THE SCENIC SCANDINAVIA STUDY TOUR

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1 THE SCENIC SCANDINAVIA STUDY TOUR Scenic Scandinavia was the second Study Tour of 2012, with 28 participants taking in the best of Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway. In early June, with Colin Sale leading them, they flew with Thai Airways to Copenhagen, Denmark; with 1,5 million people, this is Scandinavia's largest and liveliest capital and where almost all of the city's attractions are concentrated in a central area of a cluster of small islands. Following a first day of relaxation and individual exploration, with most people discovering the Stroget - Europe's longest pedestrian street and the delightful boat trips touring the city's canals, a evening welcome dinner at the famous Tivoli Gardens was an excellent introduction to the city. A guided tour the next day took in most of the city's sights - the City Hall, the Parliament at Christiansborg Palace, the Amalienborg Royal Palace, the Little Mermaid, the Nyhavn boat harbour, modern Opera House, etc. Nyhavn Heritage harbour, Copenhagen View from Copenhagen's Cathedral dome to the Royal Palace, harbour and modern new Opera House On the following day, the group set off on a coach tour that would take them right through all four countries Scandinavian countries. From Copenhagen, they travelled across two of Denmark's largest islands - Zealand and Funnan, linked together by the impressive huge Storebaeltbride Bridge for both highway and rail, and north through Jutland, seeing Hans Christian Anderson's home and the heritage Old Town in Odense and spending the night in Aarhus, the country s second largest city - a major seaport and trading centre since Viking times. Exploration of picturesque Aaborg followed during the next day, home of Danish architect, Jørn Utzon, who designed the Sydney Opera House, and from Frederickshavn in the north of Jutland, they crossed the Strait to Gothenburg, Sweden, that country's second largest city but largest port, where their hotel was in a recycled ship-yard. Travel across Sweden s major agricultural district followed with its typical and picturesque rural landscapes of neat well-kept fields; this large region of Gotaland, until 1000 years ago, was a separate medieval kingdom with more important links to Denmark rather than to Sweden.

2 Two very enjoyable days were experienced in stunning Stockholm, spread over 14 small islands with magnificent waterways betweeb them, and with its original old city and Royal Palace set on the small island of Gamla Stan. Opened in 1923, across the water from Gamla Stan, is the City Hall (Stadshuset), the pride of Stockholm, and used for celebrations associated with the Nobel Prize awards. On Djurgarden Island, in a parkland area known as Skansen, many of Sweden s most important museums are located including the most famous and popular Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet), exhibiting the wonderful old sailing ship, Vasa, which was the new 64-gun Flag Ship of Sweden of the then super-power of the Baltic ; within minutes of it being launched ceremoniously into Stockholm s harbour, it experienced one of the greatest shipping disasters of all time sinking with crew and all the VIPs on board within minutes. It was lifted to the surface in 1961 and preserved as a scientific miracle, with this museum being specially built to house it, opening in Stockholm's City Hall Stockholm's modern public square - Sergels Torg From Stockholm, the group travelled overnight to Helsinki, Finland, on a large super-luxury vehicular ferry with included their cabin accommodation, dinner and breakfast. Up on the open deck, in the warm evening sunshine after dinner, their experience of sailing through the incredible maze of islands, was most memorable. And it was just as wonderful coming in to dock next morning in another harbour of islands in Finland s capital. A tour of the city followed including the majestic Senaatintori (Senate Square) surrounded by 19 th century buildings, designed by the Russians and said to be modelled on St Petersburg; this was dominated by the huge white-marble Lutheran Cathedral (Tuomiokirkko) completed in 1852, and also by the University Library. In the CBD, they saw the Concert Hall (Finlandia talo), Parliament building, and the huge Stockmans Department Store (dating from 1881 and considered to be one of the world s most famous), green Esplanade Park, the Mermaid Fountain from 1908, regarded as a symbol of Helsinki,

3 and the waterfront markets. In the outer parts of the city, they saw the Sibelius Monument, underground Rock Church, the Stadium of the 192 Summer Olympics, the holiday homes of wealthy Russians from the past, and a model Viking village. Helsinki's Senaatintori (Senate Square) and it Lutheran Cathedral The group s journey north from Helsinki was through typical Finnish rural landscape a relatively flat terrain over which the Pleistocene Scandinavian ice sheets moved and left the surface incredibly uneven and with a complex drainage system; hollows left filled with water to form the country s more than 187,000 lakes, and irregular networks of rivers with more than 5,000 sets of rapids. The glaciers also dropped piles of glacial debris, called moraines, to form low hills and most of the country s 98,000+ islands located within the lakes. This uneven surface now remains covered with forests of spruce, pine and birch which are reasonably well-managed sustainably for the country s major timber milling and pulp and paper industries, and 120,000 sq km of the pristine land and water surface is preserved in 32 national parks with some of the last great wilderness areas left in Europe (LP). With a population of 350,000, Tampere is not only Finland s second largest city, but it is the largest inland city in all of Scandinavia; it made use of its river rapids to power its many mills, and became a major woollen textile producer in the 19 th century. The next stop was Vaasa, on the Gulf of Bothia, a major port city exporting timber and paper. Crossing the Gulf, back into Sweden, the group spent a night in Sundsvall, a major timber city of that country; it had to be totally rebuilt from scratch following complete destruction by the largest fire in Sweden s history in 1888, and is now one of the country s most beautiful urban centres. The rebuilt city of Sundsvall, Sweden

4 At next morning, they began the long drive up and over the Scandinavian Peninsula that was to take two days via some of Sweden s best ski fields. Bad weather and engine trouble with the coach slowed down this travel. But, in the old medieval Norwegian capital, Trondheim, the group was to be introduced to some of the best weather of the tour, in coastal and mountain landscapes that have to be the most spectacular in the world. The 12 th century Cathedral (Nidaros Domkirke), is the Tronheim s most dominant landmark and the largest medieval building in all of Scandinavia. 12th century Cathedral of Trondheim, Norway From Trondheim, the group began travelling one of the most scenic coastal highways of the world to Bergen in the next three days. It included spectacular travel between its amazing fiords which were carved out by valley glaciers descending from the Scandinavian Ice Cap during the Pleistocene Ice Ages. Because of the many fiords, constructing a highway along this coast had always been difficult and expensive, but, over the recent years, with Norway s great wealth from its off-shore oil resources, this highway has been greatly improved. Replacing the zig-zag roads up and down mountains between the fiords which had been engineering feats in their day, there are now straighter roads and tunnels, and replacing many of the former ferry crossing of the water ways, there are now some very impressive bridges. On the first day travelling south to Alesund, they passed through several tunnels, even one with a length of 3.6 km, seeing spectacular fiord and mountain scenery in between, and near Orkdal, they travelled over a high new suspension toll bridge across an arm of Trondheim Fiord. After two ferry crossings they arrived in Alesund (population 43,000), at the end of a dead-end side trip, finding this one of Scandinavia s most beautiful and magnificently located on the end of a peninsula, surrounded by islands, water and hills; they would learn that this city also had to be rebuilt having been completely burnt down in The beautiful port city of Alesund, Norway

5 Another magnificent section of the highway followed the next day - the famous Trolls Road or Trollstigen (Trolls Ladder), described as a thriller of a road climbing up 850 metres to Trolls Pass through one of the world's most magnificent scenic landscapes. After 8 years of construction, this road was opened in 1936 with 11 hair-pin bends. The famous Trollstiden (Trolls Road), Norway From the Pass, they then descended to Geiranger Fiord, one of the country s most beautiful, to join a vehicular ferry to travel around to another arm of the fiord, passing by dozens of streaming waterfalls dropping from the cliffs on both sides, and even forming curtains of water. After a night in Stryn, they travelled higher into Norway s mountains to visit the Briksdalsbreen (Briksdal Glacier) in the Jostedalsbreen Nasjonalpark (Josterdal N.P.) with Norway's high country aove 2000 metres, and its remaining, but still shrinking, Jostedalsbreen Ice Cap of 487 sq km, up to 600m thick. Geiranger Fiord, Norway Cruising on Geiranger Fiord, Norway Briksdal Glacier descending from Norway's Ice Cap

6 Eventually, they came to Bergen (population 250,000), another former capital of Norway, and now the country s second largest city and port, and another contender for being Norway s most beautiful city. Everyone enjoyed exploring the picturesque medieval quarter known as Bryggen on the eastern shore of the old port area, Vagen, finding it quaint and colourful, and behind this they explored quaint cobble-stone streets lined with typical old wooden homes, and the castle of Rosenkrantztarnet, built in the 1560s with a tower that was part of an earlier building dating from View over the port-city of Bergen, Norway Between Bergen and Oslo, the group undertook a famous 2-day excursion known as Norway in a Nutshell which they found incredibly enjoyable; they took the main-line train from Bergen to Voss, travelled by coach down through the mountains to Gudvangen at the head of a deep narrow arm of the Sogne Fiord which is the longest fiord in the world, took a spectacular ferry trip from there around and into another one of its narrow arms to the village of Flam at its head, and, after a night in the historic Fretheim Hotel there, they travelled on the famous Flåmsbana, a spectacular 20.2 km-long railway line up the Flamdalen valley to Myrdal 863 metres higher, on the main train line between Bergen and Oslo. Here, they took the express train over the hight country to Norway s capital. The tour of Oslo next day took in the Royal Palace, Frederiksborg Castle, the National theatre, City Hall, Cathedral, Parliament, Frogner Park with the famous and confronting Vigeland Sculptures, and the Viking Ship and Kon-Tiki Museums located on the Bygdoy Peninsula in Oslo s Harbour. From Oslo, the party returned home to Sydney via Bangkok. The group in Norway's mountains

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