Scandinavia: My Grand Adventure (I Wish)

My Grand Adventure is ready. I’ve spent far too much time on this, but I actually love looking up trips and fantasising about travels abroad so entering this competition from moneysupermarket.com has been a great medicine for me while I try to save money by staying put.

Scandinavia is ridiculously under rated and under discovered by Brits, in my opinion. Outside of any travel blogger friends I have I don’t actually know anyone who’s visited either Sweden, Norway or Denmark. I’d love to pop into Finland too. It’s relatively close, filed with adventure and stocked packed with delicious food and drink opportunities.

I went to Oslo for a long weekend in May last year, and really loved it. At the end of the first day I knew I’d be back to explore the rest of Norway. I’d love to see Scandinavia overland – whizzing by on trains is my favourite way to travel. As I work full time any grand adventure I have would have to around two week’s long – plenty of time to get up to some mischief though…

The plan…

Copenhagen, Denmark (2 nights)

Accommodation £15 x 2 = £30

Check out the medieval streets and canals – hopefully make a cool video documenting it.

• Walk down Strøget
• Visit Nyhavn Harbour
• See Tivoli
• See The Little Mermaid
• Gefion Fountain
• Royal Palace Amalienborg

Train to Stockholm (5 hours 10 and £87.50)

Stockholm, Sweden (2 nights)

Accommodation £15 x 2 = £30

• Vasa Museum
• Skansen Open Air Museum
• City Hall
• The Old Town (Gamla Stan)

Train from Stockholm to Oslo (6 hours in the afternoon £67.50) 15:25 to 21:24

Oslo, Norway (1 night)

Accommodation £22 x 1 = £22

• Revisit Akker Brygge
• Go out in Grunnerlokka
• Check out the weekend markets and bric a brac shops

Get the 5-hour train from Oslo to Myrdal on the Bergen Railway.

Myrdal and Flam (1 night)

• See the Hardangervidda Mountain Plateau in Myrdal
• Change to the Flåm Railway, connecting the Bergen Line to the Sognefjord.
• Enjoy the mountain scenery with waterfalls and steep mountain sides before reaching the fjord village of Flåm.
• Go hiking in Flam.

Bergen (1 night) 

Bergen YMCA Hostel £21 = £21

• Take a 2-hour fjord cruise on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List Nærøyfjord to Gudvangen.
• From Gudvangen take the bus through Nærøyfjord Valley and up the Stalheimskleiva (including the 13 steep hairpin bends).
• Take the train from Voss to Bergen, which is surrounded by 7 mountains and 7 fjords.
• Photograph the wooden houses and narrow streets.
• Stroll along Bryggen Wharf then go to Mount Fløyen with Fløibanen funicular for a spectacular view of the city.
• Go to the Fish and Flower Market.

Fly from Bergen to Bodo – £87 and 1 hour.

Bodo (1 night)

• Relax until I board the cruise.

Bodo round to Kirkenes £282 3 days cruise 2 night’s accommodation.

Cruise (2 nights)

• See the Northern Lights out at sea
• Experience life at sea
• Ends in Kirkenes

Kirkenes (1 night)

• Relax and recuperate admiring the beautiful scenery

Kirkenes to Ivalo by train 4 hrs 30

Ivalo to Rovaniemi by train (3 hours away)

Rovaniemi (2 nights)

Accommodation £25 x 2 = £50

• Dog sledding
• Beautiful views
• Build a snowman

Rovaniemi to Helsinki

Helsinki (2 nights)

Accommodation £17 x 2 = £34

• Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress
• Senate Square
• Parliament building
• Finlandia Hall
• Sibelius Monument
• Temppeliaukio Church (Rock Church)

Show me the money!

This trip is expensive – the reason many people don’t travel to Scandinavia – and I wouldn’t be able to afford it on my wage. The £1,000 prize money for this competition would go a long way to pursuing this Grand Adventure and covering all the transport costs to get from one country to the next, as well as paying all the hostel stays. I’ll stay in dorms and eat noodles to save even more. Wish me luck!

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