Back in 2010, we visited Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as Malmö and Lund in Sweden, as part of our Iceland trip. There's a lot to do here, and we barely scratched the surface. We were lucky enough to have a full day layover in Copenhagen on our 2019 spring break trip to Monaco, Nice, and Tunisia. It still wasn't enough time to do the city justice, but we managed to have a couple great meals. We had another day and a half in 2025 on our way to Milan.
For our first trip, we flew on Icelandair through Reykjavík to Copehagen. The first half of our trip was in Copenhagen, Denmark. In the middle of our visit there, we took a train from Copenhagen to Malmö, Sweden. We flew back to Reykjavík on Icelandair and spent the second half of the trip in Iceland.
This was one of my favorite trips! Russia was my favorite part of the trip, and I would love to go back there. I highly recommend Tallinn, Estonia. It doesn't get the publicity that it should (at least in the U.S.). If you're in that region of Europe, it's a must-do. The Helsinki-St. Petersburg-Tallinn trio was nice, because all three cities are so different.
We flew into Helsinki, Finland on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), connecting through Stockholm. After spending a few days in Helsinki, we took a high speed train to St. Petersburg, Russia. It was so easy! The customs and immigration process took place on the train (FYI-you must obtain your Russian visa in advance...no exceptions!). It was comfortable, there was a dining car, and it only took three and a half hours. The train arrives next to the Ploshchad Lenina Metro station, which you can take into the heart of the city. No need to risk getting ripped of by a taxi--the metro is cheap and easy to use.
After St. Petersburg, we took the high speed rail back to Helsinki for a night (to sleep), and the next morning, we took a high speed ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. In an hour and a half, we were there. We spent a few nights there, returned to Helsinki, and flew home.
Love it! Love it! Love it! Iceland is a gastronome's paradise! Just thinking about the food makes me want to book a trip there for next summer. But Iceland is about so much more than its food. It has a certain feel to it--it's not quite like Scandinavia, it's not quite like New England, nor is it like Alaska, but if you melded those together, it would be close. The people are mellow and friendly; the weather is anything but; and sometimes the landscape makes it feel like you're on another planet. I want to go back for sure!
First we flew on American Airlines from Chicago to Minneapolis. It was on this flight that we saw Andrew Zimmern, with whom we had a conversation about Iceland after deplaning. He was so friendly and approachable, and he gave us some personal restaurant recommendations for Reykjavík (see below).
From there, we flew on Icelandair through Reykjavík to Copehagen. The first half of our trip was in Copenhagen, Denmark. In the middle of our visit there, we took a train from Copenhagen to Malmö, Sweden. We flew back to Reykjavík on Icelandair and spent the second half of the trip in Iceland.
While the flight is fairly short to Iceland (six hours from Minneapolis), Icelandair does not give anything for free. They are the only carrier we have flown overseas that has charged for food. They also claimed on their website to have interactive games in each seat, but they did not. Unfortunately, it's the best way to get to Iceland from the U.S.
Looking back on our 2003 Norway trip all these years later, I marvel at how well it all worked out, considering we were novice travelers. We were still learning how to do proper research prior to a trip. For example, we had no idea that Norway's National Day was taking place in the middle of our visit. This was cool to be a part of but made it hard to find restaurants that day. On the other hand, we planned out a lot of great sites and museums. Arranging to do the Norway in a Nutshell tour allowed us to see some really cool parts of the country and have our most memorable meal in Bergen.
Returning to Oslo almost 20 years later, we found a city that we barely recognized. A brand-new Munch Museum, a new opera house, new restaurants, bars, and cafés along new and existing piers on the water--it took us a while to take it all in. What we saw, we liked--it reminded us more of Sydney, Australia than it did any city in Europe. At the end of that trip, I said that there was still more of Norway on my list. Well, guess what? Less than a year later, we were back--this time to explore the Arctic regions of the country. The centerpiece of the trip was Svalbard, but we did a visit to Tromsø as well.
Tromsø was the perfect way to spend a few days after being in Svalbard. It's like the bridge between Svalbard and the rest of Norway. It gently transitions you out of the Arctic lifestyle and back into a place where you keep your shoes on in restaurants and hotels. It's well into the Arctic Circle, though, so we were still without a sunset, and the weather was wild! We experienced warm, sunny skies, wind with hail, a snowstorm with giant snowflakes, hard pouring rain, and dense fog--and that was all in the first 24 hours! It was a great time. It has a small-town feel that we liked, but that might be changing. They are building up quite a bit, and we imagine it'll look and feel very different in five years.
Stockholm has been on our list for many years now. And although it wasn't the impetus for the trip, it turned out to be the shining star. Stockholm is officially my favorite city in Scandinavia! A huge part of that is the fika culture. There is a café at every turn--and they are open late! This means that there's somewhere to go where my husband can get a beer and I can get a tea or espresso, with an insanely good cardamom bun on the side. Not only that, but being summer, they're all outdoors, and the scene is mellow. It was all just perfect.
*heavy sigh*...Don't even ask. We flew SAS nonstop into Stockholm, and then they went on strike. I wasn't a fan of this airline before any of this nonsense, but this trip was the dealbreaker for us. Aside from that, getting around Stockholm and the rest of Sweden was very easy. The Arlanda Express gets you into town in less than 20 minutes, and the entire country is connected by train and bus routes. When our intra-Scandinavia flights were canceled, we journeyed across Sweden and into Norway quite easily.
We were sitting on the plane in Tromsø, waiting to take off and return to Oslo. It would just be a little while longer while we waited for the Longyearbyen passengers to join us. One or two at a time, they began filing out of the terminal building and making their way across the tarmac with all of their various carry-ons. I watched them from my window seat. I couldn't help but notice a look on each person's face--a glow, even--as if to say, "I've just been to Svalbard, and I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to rejoin the real world." I know that look because a few days earlier I had that look. And I'm still not sure if I'm ready to rejoin the real world.
Svalbard is another world. The Arctic landscape--no grass, no trees, just endless snowy mountains--makes you feel like you could be on planet Hoth. The ever-changing weather is eerie: one minute a man sits shirtless on a couch outside his home to enjoy the warmth of the sun; a few hours later, the icy Arctic winds bring in dense clouds, and people bundle up in layers and head indoors. Then there's the town, Longyearbyen. It's the Wild West of the Arctic, with customs, quirks, and laws you might not expect. Did you know that it's illegal to give birth or to die there? Cats are not allowed. If you plan on venturing beyond the city limits, you are required to carry a rifle, in case of polar bears. But you obviously can't just kill polar bears, due to their vulnerable status, so there are laws protecting them, too. There are monthly rations for alcohol--not just because of supply issues, but also to curb alcohol use amongst the residents, particularly in the dark winter. And it is a completely cashless community.
The infrastructure of the town is also unusual but makes perfect sense for the challenges they face. Utility pipes are all above ground, due to permafrost, making them a noticeable piece of the cultural landscape. There are deep ditches alongside many roads and buildings, and some buildings are raised on pillars. We were there in late May, so there was still a lot of snow, but much of it in town had melted. This revealed a landscape of rocks and mud, which in turn, creates a very dusty town. Any time a car drives by or a gust of wind sweeps through town, an unavoidable dust cloud overtakes the area. So given the dust, dirt, mud, and snow, there is a custom in Longyearbyen of taking your shoes off when entering hotels, restaurants, and museums. It actually dates back to the coal mining days and wanting to keep coal dust outside--but it still makes sense today. There's something nice about walking around a café in slippers.
Svalbard was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, although I find myself missing a lot of my favorite places there. More than once we've asked each other: what would it be like to live there for a year? I don't think we could. If anything, climate change will make Longyearbyen unsafe and unlivable long before we'd have a chance. Svalbard is heating up six times faster than the rest of the world. This shows just how much the entire world is impacted by the actions of everyone else. We alone can't fix this problem. This isn't about bringing a reusable bag to the grocery store or making sure you recycle--it's about holding politicians and world leaders accountable for making major changes to our systems and our industries. That's the only thing that will save this world. (Note: My husband said I should end this paragraph by stating that nothing can save this world and that we are, in fact, doomed...but that's not my style.)
It's not the easiest, that's for sure. It takes two flights just to get to Oslo. We chose to do our layover in Zurich and spend the morning in town. It was nice seeing Zurich briefly, but I would not fly Swiss again. The aircraft was dated, stuffy, and cramped. After getting to Oslo, it takes another two flights to get to Longyearbyen. We flew on Norwegian Airlines via Tromsø. The plane stops in Tromsø, all passengers disembark, and those continuing to Longyearbyen have to go through passport control to exit the Schengen Area. That's right--even though Norway is part of the Schengen Area, Svalbard (though controlled by Norway) is not. That's also how I justify giving Svalbard its own section here.
This is what dog-sledding huskies sound like when they are excited to go on a run. The main sounds to note are the barking and the sound of the biting Arctic winds.
This high-speed catamaran boat trip showed us some stunning mountain scenery, a walrus, a bearded seal, countless Arctic bird species and Svalbard reindeer, a glacier, and the Russian ghost town of Pyramiden (from a distance).
This moment was one of the highlights of the entire trip! We were walking back to Funken Lodge after having dinner at Vinterhagen, when we came across this reindeer just grazing right in the middle of town. We were told they aren't scared of people, and this is definitely true. The reindeer stayed right there, letting me take lots of pictures, before heading up into the mountain.