Bucket List Trip to The Fjords and Cities of Scandinavia
Category: Adventurous retirement
July 3 , 2025 — A trip to Scandinavia might be on your bucket list. It certainly was on ours. After talking about it for many years, Roberta and I went there for 2 weeks in June. We highly recommend it – the sights are magnificent, the people are friendly, and the traveling easy. Just about everyone speaks English, often better than we do! Here are some thoughts if you decide to go.
Cruise or Land?
Since the Scandinavian countries are surrounded by water, touring by cruise ship can be a great way to go. You will see fjords, villages, and the most interesting cities, all from the comfort of your floating hotel. As one option, the Hurtigruten line offers different trips with options to visit between 14 and 34 ports for stops of varying length. We chose to plan our own tour, mostly by land, because of the flexibility that allowed us to customize where we went, and especially, where we ate and stayed. That involved more planning work, but made it very special. Thanks to Roberta for doing all that planning!
Copenhagen, Denmark
We started in Copenhagen, taking a train from the airport to within a few blocks of our hotel in the heart of the city. Copenhagen is old, filled with ancient building and narrow curving streets. One of the first things we noticed was the waves of cyclists coming from all directions. They bike in the rain, often with kids riding in special cargo bins. Cars are second class citizens; as many streets are pedestrian, taxi, or bike only. We found the Metro very efficient but a little daunting. Automation is so complete that the ticketing process and knowing which platform to use were difficult until you gained some experience.
One of Copenhagen’s top attractions is the Slot, the old royal castle. As is usually the case, you will get a lot more out of attractions like these with a guided tour, paid or free. Copenhagen has many neighborhoods to explore. One of the most picturesque is ny haven; its colorful houses along the canals are a photo magnet. We had a fabulous meal there at Restaurant Barr – the best bread I ever ate. We also recommend the tour we took on an electric boat through the city’s canals. As in any city, a food tour is another great thing to do. Our guide took us to some of the city’s top food related attractions, where we sampled everything from pastries to beer.
If You Go to Scandinavia:
Decide: Cruise or land based?
These countries are becoming cashless, cash is not often accepted
Norway in a Nutshell is a top tour
Information booths, usually at the main train station, are very helpful for figuring out public transit
Book popular attractions and tours in advance
If you are a foodie – research and reserve early
Oslo, Norway
One of our best moves was to take an overnight ship to Oslo from Copenhagen. The boat was quite luxurious, and by traveling at night, saved us a travel day. Oslo was a more modern city than we expected. After a fire in 1600 the downtown was moved and built with grand, wide streets. Pedestrians rule, although due to many hills, there were not quite as many bikers. Two museums were highlights of our visit: the Munch Museum (extremely modern with countless works by the artist, including “The Scream”) and the very inspiring Nobel Peace Center. There is no other way to describe Oslo’s central library but magnificent. Multiple floors overlook the harbor, and filled with people reading, working, eating, meeting, and socializing. Anyone who says libraries are dead, come to Oslo. The restaurants that Roberta picked out (reservations way in advance) were tip-top. The best was Italian, Roald and Umberto, for some reason named after the famous polar explorers. The proprietor is a stitch, and be sure to ask him to sing – you would think you are listening to Dean Martin! Food was great too.
Norway in a Nutshell
We walked a few blocks to the Oslo train station to begin our Norway in a Nutshell self guided tour. This trip is often offered as an excursion from cruise ships as many or other companies. By planing our own tour it was less expensive and very doable, but we (that is the Royal We!) did have to train, boat, and hotel reservations in advance. The train ride through the mountains was spectacular, with snow capped mountains and giant waterfalls a commonplace. Depending on where you are coming from, the tiny village of Flam is either the beginning or end of the fjord boat cruise. That several hour trip (on another electric boat) gives you several hours of inspiring views of narrow gorges and plunging waterfalls.
Bergen – Ancient Port under Seven Mountains
From the boat trip a short train ride took us to Bergen, one of the Norway’s oldest and most beautiful ports. Top sites include preserved buildings from the Middle Ages when part of the city was ruled by the Hanseatic League. It was fun to wander through the hilly and winding streets to check out the the colorful houses and wonderful little gardens. If you go, be sure to book a tour of the home of composer Edvard Griegs, just outside on a lake. The tour includes a small concert of his work by a rotating cast of top university pianists.
Norway in the Arctic Circle
The people we were going to travel with urged us to go to northern Norway and Sweden to hike in the mountains. So we landed in Narvik, which is in the Arctic Circle on Norway’s western coast. Here we used yet another mode of transportation, a rental car. Since I am 75 I worried they might not rent to me, but no problem with Sixt. We stayed in Harstad and spent a pleasant day driving from island to island by bridge and ferry and taking in the beautiful lakes, fjords, and snowy mountains. A top experience was going down a dead end road along the coast to enjoy an excellent fish and chips and fish soup on the picturesque Nyksund harbor. This ghost fishing village was wiped out by a storm, but trying to come back.
Exciting Stockholm
I don’t know why I had the impression that Stockholm was going to be a sterile modern city – it is not! The oldest part, Gamla stan, began in the 1200’s as a fortified city on a smaller central island, then radiated out from there to other islands. Stockholm turned out to be our favorite city for many reasons. It is beautiful with spectacular views from the river and harbor of stunning old buildings and churches . There are many interesting neighborhoods where people of all ages enjoy the restaurants, cafes, and stylish shops. Great Swedish design is everywhere, from the people’s beautiful clothes to home furnishings. Cars are kept separate from cyclists and walkers. Workers commute to work on scooters and bikes, sometimes with a kid in a car seat.
For attractions we recommend the excellent free walking tour of Gamla stan’s winding narrow streets, which will give you a nice overview of Stockholm’s historic neighborhoods. The ABBA museum is great fun (sing or dance along with them!) and the Vasseet Museum has a majestic ship from the 1600s that sunk about a half mile into its maiden voyage! If you have seen the TV series “Sandhamn Murders” you will especially appreciate a boat ride to one or more of the thousands of islands in the Stockholm Archipelago. We enjoyed a 2 hour ride on a Vaxholm ferry to the island of Grinda, where we enjoyed an excellent fish sandwich and a hike. A bargain, it cost about $48 round trip for 2 of us.
Much to Learn
The 3 countries we visited have so much we could learn from. They all have great public transport and pedestrian and bike friendly streets. Unlike us, they all have a second language (English). Healthcare and college are free or almost free for everyone. They have strong economies with low unemployment. Although taxes are high, the gap between rich and poor is much smaller than ours: almost everyone, including retirees, make enough money to enjoy life without worry. And they are committed to a sustainable world too – environmental regulations are strict and almost all new cars are electric.
Bottom line
Scandinavia is a great place to visit, as well as retirement destination. The latter is possible, but not that easy. We saw and experienced some incredible sights and experiences, traveling by air, ship, rail, ferry, bus, tram, subway, taxi, and rental car (didn’t ride a bike or horse!). However you go and wherever you visit, you will be glad you went.
Comments?
What is next on your bucket list? Please share your experiences and dreams in the Comments section below.
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Comments on "Bucket List Trip to The Fjords and Cities of Scandinavia"
Donna says:
As I write these words I am fortunate enough to be sitting in our cabin on our cruise ship that has just arrived in Ísafjördur, Iceland. We will circumnavigate Iceland & then head up to the far Northern Arctic Regions before fjord hopping our way down Norway with final stops in Denmark & the Netherlands. Scandinavian countries are safe & clean and the scenery can’t be beat. As someone who can’t stand the summer heat, I am tickled pink that I get to wear jackets & wool even in July. Scandinavia is a wonderful destination!!!