Roadtrip: Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia)

When we went we used public transport and spent most of our time in the cities, but I can offer a couple of suggestions;

1) In Stockholm we had a wonderful time staying at the youth hostel af Chapman/Skeppsholmen. It had a nice, low key, welcoming vibe and best of all was the gorgeous location, especially after sunset. Standing with your back to the front door is like a postcard of Stockholm with the water reflecting the lights in the 400-year old buildings lining the shore. We had to do laundry one day we were there and the laundry room had that same view. I've never enjoyed doing laundry that much before or since :-)

2) While in Helsinki be sure to see;

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/finland/helsinki-rock-church-temppeliaukio

I found it to be a much more spiritual experience than any of the many cathedrals we've seen.

The resort village of Savonlinna in the lake country a couple hours east of Helsinki (near Russia) was lovely with it's unique castle & history as a border outpost between Russia and Scandinavia

With that much time and adventurous spirit, you could easily drive up & over the Gulf of Bothnia from Finland to Sweden and back down toward Stockholm. I don't know what there is to see there, but I'm sure it would be an interesting glimpse of "real" folks who don't see tourists much.

We only did the tourist romp through the old town Tallinn, Estonia. We found it interesting in a modest, low-key sort of way. The food was poor and overpriced for tourists, but I'm sure it would be better for locals away from the tourist center.

For Stockholm, don’t miss the Vasa museum (a wonderful museum), the Stadshuset (City hall where the Nobel dinner is held … make sure to take an English tour as the guides are excellent), and Skansen (the open air museum). Gamla Stan (the old town) is also nice. You can also visit Drottningholm either by taking the boat or a combination of subway and bus. The gardens are beautiful and there is an interesting theatre from the 1700s on the grounds. Uppsala is a good day trip (about 45 minutes from Stockholm by train). It is a university town with a large cathedral. If the weather is nice, you could also take a boat to one of the islands on the archipelago. Another nice day trip is Gripsholm Slott in Mariefred.

Östermalms Saluhallen (www.ostermalmshallen.se)is an indoor food market that sells produce, cheeses, baked goods, etc. It is a great place to pick up things for a picnic and there are also a couple of places in the market where you can eat. You will see lots of traditional Swedish foods. There are other food markets at Hötorget and in Södermalm, but I think the one in Östermalm is the most impressive and traditional.

Another place that I love for lunch is Rosendals Trädgårdscafe www.rosendalstradgard.se. This is an apple orchard and garden on Djurgården (the island in Stockholm where Skansen and the Vasa museum are) which has a wonderful café that makes excellent sandwiches, salads, and baked goods. It is very Swedish … sit outside at picnic tables in the orchard.

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I wouldn't rule out the glass region in Sweden. I don't think the rates will be any higher than other areas and it will probably be less expensive than the coast in the summer time. I've stayed at hostels in Nybro and on Öland ( but it was 10 years ago). If you like Swedish glass, you can find some very good prices at the factories on seconds. Many of the seconds are still of very nice quality. The island of Öland is an interesting place to explore.

I also really like the island of Gotland and its main town Visby which still has its medieval walls. Gotland also has some very nice beaches. I believe that you can take a ferry from Oskarshamn. If so, it could be interesting to take the ferry from Oskarshamn to Visby, spend a few days on Gotland and then take the ferry from Visby to Nynäshamn which is about an hour from Stockholm by train (not sure how long to drive).

For budget lodging in Copenhagen, start at tripadvisor.com. They have a list of hotels, rates and reviews.

We were thinking Hotel Nebo because it seems to be a good value for the price.

We ended up at the Copenhagen Strand hotel (on arrival) and Hotel Opera (before return) because I was able to get an excellent deal on both on the days I was looking for.

One thing I noticed, many of the rates don't include breakfast so you can't assume breakfast is automatically included at every hotel.

The surcharge for breakfast is high but is probably still a better deal than finding your own breakfast (food in Copenhagen is so expensive). I read a review (on different travel boards) that said a Big Mac meal in Copenhagen is $13 and another said a lunch of two smorobrod sandwiches and a beer were $50 each at a restaurant (I'm thinking in $ rather than Euros, but you get the idea).

General: Check and see if the Cutty Sark tall ships race will be in the harbor of some city while you are there. It's really fun to see the boats and they visit a lot of different harbors. Finland & Helsinki: As mentioned above, Temppeliaukio church (so-called Church in the Rock) is really neat. Don't miss it. Many tourist enjoy seeing the icebreakers that typically spend the summer tied up in the north harbor. You can also take a fast boat to Tallinn and back - do not take your car, it's too risky & an unnecessary expense. You will prob. drive to Turku and take the ferry from there to Stockholm. That ferry route is much prettier than from HKI (you stay among the little islands more) and Turku castle is fairly nice too. Near Turku is the President's summer home at Kultaranta and the seaside town/small city of Naatali. Naanatali has a really nice spa too.