Despite the popularity of all things Scandi of late – culture, lifestyle and let’s not forget food, which took the culinary world by storm several years ago – there’s something about Scandinavia that has a certain allure.
Our last Scandi trip was a short jaunt to Copenhagen which we enjoyed immensely so we felt for a longer break, why not check out two of the capitals.
We started our journey in the very picturesque Stockholm. We stayed at the amazing Downtown Camper by Scandic hotel, which at first glance looks like a glorified hostel and in a funny sort of way, it is. There are several common areas to relax, gaming rooms, a cinema, gym and wellness centre. Add to that not only do they rent bikes, you can also rent skateboards and kayaks among other modes of transport. It oozes everything Scandi, from the decor, furniture and the importance of everything environmental. Even the complimentary body wash and shampoo are vegan-friendly and not tested on animals. Also did I mention the rooftop bar with its outdoor swimming pool :-). Yep this place is cool!
We arrived around lunch time and as always the case with us, we dropped the bags in the room and headed out. First plan was lunch, as we’re smack bang in the centre there are dozen of choices to grab a bite, yes a lot are geared towards tourists. Sometimes it’s the easiest option, but we rarely do easy 😉. However, after walking for just over 10 minutes, we spotted a place just a little bit away and we decided on The Grand Stockholm Hotel for lunch 🙂
As the name suggests, this place is indeed grand. A small but marble clad lobby with amazing chandeliers and staff dressed to impress. We made our way to the bar, got seated and ordered a little lunch. Coffee to start, which was a little disappointing given the surroundings. C opted for the salmon and kale salad, I went with the classic caesar with chicken. While everything was tasty and the service friendly, it does come with a hefty price tag, after all you’re not just paying for the food, you’re paying for the ambience 😌
After lunch, we walked, a lot of walking, taking in a good chunk of Galma Stan, which is the old part of the city and the main shopping strip, stopping every now and again to browse the windows – we also grabbed a juice at a Joe and the Juice, the Danish chain.
For a pre-dinner drink, we had a glass of champagne in the rooftop bar of our hotel, which has amazing views of the city – they even have telescopes and not those tourist things you see, proper telescopes. As we’d had a long day, we dined in the hotel bar downstairs, nothing fancy just a burger each – which was actually very tasty.
One day, four museums!
The next day, we grabbed breakfast included with our stay, which was very impressive. Yes, it was buffet style and yes, you get your own toast and coffee but the choice was fantastic, unlimited smoked salmon anyone!
First up the impressive Vasa museum. Basically it’s just one attraction, but it’s a full size galleon ship. The story goes, on its maiden voyage and less than 2km out to sea, it capsizes. Not enough stones for ballasts and many of the crew perished. There are of course, hundreds of relics spread out over several floors. The most interesting thing, the recovery took place back in the 1950s – over 300 years after the ship sank.
Next up, the ABBA museum, yep there is an entire museum dedicated to the Swedish foursome. We felt it worth a visit and yes, it was tacky and cheesy as you’d expect – in the best possible way.
After surviving the ABBA museum, we grabbed a coffee and a snack before our next stop, the Swedish History museum which has a fascinating look at the entire history of Sweden from the 10th century onwards.
After an almost full day of museum-hopping, we headed back to the hotel and relaxed for an hour or so before heading out for a bite to eat. We went to a place called Kryp In, which was simple food done really well, plus I got to try roast reindeer 😋.
Of course after dinner, there’s still one more museum left, which opens late as it’s also a cafe and bar. The Fotographiska museum as the name hints is about all things photographic. The exhibits on display were based mainly around fashion, wildlife and nature, which were very impressive. There was also an exhibit showing the photography of Linda McCartney and her daughter, Mary. All that was left to do was head back for a well deserved night’s rest.
The following day for breakfast, we booked the rooftop area in our hotel, known as the Nest. It offers a healthy breakfast option in keeping with the wellness area. It was not just healthy, it was super-healthy. Why would anyone go for green juice over a coffee for breakfast, madness 😕
After getting over the shock of breakfast, it was time to hit some sights. We started with the Royal Palace, which incorporates several areas to visit, including the Royal apartments, treasury and sculpture room, among others. Next we hit the very informative Alfred Nobel museum. Which was fantastic and helped by the free guided tour. Pop quiz – How many Irish are Nobel Laureates for Literature? I’ll let you know below.
We also had lunch here which was delicious, especially my hot-smoked salmon.
Also the answer to the question is four – Yeats, Heaney, Beckett and Shaw.
After lunch we wandered for a bit more around the Galma Stan area and by chance came across a free tour of the parliament buildings. The building was impressive and it was interesting to see where all the action takes place. Of course, it’s vacation time for politicians so there was nothing going on. The tour lasted an hour and I for one was glad to reach the end of it 😏.
The following day, we had an early start so we filled up on breakfast (non-healthy version) and checked out before making our way to the station to catch our Oslo bound train. It turned out to be a longer day than planned. Due to major rail works and after three trains, the last leg to Oslo, was by bus, five hours 😕. Long bus journeys are not that big a deal but when it’s not expected, it seemed like a very long journey.
We arrived into Oslo later than planned but it was still only 19:00, so after checking in at our hotel the Karl Johan Best Western we hit a local bar to have a well deserved drink. For dinner, we dined al fresco at Cafe Skansen.
To start we shared a crab dish, C opted for the salmon and I went with the pork neck, both were very tasty.
The next morning we grabbed breakfast in the hotel. We weren’t expecting much as we’re staying in a chain hotel, which lets just say, has seen better days, circa 1960s. It was a pretty basic affair, however, the staff were very friendly.
After a little wandering around, including a visit to the National Museum to see Munch’s famous ‘The Scream’ painting, we headed for the Bygdøy peninsula to check out two of the must-see museums in Oslo.
The Kon-Tiki museum outlines the story of Thor Heyerdahl who sailed his balsa raft from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, proving a point that the same crossing could have been done a few 100 years earlier. There’s also the story of his two other rafts, the Ra and the Ra II. Great insight into the life of this amazing Norwegian explorer.
The nearby Fram museum, about the polar ship Fram, is equally as impressive as it follows the adventure of Roald Amundsen who was first to reach the South Pole. The Fram is on display and you can wander in and around the ship, which is pretty cool.
Later that evening we went for a stroll around by the harbour and visited the impressive new Opera House, which is designed to look like a glacier.
The following day, we did a little window shopping before heading to the station to catch our train to Bergen.
The journey is described as spectacular – which it is. From forests as far as the eye can see, snow capped mountains and glaciers, the scenery was fantastic. After just over six hours we arrived into fjord land, Bergen.
Our Bergen hotel, like the last Scandic we stayed in is very different in look, but similar in a lot of ways. The staff were very helpful and friendly. There’s two restaurants and a lounge area. The bedroom is also well-equipped and spotless.
For tonight’s dinner we’re dining in a place called Lysverket, considered one of the best places to eat in Bergen. Dinner time rolls around. Did Lysverket live up to the hype?? Nope. Ok, it was not bad, just not as good as we had hoped. Our waiter, who was very friendly, was getting more tipsy as the evening went on. As he would pour a sample of wine, champagne or whatever to guests, he would help himself to a little taste or two. He rocked up with a main course of beef announcing that they were all out of the pork we ordered so he brought us a replacement! Not a place we’d recommend but far from our worst dining experience.
The following day we had a late start and had a light breakfast at a nearby bakery. We then wandered the harbour area which is delightful. Lots of boats and ships from large cruise ships to small sail boats and everything in between. There’s over a dozen fish market stalls where not only can you buy a fantastic bounty of fish, they will cook you up a meal. Every type of cooking style is on the go from Asian-inspired, Italian and of course, Nordic.
We then set about booking a fjord tour from the several dozen options available. We opted for the three hour tour, which was fantastic. The scenery was incredible We’ll be back to do a longer cruise some day.
For evening dinner, we kept it simple and wanted to avoid fish as we’d eaten a mountain of it over the last few days. We opted for Peppes Pizza, a Norwegian chain we gather, as they have a branch in Oslo. Top travel tip – never eat pizza in Norway, easily the worst restaurant pizza we’d ever had. On a positive note, our onion ring starter was decent, as was my beer 😌
Our last day rolls around in Bergen. We had the full day as our night train back to Oslo was not departing until 22:59. We did a lot of walking, a little window shopping and took the funicular to Mt. Fløyen. Fantastic views over the city and there are several nature walks and a large restaurant called Fløyen Folkerestaurant.
Later that evening, we dined in our hotel – the food was fantastic, surprised us actually as to how good it was. After dinner, we made our way to the station to catch our train, it’d been a long day so we were more than happy to have a sleeper compartment for our return journey to Oslo.
We arrived into Oslo central station just after 06:00. The station was surprisingly busy. We grabbed a coffee and a pastry as a first breakfast 😏. At around 09:30 we made our way to a place simply called Cáfe Cathedral for second breakfast. There was one more main attraction to visit in Oslo, the Holmenkollen ski jump and museum. So we hopped on the metro and headed there. It was very impressive, an engineering marvel. The views were great and the ski museum was interesting.
After a long day, we headed to the airport. We still had a few hours before our flight home and we were quiet happy to sit and relax. Oslo International is an impressive airport plus they have a very efficient security system. Also, our Norwegian Air flight left on time and arrived on time.
Overall a fantastic trip. Stockholm and Bergen were the highlights and worth a return visit. As for Oslo, it was nice and while it wasn’t our favourite spot, it is definitely worth a visit.
Until next time
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 