Russia and Ukraine being off limites there are few options for leaving the Schengen area in northern Europe, but during your month in Italy you can consider taking the ferry across the Adriatic and spend a few days in Albania or Montenegro.

Starting in the Netherlands is a great idea. See Amsterdam, Delft, Den Haag, Leiden, Rotterdam. Then off to Hamburg/Lubeck, then Berlin (or add short stays in other cities such as Koln). Poland is next door, and possible destinations are Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow, and Wroclaw although the latter is further south. From there you would need to swing north, probably by plane, to take in more of Copehagen and its environs, a little more Stockholm, and if the budget is still left standing, many seem to appreciate Norway in a Nutshell. I have not visited Poland, Sweden, or Norway, so those recommendations are hearsay.

If you're coming from the UK or going there as part of this 2 month trip from Germany, the ferry link between Harwich and Cuxhaven is one option assuming you rule out flying. It used to be Harwich to Hamburg where the boarding takes place at Landungsbrücken. I did that route in 1987. Cuxhaven was worth going to for an afternoon trip pre-pandemic.

Using the ferry option to go from Germany, dep. from Rostock (one of the dep. points) to Helsinki takes ca. 20 hours or more, likewise from Kiel to Klaipeda (Lithuania), both routes to satisfy that Baltic ferry fix.

Thanks again to everyone. I was unaware of the Norway in a Nutshell tours, and we'll look into that further. Really looking forward to our summer! (And yes, we're aware of the 90-day Schengen limit.)

You can do the Nutshell route on your own, booking the components individually. The trickiest part comes into play if you decide you want to break the trip mid-way rather than doing the whole thing in one long day (which is totally doable). Demand for lodging in the fjord area along the Nutshell route exceeds supply in the conveniently-located villages. It would be very, very smart to check now for a room in Flam, Aurland, Gudvangen or Voss if you want to spend the night. Otherwise, doing so may not be an option. (It's already going to be very difficult.)

These are the components of the classic Nutshell route from Oslo to Bergen. It can be run in reverse, but I think the transportation segments may line up a bit better if you travel westward.

• Regular train Oslo to Myrdal. Fare will increase as travel date approaches, and trains can sell out.
• Flamsbana from Myrdal down to Flam. Book these first two segments as a single Oslo-Flam ticket on www.vy.no. If Vy doesn't like your credit card, use PayPal.
• Naeroyfjord ferry from Flam to Gudvangen. There are two companies running ferries. NorwaysBest.com sells tickets for the one I used. I think there are just three departures a day, so you need to have the schedule at hand as you figure out your other transportation.
• Bus from Gudvangen up to Voss. Pay the driver.
• Regular train from Voss to Bergen. Buy from www.vy.no. I think this is basic transportation without reserved seats, etc., so the fare should be fixed and there should be no risk of sellouts.
  

The first four segments of the trip are highly scenic. (Be aware that alternatives involving an express boat from Flam to Bergen rather than the Naeroyford ferry, bus and regular train are less scenic.) This is absolutely one of Europe's best days in terms of scenery. The pay-off per hour is incredible and would be difficult to beat via public transportation. Even better, the connections are super-simple with no need to schlep luggage very far.

If budget is any concern at all, keep in mind that Norway is very expensive.

Re: cruises through the Kiel Canal or the harbour boat ride (90 mins, very enjoyable) , you can check in the Kiel Tourist Office on Andreas-Gayk Straße 31., ca. 2-3 mins walk from Kiel Hbf.

I've been there a couple of times (I like going to Kiel) pre-pandemic to inquire about day cruises through the Canal, start and end point where I would return by train to Kiel Hbf that evening. Very doable.

If there is time, you could try to see the northern lights in Tromsø.

For the OP's trip, the chance of seeing the lights will be somewhere between small and negligible.

Pretty sure NancyReeves is AI.