Northern Europe in Winter

[SecondAttempt]

We'll be in Tallin Estonia for Christmas markets this year. Any suggestions for further adventures?

We may also have 3-4 free days in Stockholm because of family scheduling issues. Any suggestions for excursions? Currently weighing Olso and Helsinki but open to ideas. Lived in Sweden and spent a lot of time in Stockholm.

 

[Zona]

For your free days in Stockholm, are you looking to get out of Stockholm? If so, you might try taking the ferry from Nynäshamn (south of Stockholm) to Visby on Gotland, if you've never been there. Very cool & well-preserved historic walled city with a wonderful history as a hub of the Hanseatic League. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of Christmas market or other Holiday events there as well.

I know you said you'd already spent a lot of time in Stockholm, but if you've never done the Stadshuset (City Hall) guided tour, that is one thing I'd highly recommend. We were showing some photos of the Gold Room (where the walls are tiled in 1920s-era gold mosaics) to our Swedish relatives who live in Stockholm and they asked "where is that?" -- they'd never heard of it or even seen it.

Enjoy your time in Tallinn -- we visited 8 years ago for 2 nights and wish we'd given ourselves more time there. Be sure to stop in the Ill Draakon medieval restaurant for one of the ginormous ox ribs.

 

[SecondAttempt]

For your free days in Stockholm, are you looking to get out of Stockholm? If so, you might try taking the ferry from Nynäshamn (south of Stockholm) to Visby on Gotland, if you've never been there. Very cool & well-preserved historic walled city with a wonderful history as a hub of the Hanseatic League. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of Christmas market or other Holiday events there as well.

I know you said you'd already spent a lot of time in Stockholm, but if you've never done the Stadshuset (City Hall) guided tour, that is one thing I'd highly recommend. We were showing some photos of the Gold Room (where the walls are tiled in 1920s-era gold mosaics) to our Swedish relatives who live in Stockholm and they asked "where is that?" -- they'd never heard of it or even seen it.

Enjoy your time in Tallinn -- we visited 8 years ago for 2 nights and wish we'd given ourselves more time there. Be sure to stop in the Ill Draakon medieval restaurant for one of the ginormous ox ribs.

Wow, you are so on point!

Visby is on my bucket list and does indeed have a good Christmas market I hear but my partner has veto-ed it this trip. She does not like the idea of a boat in the winter.

We did the City Hall tour last summer and it was awesome. But, the Nobel banquet will be there during our stay so I'm thinking it may not be open. Still waiting for my invitation by the way!

III Draakon is on the list for Tallin. We'll be there with a Swedish friend who has been there many times so I think we will have a great guide.

Part of our trip will be in the far north of Sweden, above the artic circle in Kiruna. We balked on staying at the Icehotel, not so much for the price although it was extreme, but because they chase you out of the room very early and my partner did not like the idea of a supercold room. Can't really say I disagree to be honest! But we plan some snowmobiling and dogsledding!

I have strong ties to Sweden with friends and "family" there. Family is in quotes because they are not blood relatives but people I lived with in the past and I am extremely close with. There was a sudden change in a family member's plans (she wants to spend an early Christmas with her first great grandchild, completely understandable) but it leaves us with 3 days of no plans so I am considering side trips to Helsinki or Oslo. I'd like to visit both but summer would probably be better.

 

[Zona]

We did the City Hall tour last summer and it was awesome. But, the Nobel banquet will be there during our stay so I'm thinking it may not be open. Still waiting for my invitation by the way!

Haha, I didn't think of that. Yes I imagine the Nobel banquet will interfere with anyone wanting to see the interior of the Stadshuset in December. Priorities.

We were only in Helsinki for 1 night so I can't speak much to that location, but Oslo was very interesting especially for a first-timer. With 3 days you could visit all the museums your heart desired. We especially liked the Fram museum (I am fascinated by the Amundsen expedition and DH has family ties to that ship via a Swedish relative). Viking Ship museum was good too. One of the nicest spots in summer was Vigeland Park, but in the middle of winter it may not be so pleasant. We did a tour of the Radhus (city hall) interior which was unexpectedly beautiful, but you might run into Nobel problems again trying to tour in December since that's where the Peace prize gets awarded. If you're not museumed-out after a day or two, the National Gallery has many works of art worth seeing in addition to the Scream. Eight years ago there was a 48-hour Oslo pass that included transit and museum admissions and was a good deal for us.

Nice that you will be going up to Kiruna. That is on our list next time we are over there, but we will likely go there in summertime. We watch the Luciamorgon broadcast on SVT (via the internet) every year and they always have beautiful footage of wide expanses of snow. It looks gorgeous, and hopefully you'll see some aurora, too. Have a great trip!

 

[NgineER]

If you would like to visit Visby, you could fly from Stockholm (BMA) to Visby. It is a 40-minute flight at about $150 RT, Bromma airport is 20-30 minutes with public transit or taxi from Stockholm T-central.
It sounds like you'll have a nice adventure hopefully with some northern lights and plenty of snow.

 

[EarlyandLate]

Uppsala is worth a day trip if you have not been there. Just a commuter train from Stockholm. The cathedral is fantastic. The university has the Gustavium, a surprisingly good small museum, Universitätshuset and Carolinarediviva where you can see rare books and manuscripts. Pop over to Saluhallen for food and have coffee and pastry at Ofvandahls, a slightly threadbare cafe little changed from Victorian times. There are nice artisan shops for handmade traditional Swedish goods. Everything is easy walking distance. You can skip the Slott. There's really nothing there, but the view is nice.

 

[SecondAttempt]

We watch the Luciamorgon broadcast on SVT (via the internet) every year and they always have beautiful footage of wide expanses of snow. It looks gorgeous, and hopefully you'll see some aurora, too. Have a great trip!

Thanks. We also watch the Lucia broadcast every year. This year we'll be attending at St. Catherine's church in Stockholm. It's not the one broadcast on SVT but it is one of the big ones in Stockholm.

We went to Uppsala last summer. The family members we will visit are a "neice" in Stockholm with a sister in Uppsalla so it's in the realm of possibilities. As I mentioned, I used to live there so minor city details are not a big deal.

I appreciate the advice though!

 

[SecondAttempt]

Got our tickets for the Lucia presentation at Katarinas Kyrka today. They sold out in less than an hour but we'll be attending with a good friend and his family so it will be a great experience!

Also found the likely motorcade route from the Nobel ceremony at the consert hall in Hotorget to the city hall so maybe do some royal watching.

Otherwise might do some things we've never done like the Abba museum, Nordic museum, and dance museum plus Christmas markets at stortorget in Gamla Stan, Kungenstradgard, and the Royal Stables. With being there during Nobel Week it is turning into an adventure!