The Pig-Duck, Helsinki

Join me journey across the Nordics by land, air & sea*.

Five countries in twenty five days. Not as rushed as it would appear to be. Pace, budget, time, mine & mine alone.

Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway/ (Estonia) – have a natural, cultural & historical homogeneity. What makes it easy cakewalk is the widespread knowledge & use of the English language. These are a practical people. The world neither speaks nor understands Norwegian, Danish, Finnish or Swede. They, must therefore learn the world’s language – English. And boy do they speak !

Of handsome lineage, the average Norse is tall, bony, light eyed & blonde. Not dumb. Never (jokes apart). If he does not willingly smile or look you in the eye, the problem is not yours but partially his, for he is naturally shy. Shy, reserved & taciturn. One rarely comes across public displays of affection & emotion or even two strangers engaged in conversation. Which is not to suggest that the Scandinavian is aloof or rude. Far from it. He is a congenial fellow who will step out to help & engage. His native speech is riddled with tongue twister words & unpronounceable place names, not polite ones like ‘please’ or ’thank you.’ Terse perhaps, not rude. Remember, he was a Viking not very long ago. A warrior, hunter, seafarer. Out of the woods only now. The sauna’s the only place where he may perhaps let down his hair. Then it is back to basics.

Denmark, Norway & Sweden boast the world’s highest per capita income. A cashless economy, Kroner is king with neither dollar nor euro commanding much respect. Scandinavia tops the world happiness index. Bhutan literally a poor second, which in itself is telling. Minimalism is the key to this happiness. Tipping a strict no – no. Not even to the cabbie.

The Swedes have ‘Fika’ & Norwegians/Danes their ‘hugge.’ Pronounced as in sugar. While fika may be described as the simple pleasure of eating a sweet along with coffee, ( fika breaks are common) ‘hugge’ is impossible to accurately translate. Lets just say that it is a sense of perfect well-being. Happiness derived out of little. Less is therefore More. Imagine food & drink, friends & tales & a small group snuggled around a fire while a cold wintry wind blows outdoors. That’s where ‘hugge’ comes from. Its a national obsession & the raison d’etre of existence.

Like the rest of Europe Scandinavia too has beautiful churches. Devoid of churchgoers too. Whether there be a God or not is nobody’s concern. One does not even hear the clanging of church bells. With the odd exception, weddings take place in the town hall. A funeral service perhaps but that is few & far between.

For a person who cannot otherwise walk 2 steps without gasping I was averaging 10 -15 kms a day & feeling completely energized. Pure clean air: everyone’s right. It was pristine because people wanted it that way & took care to see that it was. People were pleasant & nice ‘cos that’s how they wished to be. ‘They work towards it,’ was my thought. Without any kind of supervision or enforcement. No signs of squeamishness either. It’s a free society in the truest sense & completely trust based. One buys a ticket & gets onto the tram, ferry, train or bus. Without checks or controls. Not even automated ones like stiles. Random checking happens but it is perfunctory.

The Nordics in many ways are a mark & cut above western Europe. With 20 – 24 hours of  daylight in summer, much can & does get done. Besides, travel is easy, hassle free and stress free, with no fear of mugging or pick pocketing. Above all everything just works & falls into place.

That said, mishaps do occur. And no trip of mine is known to be complete without one. Of my own making mostly, I am so organized that I tend to become disorganized. Departing Oslo early one morning I readied (so I thought) the ‘travel – card’ to make it easily available in case of need but began fumbling soon after when the airport shuttle arrived. Euro 7 had to be paid but the card was not to be seen. Paid by cash eventually the card with Euro 2000 had to be found. I thought of having it blocked but called up the hotel just in case I had lost or forgotten it there. Five minutes later I am informed that it was found lying on the floor of the lobby where I was waiting & that it would be delivered to me in 10 minutes at most. I was to wait at the very spot where I had disembarked. The incident is remarkable at several levels. Not only had I once again emerged unscathed but it was wholly as expected. In perfect sync with Nordic character that places a premium on honesty & probity & displays it in abundance.

Note that I have not called it budget friendly. For it is not. Scandinavia is expensive. But if you have the money go & spend it. Just go!

Talinn Estonia

Opera House, Oslo

 

Twisted Torso, Malmo Sweden

(For the record, this trip could not have been the smooth sailing it was without the aid of the following Apps:

 

GPS My City

VY

HSL

DSB

SJ

VR Mobile

FlixBus

XE

ToGo

Iceland & Scandinavia Travel Tips ( Facebook group)

And most importantly www.seat61.com. Thank you Man on Seat 61. The inputs provided were, as always, invaluable.)

 

* Route/Via

Delhi-Helsinki-Delhi (Air)

Helsinki-Rovaniemi-Helsinki (Air)

Helsinki-Oslo-Helsinki(Air)

 

Oslo-Copenhagen (Ferry)

Helsingør – Helsingborg (Ferry)

Flam – Balestrand – Bergen (Ferry)

Helsinki – Tallinn – Helsinki (Ferry)

 

Copenhagen – Malmo (Train)

Copenhagen – Helsingor (Train)

Helsingborg – Gothenburg (Train)

Gothenburg – Oslo (Bus)

Oslo – Myrdal (Train)

Bergen – Oslo (Train)

 

Elsinore, Denmark: Fish out the rubble