For my holidays in May 2022, I decided to go to the Nordic countries: Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
I decided to spend a week in these three countries from Monday 16 May to Sunday 22 May 2022.
I started with Denmark, and in particular the Danish capital, Copenhagen, to begin this journey. So I took the plane with Air France on Monday 16 May at CDG at 9:20 am and landed at 11:10 am in Copenhagen. The plane left a few minutes late (9:41) because about ten passengers of my plane were stopped at customs and their luggage had to be removed from the plane and we had to wait for a plane to leave the runway so that we could take off. We landed at 11:24 in Copenhagen. There was some turbulence during the flight.
Day 1
Once I arrived in Copenhagen and picked up my luggage, I bought a train ticket to go to the city centre. The journey lasted 15 minutes and cost me 36 Danish kroner (dkk) or 4, 83 euros.
My hotel (a hostel), Steel House Copenhagen, was then a 7-minute walk from the train station.
As I arrived early and the check-in only started at 3pm, I left my suitcase in a hotel deposit box for 20 dkk (2,69 euros), I could leave it there for a period of 3 hours at that price.
After I dropped off my suitcase, I walked around the city centre of Copenhagen.
I started with Copenhagen City Hall (Københavns Rådhus) located on the Town Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen), a large square surrounded by beautiful buildings.
The square is also home to Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, which deals with strange and bizarre events. I didn’t visit it but I just went in to take pictures of the exhibits at the entrance of the museum and thus accessible without a ticket.
I then walked to Nyhavn, the canal in central Copenhagen, very popular for its pretty typical and colourful houses all around the canal. Of all Copenhagen, it was my favourite place.
I continued on my way to the pretty Church of the Holy Spirit and the rest of my walk led me to some very special statues, the Red Dante-Fuck-Q-parks. At the bottom of the work are represented 4 statues of pigs wearing a jacket and standing. Higher up, 4 busts of men surround a hand making an obscene gesture. Why is this work in Dante Park? In 2011, it was decided to build an underground car park under Dante Square, which was not to the liking of the Danish citizens, who saw it as a somewhat dubious political decision. The citizens decided to hire sculptor Jens Galschiøt to erect the statue in Dante Square (named after the Italian poet Dante Alighieri). The four men actually represent Dante and the four pigs are actually bulldogs. The obscene gesture is therefore aimed at large car park managers as well as policy makers.
I then arrived on the shopping streets where some very beautiful works are on display.
I really like Danish architecture, it’s really beautiful.
On the shopping streets is a museum as crazy as Ripley’s Believe it or not! This is the Guinness World Records Museum, which brings together everything that has the merit of entering it (interactive exhibitions around world records in sports, science and architecture). Here, too, I didn’t visit the museum, but you can take pictures with the puppet of the tallest man in the world who is 2. 72 m tall, just that!
Further on, and right next to Nyhavn, is a large square where you can see the Magasin du Nord or the Hotel d’Angleterre (yes, the names are in French).
I went back to the hotel to check in by passing the Tivoli Gardens which are a large amusement park in the heart of Copenhagen and located right in front of the Central Station.
So I left the hotel to go to Christiania, a place located a 45-minute walk from my hotel, where the outcasts of the Danish capital are located. This neighborhood was founded by a group of hippies, unemployed and squatters and is also home to drug dealers because marijuana is sold there. This area is designated as a free city. Here, photos are forbidden. I was able to take some at the entrance to this neighborhood. I didn’t feel very comfortable there. I stayed there only 5 minutes and so I didn’t have the opportunity to visit any part where photos are forbidden.
So I turned back and went back to the hotel, passing in front of the Glyptotheque and again the Tivoli Gardens.
At the hotel, I had a 6-bed dormitory just for me since I had booked a single room.
Day 2
That second day, I did a lot of things and walked a lot.
I started with the Ørstedsparken, a very nice garden with many statues.
I continued my walk to Churchill Park where I was able to see the famous statue of the Little Mermaid but also the statue of Princess Mary of Denmark and the one of Frederik IX, King of Denmark.
Right next door is the Church of Saint-Alban, you just have to cross a small bridge to reach it. Just in front of the church is a very nice fountain, the fountain and church give a very nice picture.
I continued my way to a large square and then to the beautiful Frederik Church known as the Marble Church. Right next to the church is Alexander Nevsky Church, the only Russian Orthodox Church in Copenhagen.
Taking the Marble Church to the right, I landed at St-Anne Square where there are various statues as well as the Garrison Church. Just before the square is the statue of Christian X, King of Denmark.
I then headed for the Kongens Have Garden around Rosenborg Castle.
I then headed for the shopping streets of Copenhagen to come across the Round Tower, which is next to the Trinity Church.
I went back to my favourite neighbourhood, Nyhavn, and passed the beautiful Church of Our Savior.
I went back to the hotel for dinner and then went out to see Nyhavn at night.
Day 3
Last day in Copenhagen.
I checked out at the hotel and then headed to the station to catch the train to Kastrup Airport.
For this second part of my trip to the Nordic countries, I took a flight with Norwegian to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. The plane was 1⁄3 full, so I had a row to myself.
The flight was supposed to last 1h10 (13h50 – 14h55) but we arrived early (about 10 minutes early).
To get to the city center, I took the Arlanda Express, an airport shuttle equivalent to the Orlyval but much faster. The train is running at about 186 km/h.
The price is not cheap, unlike the train I took in Copenhagen.
I bought a return ticket for 55 euros.
The journey lasted 18 min but we had to wait before arriving at the central station because there was a train in front of us which had a problem and was therefore preventing us from moving forward.
My hotel, Unique hotel, is located about 10 minutes walk from the train station.
My room was really tiny, 9 m², and not very well laid out because the bed was in a corner of the room (the room was L-shaped). There was very little, if any, room for my suitcase. If I left it open, I couldn’t easily walk around the room.
After staying at the hotel for a while, I went out for a walk.
I wanted to visit Gamla Stan, a beautiful neighborhood (the old town) not to be missed if you are passing through Stockholm. This area is really beautiful. I was dazzled by the beauty of the buildings as soon as I started crossing the bridge that leads to the most beautiful monuments. I stayed there for a while to take pictures from all angles.
After this long walk, I returned to the hotel to have dinner.
Soundproofing is not really the strong point of this hotel as you can hear the doors of the other rooms slamming from your own room. The doors of the rooms close a little abruptly, hence the noise.
Day 4
For my fourth day in the Nordic countries, I had breakfast in the hotel dining room (breakfast was included in the price of the room) and then started the day at St. Clair’s Church because I wanted to take a walk in the modern district of Stockholm. It was more of a shopping street than anything else. It was a bit uninteresting because there were no monuments to see as there were in Copenhagen.
So I decided to stroll around the many Swedish islands that are easily accessible on foot. So I started with Skeppsholmen Island and then Kastellholmen Island located right next door. These islands were really nice to visit. Many people were jogging there, trained by a coach. I landed for a few minutes in front of the Baltic Sea to sunbathe.
I then headed for Djurgården Island where I spent a good part of my afternoon. This island is located about 40 min walk from the two previous islands. The trip is quicker if you take a ferry directly from Skeppsholmen Island.
On the island of Djurgården there are many popular museums such as the ABBA Museum and the Skansen Museum. There is also the Gröna Lund amusement park.
Life is quite expensive in Sweden and this affects the price of museums. For example, the ABBA Museum costs about 26 euros.
I chose the Skansen Museum, which is a huge open-air museum. This museum presents a replica of a Swedish city with craftsmen’s workshops. There is also a zoo.
After my walk through the Skansen Museum, I left Djurgården Island and passed three beautiful churches: the Church of Oscar, the Church of Hedwige-Eleonore and the Church of St. John.
I finished my day at the Östermalm Food Market before returning to the hotel.
Day 5
Breakfast at the hotel and then drive to the airport for the last country of my trip: Finland.
The flight with Finnair lasted 1 hour before landing in Helsinki.
To get to my hotel Omena, I took a train that cost me 4. 10 euros and the journey took 30 minutes. Then I had to walk 10 minutes to get to the hotel.
The check-in was done without staff because there was no reception. A few hours before arriving at the hotel, I received an e-mail and a text message telling me the number of my room and the code to access the building. This code is also used as a room access card.
The room was really huge, there was even a mini fridge and a microwave.
I went out for a walk around the city without really following a particular route, so I passed various monuments: the Old Church of Helsinki, the Central Station, the Ateneum Art Museum and many more.
For dinner, I took a bulgogi beef to go take out at Ravintola Korea House.
Day 6
That day, I walked through the Design District until I reached the Temppeliaukio Church.
I continued on my way to Hietaniemi Beach and then returned to the city centre.
I landed on the steps of the Helsinki Cathedral where a wedding was taking place and went down to the Statue of the 12 Apostles and the Senate Square.
I ordered a reindeer hot dog (I think it tastes a bit like hot dog with pork sausage) on the market square and then I took a boat (2. 30 euros a way) to visit Suomenlinna Island.
Day 7
For the check-out, all I had to do was hang a small sign on the handle of the outside door of my room telling the maid that I had checked out and that she could clean the room.
I took the train to the airport for a flight with Finnair again to Paris.
The flight was scheduled to last 3h05 but finally lasted 2h45.
Once arrived in Paris, the RER B was not running, so it was necessary to take a shuttle that would drop passengers off at La Plaine Saint-Denis.
On the way, we heard a loud noise. Two small suitcases had fallen from the shuttle as it was advancing on the highway. The door to access the luggage was not closed properly.
One of the SNCF agents who was with us on the shuttle went down to pick them up in the middle of the cars.
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