Am always confused when to use Scandinavia and Nordic. As Googled, the term “Scandinavia” is commonly used for Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The term “Nordic countries” is used unambiguously for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.

[please read here for our Iceland trip https://wp.me/p6Rls5-nd and Denmark’s Copenhagen https://wp.me/p6Rls5-ou ]

Curious about Helsinki, we ventured into the city less than 100 kms North of Tallinn easily reachable via a 2 hour ferry ride which cost €68 for the three of us. It was a nice trip in a big 9 level boat (ship maybe). First 3 levels for vehicles and the other levels comprised 2 levels of restaurant (there’s Burger King & Starbucks!), a bar, and cabins (who would want to stay in a cabin for 2 hrs when you can be out on the deck enjoying the sea wind?)

It was a smooth ride, we barely even noticed we’re docked already.

From the port, we took a tram to the city for our hotel.

An amazing check in experience greeted us in our apartment. The place that we’ve checked in directed us to a safe box with codes. Upon opening the safe box, there is an envelope with instructions together with the key. I thought the building that we went into is where our apartment is located. The instructions led us to another building which we have to locate and ensure that the key fits – it’s like an episode out of the Amazing Race! Thankfully we were able to locate the right apartment building in the correct building 😊 The apartment was very nice – bed, kitchen, oven, dishwasher and washing machine for an affordable price! For those who know me (self confessed practical cheapskate – when I say affordable, IT IS 😅). Look at the video I took and see for yourself.

Read on for the places we visited.

• Uspenski Cathedral

The massive, red cathedral sits upon a hillside overlooking the city. It is the main cathedral of the Finnish Orthodox Church in the diocese of Helsinki and is claimed to be the largest orthodox church in Western Europe.

• Helsinki Cathedral

With it’s close ties with Russia, this church was originally built from 1830-1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.

A distinctive landmark in the Helsinki cityscape, capped with green dome surrounded by four smaller domes, the building is an imposing structure with 50 steps (yes, I counted).

What’s striking about this church is that with its imposing exteriors, the inside is very simple – totally unexpected with its grandiose facade. The church’s plan is a Greek cross – a square centre and four equilateral arms.

• Suomnelinna

The highlight in Helsinki for me is Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage site popular with tourists and locals alike. This island fortress, one of the largest in the world is accessible via 15-minute ferry ride.

At €5 per adult and half the price for youth below 17 yrs, visiting the place is a steal.

Suomenlinna has always been much more than just a part of Helsinki — it is a town within the town. Find it hard to believe there are about 900 permanent inhabitants on the islands, and 350 people work there year-round.

Stunning Stockholm

An hour flight from Helsinki and 20 minute Express train ride from the airport, we are in Stockholm central station. 1.5km from the station is our hotel – where we had a very wonderful stay. Scandic Anglais is about 1.5 kms from Gamla Stan (Old Town), the gym was an unexpected addition to our stay but what made the stay exceptional was the buffet breakfast at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant. Given the choices for breakfast – breads, yogurts, beans, eggs, bacon, cheeses, cold cuts, fruits and pastries – I’d say our stay here is value for money 👌. Later learned that Sweden is home of the smörgåsbord, the original buffet – so i think this generous spread is just the usual for them.

With a very full stomach, we ventured into the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace of Stockholm is His Majesty The King’s official residence and is also the setting for most of the monarchy’s official receptions.

The ticket allows access to the complex – Tre Kronor Palace, Royal Apartments, the Treasury (no pictures allowed) and Museum of Antiquities.

King Gustav III, who had a keen interest in art and antiquities, purchased several of the museum’s sculptures during a journey to Italy at the end of the 1700s. His collection of over 200 sculptures are showcased in the Museum of Antiquities as shown below.

Stockholm Cathedral or Church of St. Nicholas is the oldest church in the Old Town.

Because of its proximity to the earlier royal castle and the present royal palace it has frequently been the site of major events in Swedish history, such as coronations, royal wedding and royal funerals

We also visited St. Eric’s Cathedral. The church takes its name from Saint Eric, the 12th-century king of Sweden who, having been slain by a Danish prince, came to be regarded as a martyr and the patron saint of Stockholm.

Djurgården is another place of interest in Stockholm. It is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, yacht harbours, and extensive stretches of forest and meadows. It is one of the Stockholmers’ favorite recreation areas and tourist destinations alike.

Along the way go the garden, you can also pass by Nordic Museum and ABBA Museum 👌

Ranked #1 in Human Development Index, Oslo

We were expecting it’s going to be super cold here but surprisingly, Oslo was the warmest city for this trip – registering 24C on our first day.

We arrived too early for check in so we left our luggages and went to Akershus Fortress. It is a a medieval castle that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for Oslo. The castle has also been used as a military base, and is today a museum, open to the public for free.

After spending an hour in the fortress, went to the Royal Palace. Situated at the top of Karl Johans gate, this is home to HM King Harald V and HM Queen Sonja.

We were not able to go inside though and was told the museum will open on May 22 😞

Took a pic of the palace though and ran a couple of days in the vicinity.

The Viking Ship museum is a good place to visit when in Oslo. It is a 20 minute tram ride from National theater station.

The museum is most famous for the completely whole Oseberg ship (gloriously huge!) excavated from the largest known ship burial in the world. It also houses Gokstad ship and Tune ship. The museum likewise display sledges, beds, a horse cart, wood carving, tent components, buckets and other grave goods found from the burial ships.

Paying a visit to the city’s cathedral is like a tradition for ua when in a new city. Oslo is of course not an exception. The Oslo Cathedral is unique such that the altar is 3D like.

The highlight of our Oslo trip for me is visiting the town of Drøbak. It can be reached by train, bus or via the scenic ferry route. Chose the scenic route so it gives us a chance to do a fjord trip too. It was a pleasant 1.5 hr calm ferry ride.

Drøbak is a popular sea-side tourist spot known for its many art galleries. Most of the City Centre is being protected by local laws which means that it has a significant cultural value and cannot be changed or rebuilt. Thus, much of the city centre looks like it did 100 years ago.

Our main reason for going is to see Santa in Julehuset (the Christmas house) but apparently even Santa takes his day off on Labor day 😪

With Santa not in sight, we decided to go to Oscarsborg fortress which is a 10 minute ferry ride from Drobak. The fortress is best known for sinking the German heavy cruiser Blücher on 9 April 1940.

The fortress was a great place to spend an hour or two. There was a free historical museum onsite plus it offers a good easy hiking place.

Oslo was a great city to end our vacation – laid back, chill, a city which seems to never get crowded. It was also the most expensive city we’ve visited ( a cheeseburger meal from Burger King costs P600!). Perfect to set the pace when we go back to work in a couple of days – enough to get back in the grind to ensure we have moolah to pay for credit card bills 😂