Friday, January 17, 2014

My 2014 Nordic Adventure: From Start to Finnish

Hello, friends!

So I've made it back to Cambridge, and am currently sitting in the Gutman Library back at Harvard trying to put my life back together post-vacation.  I had a really wonderful time exploring the Nordic countries (the Finnish do not consider themselves "Scandinavian," so apparently my vacation hashtag was incorrect for my entire trip), and I've decided that the best way to document this trip is by creating my very own list of travel superlatives.  So here it is--the "best of" from my two weeks exploring Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark...enjoy!

Best Museum: Fram Museum (Oslo, Norway)

I actually almost skipped the Fram Museum, but Jan and Kristine insisted that it was super awesome and worth a visit...and they were totally right!  The Fram is a Norwegian ship with a long history in polar exploration; it was originally designed to the specifications of Fridtjof Nansen, who planned to reach the North Pole by jamming the ship into the ice north of Russia, and then basically waiting three years as the polar ice shelf moved the ship to the pole (it's worthwhile to note that no one else at this time believed the ice shelf was moving at all).  Although this plan didn't end up working, the Fram made it pretty damn close to the North Pole and then was also used on the Norwegian expedition that originally made it to the South Pole (fun fact).  At the museum, you can actually walk on and through the original ship and also learn about awesome Norwegian polar exploration history.

It's very difficult to take a picture of an entire boat from ten feet away...but I tried.  The Fram!
Runners-Up: Nobel Museum (Stockholm), Skansen (Stockholm), and the National Gallery (Copenhagen)

Best Meal: "Knut" Restaurant (Stockholm, Sweden)

Food is a huge part of what I enjoy about travel, and I spend a lot of energy (probably too much energy, to be frank) figuring out how to eat awesome food when I'm abroad.  My second night in Stockholm, I basically decided to just walk from my hostel in the opposite direction of the tourist areas, and found a great (albeit expensive, but everything's expensive) restaurant called "Knut."  I had a wonderful dinner of lamb with mint jus, then awesome traditional Swedish candies for dessert.  The other capitals I visited are also well-known for "New Nordic"cuisine (there are 13 Michelin stars in Copenhagen alone), but this was the best meal I experienced during my trip, by far.

I was too embarrassed to whip out my giant camera at Knut, so Swedish hot chocolate will have to do!
Runners-Up: Any Norwegian Breakfast, Hot Chocolate (Stockholm), Reindeer Sausage (Tromso)

Best Photographic Lighting: Turku and Helsinki (Finland)

The cities I visited in Finland were the only stops on my trip that weren't overcast, since it was way too cold there for cloudy weather.  The beautiful part about it, though, was that the sun never comes up very far off of the horizon ("high noon" there looks like about 4:00 PM here), so everything has this beautiful, magical winter glow.  The photo below was taken just as the sun was setting in Helsinki, probably around 3:00 PM.

Everything glows with the most beautiful light!
Runner-Up: Tromso (Norway)

Most Beautiful: Norway

I already discussed this ad nauseum in my previous blog post, but Norway might just be the most stunningly beautiful country I've ever visited, and the Huffington Post thinks so too.  The fjords, the Northern Lights, the people, and even the charming Oslo architecture...Norway really just can't be beat.

Tromso harbor.
Runner-Up: Stockholm (Sweden)...although it's really not even close.

Most Cost Effective: Finland (But only if you're a student!)

Everyone even remotely interested in education policy knows that Finland is known for its prominence in K-12 education, but I didn't have any idea how much I would sense this phenomenon during my short time there.  Although I didn't meet any Finnish teachers or even see an elementary school, it was clear throughout my visit how much Finland respects its students and the education system more broadly.  In addition to very generous support for college, students are treated very well in Finland more broadly: subsidized student housing, student museum admissions at about 2 euros, super discounted train and bus tickets, and there are even 2-3 euro student lunch buffets at all the universities (my price as a non-local student was 7 euros, which is also super reasonable by Nordic standards).

If you'd like to learn more about Finland (especially Finnish education), check out my friend Alistair's blog on his time there as a Fulbright this year!

A free activity in Finland!  I chillily enjoy Finnish design at the Turku Public Library.
Runner-Up: Just not applicable.

Best Airport: Copenhagen International Airport (Copenhagen, Denmark)

My travel book spoke AT LENGTH about how incredible Danish design is (the term "achingly efficient" may or may not have been used), and the airport is no exception.  It is hands-down the most beautiful airport I've ever visited (sorry, Singapore), and as I was walking through it I could actually feel myself making a resolution to fly through there as often as humanly possible (no joke).  What clinched CPH the title, however, was the fact that they have a legit H&M RIGHT THERE IN THE AIRPORT!  Is there a better way to spend time before a flight than shopping at H&M?  No, I don't think so.

ACTUAL H&M in the Copenhagen airport.  Yes, I looked like an idiot snapping this picture, but I did it for you, loyal readers!
Runner-Up: Oslo International Airport (Norway), which is also nice, I guess...but no H&M.

Best Mode of Transportation: Baltic Ferries (Stockholm, Sweden to Turku, Finland)

According to both my friend in Finland and my very wonderful travel book (shout-out to Lonely Planet), inter-country ferries are a Very Big Deal in the Baltic Region, specifically 24+ -hour booze cruise ferries, which are especially loved by the Finnish.  To experience this phenomenon, I decided to take an overnight ferry for my travels to Finland from Sweden, and for about 40 euros, I got a cabin to myself (although only because it was the low season--it was actually built for 4 people) and access to bars, restaurants, and a very large duty free on the ship.  Although I spent most of my time either sleeping or worrying about a repeat of the Titanic (I was on a steerage-esque level BELOW THE CAR DECK and the water looked very VERY cold), apparently most people spent the rest of their time shopping for booze; liquor is so expensive in the Nordic countries that people actually brought extra luggage rollers to move the CASES AND CASES of liquor they purchased off of the ship.  Great job, Finland.

Runner-Up: Swebus Buses (Oslo to Stockholm), but only for cost-effectiveness.

Place I'd Most Like to Live: Copenhagen, Denmark

Although I was in Copenhagen for less than a day, I got an inexplicably good vibe from the city, especially the people.  Everyone bicycles everywhere; it's got great architecture, design, and food; and people ACTUALLY SMILE AT STRANGERS ON THE STREET.  I have experienced this phenomenon relatively few places in Europe, and I found myself really, really liking it there.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure it would be so easy to justify Danish classes to my advisor as an academic necessity; otherwise, I'd be brushing up on my Danish in a heartbeat!  Looks like I'm just going to have to go back for another vacation sooner rather than later.

Interior of the GORGEOUS new opera house in Copenhagen.  As I was walking through, the best adjective I could think of to describe the space was "magical."

Runner-Up: Oslo (Norway)

All right, so that's it - my first vacation of 2014 in a nutshell.  Many more travels are in the works for the upcoming months, so stay tuned...and thanks so much for reading!

Dara

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Dara's Mythbusters: Norwegian Stereotypes Edition

Greetings, Dara's Travel Blog readers, from a bus driving through the Swedish countryside!  I've just finished up a truly wonderful week in Norway, and instead of my usual blog post style (I did this, then I did that, etc etc etc), I decided to take some time to debunk (or reinforce) some of the most widespread stereotypes regarding this fine country.  Keep in mind that my reflections here are based on exactly 7 days of Norwegian experience (5 in Oslo and 2 in Tromsø) that might be entirely non-representative of the country at large...basically just take them with a grain of salt!

Stereotype #1: Norway is sad, cold, dark, and depressing in the winter.

Dara's Take: Pretty false. While I totally thought it would be terrible weather-wise here, it has been totally reasonable, with most temperatures in the 30s and 40s both in Oslo and up north (warm water from the Caribbean keeps the Norwegian Arctic relatively warm).  As far as light goes, although I have seen the sun for approximately 2 minutes total over the last week, the darkness really hasn't been too bad; in Tromsø, where the sun never comes up in the winter, there is the most beautiful blue light during what would be the "day" anywhere else, which was very delightful in itself (see photo below).  It is also worthwhile to note that while I was hanging out in the Arctic Circle at temperatures hovering just around freezing, the entire US was apparently absolutely miserable.  Norway FTW.


Winter light in Tromsø, Norway.  Although I of course edit my photos, I assure you that the sky and mountains were ACTUALLY THIS COLOR during my visit.  Unreal.
 Stereotype #2: Norway is extremely expensive.

Dara's Take: Way too true.  Although I've definitely lived in some expensive places before (see: summers in Singapore and the UK), Norway has to take the cake on this one.  On Saturday night, I actually spent 300 NOK (about $50) on two kebabs and two beers (not all for me, I promise).  While the kebab was, in fact, very delicious, I spent the next two days eating bread and cheese so I could get over the trauma of it all.  Mind you, the Norwegians do cheese pretty well, but still.


An incredibly delicious dinner of reindeer sausage (the other red meat?), potatoes, onions, and mustard.  Super great...but $25.  Sigh.
Stereotype #3: Norwegians are all tall, blonde, and beautiful.

Dara's Take: At least partially false.  While I expected to blend into a sea of blondness during my time here, there's definitely a lot more physical diversity than I was expecting (although there are more blonds per capita than pretty much any other place I've visited, I'm pretty sure).  In terms of height, Jan assured me repeatedly that I'm pretty average for women here, although I still have some lingering doubts about this one.  And, lastly, as far as the beauty bit goes, I've heard it's in the eye of the beholder, so I'll leave it up to you to judge on your next Scandinavian adventure :)


Perhaps my tall friends have skewed my perspective on Scandinavian height...Jan, Kristine, and I at the Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Ski Museum outside of Oslo.  It was a really foggy day so you can't see the jump at all, but it's there, I promise!
Stereotype #4: Norwegians love Norway.

Dara's take: seems pretty true to me!  Everywhere I went, I learned from everyone how awesome Norway is, be it in terms of Viking history, environmentalism and sustainability, or dominance in globally under-appreciated winter sports.  Honestly, after a week here I can't really blame anyone for espousing Norway's virtues...it is a really wonderful place!  It's worthwhile to note, however, that people here (at least where I've been) are not overtly patriotic like we are in the States; you won't see tons of flags or other in-your-face displays of patriotism like I've seen in many other countries.


Fun fact: the discovery of this (and other) historic Viking ships at the beginning of the 20th century helped to justify Norway's separation from Sweden by building a clear Norwegian cultural identity around Viking history.  Today, it's mostly just cool that this ship is almost 1000 years old!
Stereotype #5: Norway is beautiful.

Dara's take: incredibly true.  Although I probably saw less than 1% of the beauty of this country, I was overwhelmed by how gorgeous it was, especially in the north.  Although of course I knew what a fjord was before I came (thank you, Hitchhiker's Guide), I had no idea how beautiful they would be in person.  Adrienne once told me that the reason Mt. Ranier is so impressive is that it shoots straight up from sea level; the fjords here are like that, although multiplied over and over again, since most of the fjords have mountains on every side.  It's incredible.


I actually took this picture of the Northern Lights.  Enough said.
So that's all, folks!  I'm in Stockholm until Sunday evening, then a few days in Finland and Denmark on my way home next week.  Let me know if you have any requests for gifts, fun facts, etc, and I shall do my best to oblige!

Dara

PS:  I know that the white highlighting above looks stupid, but Blogger freaked out when I tried to paste special characters from Microsoft Word.  The copy and layout editor inside me is cringing, don't worry...