Scandinavia

Trip Date: April 2002

I know it might seem strange that I am starting my outdoor blog with a post about an overseas trip, but there's a couple of reasons for that.  The first reason is that I had already planned to include some of my international travel on this blog, and since this was my first major trip, I needed to have it on here.  Secondly, I wanted to keep my blog in  chronological order starting with the earliest adventures and since this was over ten years ago now I needed to get it out of the way!  Don't worry, we'll get to the outdoor stuff soon enough!

In high school we were presented with the possibility of going on an overseas trip as part of a global learning experience.  The ten-day trip was happening over the spring break in 2002, my Grade 12 year.  At first I wasn't really interested in going.  The thought of travelling that far did not appeal to me at the time and, on top of that, very few of my closest friends were going, but my parents, who had traveled internationally before, insisted it would be a great experience.  Am I ever glad that I listened to them that time!  Not counting the USA, this was my first international trip, and definitely my first overseas.  After a lot of fundraising, thanks again to my parents for always helping out, I finally had enough money saved to go.  

Kurtis, Me, and Mike in the Regina airport

Some of our group waiting to board the plane

Devon, Jen, and Christine in the Winnipeg airport during one of our layovers

   Copenhagen, Denmark

The first country on our tour was Denmark.  Officially known as the Kingdom of Denmark, it is located in northern Europe and is part of the European Union.  We would be spending all of our time in the capital city of Copenhagen, which is also the largest city in the country.  Denmark has a population of about 5.6 million people, while Copenhagen has just over half a million inhabitants.  The official language is Danish and the country has an area of 42,915 square-kilometres.  Denmark also has two autonomous constituent countries in the north Atlantic Ocean; Greenland and the Faroe Islands.  

Denmark (small), Faroe Islands (circled), and Greenland (large)

Ansgar Hotel in Copenhagen

The girls from Bus #1

The boys from Bus #1

One of the first places we visited was Kronborg Castle, located in the town of Helsingør, which is northeast of Copenhagen.  The castle's history dates back to the 1420's when it was a fortress built by Danish king, Eric of Pomerania.  Between 1574 and 1585 Frederick II, another King of Denmark, rebuilt the fortress to a magnificent castle.  The castle was opened to the public in 1938 and in 2000 was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list, due to its importance as a Renaissance castle in northern Europe.  

Kronborg Castle

One of the towers

This tower has a clock

The castle's dungeon

The seawall that wraps around the castle

 Fredensborg Palace is the Danish royal family's spring and autumn residence.  It is located on the eastern shore of Lake Esrum in the town of Fredensborg.  Construction on the palace started in 1720 and wasn't completed until 1753.  It is the most used of the royal family's residences.  

Fredensborg Palace

The palace gardens

A group of us in the gardens

The entire group on the back steps of the palace

Frederik's Church or more commonly known as the Marble Church in Copenhagen

Rundetårn, or the Round Tower, was built as an astronomical observatory

Copenhagen

The Little Mermaid Statue.  It has become a major tourist attraction since its unveiling in 1913.

The Nyhavn is a 17th-century waterfront, canal, and entertainment district

Amalienborg Palace is the winter home of the Danish royal family.  Amalienborg is a series of four different palaces within one complex.  Construction started in 1750 and was completed in 1760.  

Amalienborg Palace

The palace is guarded day and night by the Royal Life Guards

Mimicking the guards

He was a good sport about everything!

Chris and one of the guards

Amaliehaven is a garden located between the palace and the waterfront and was a gift to the citizens of Copenhagen

The ship that would take us from Denmark to Norway

Trekroner Sea Fort sits at the entrance of the Copenhagen harbour

   Oslo, Norway

Like Denmark, Norway is officially known as the Kingdom of Norway and is located in northern Europe.  Unlike Denmark, Norway is not part of the European Union.  Norway has just over 5 million people and its capital city, Oslo, has just under 625,000 people.  The official language is Norwegian and the country is 385,186 square-kilometres.  We were only in Oslo for one night so, unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of the city.  

Norway

Anker Hotel in Oslo

Oslo's City Hall

The Viking Ship Museum in Bygdøy, a peninsula in Oslo.  This is the Oseberg Viking Ship.  

One of many sculptures in Frogner Park as part of the Vigeland Sculpture Arrangment that resides there

Vigeland's "Angry Boy" statue

It looks like Devon found himself a hot date!

   Stockholm, Sweden

 After Oslo our next stop was in Stockholm, Sweden.  Just like the previous two countries, Sweden is also officially known as the Kingdom of Sweden.  It is also in northern Europe and is part of the European Union.  The official language is Swedish and with an area of 450,295 square-kilometres is the third largest country, by size, in the European Union.  Sweden has a population of about 9.5 million and the capital city of Stockholm has about 872,000 people.  

Sweden (dark green) as part of the European Union (light green)

The Welcome Hotel in Stockholm

Nordic Museum

Stockholm's City Hall

The golden room in City Hall features 18 million gold mosaic tiles

The Royal Palace is the official residence of the Swedish Monarch.  Construction started in 1697 and wasn't completed until 1760.  

Järnpojken, or the Iron Boy, is one of the smallest statues in Stockholm and was built in 1967

Stockholm's coastline

The coastline around Stockholm

The ship that would take us from Sweden to Finland

    Helsinki, Finland

Our last destination was Helsinki, Finland.  Officially known as the Republic of Finland, it is situated in northern Europe and is part of the European Union.  The official languages are Finnish and Swedish and the country comprises 338,424 square-kilometres of land.  There is approximately 5.4 million people living in Finland and the capital city of Helsinki has just over 605,000 inhabitants.  

Finland (dark green) as part of the European Union (light green)

Helsinki's coastline as seen from our ship

The Ava Hotel in Helsinki

Czarina's Stone is a large monument in the centre of Market Square and was erected in 1835

The Helsinki Cathedral stands above Senate Square and was built in 1852

WKC on the steps to the cathedral

The Sibelius Monument is a tribute to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.  The monument was unveiled in 1967.

Temppeliaukio Church, or Church of the Rock, is a Lutheran church excavated and built directly out of solid rock

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is built on six different islands

One of the cannons at the site

Vesikko Submarine docked on one of the islands

Karin and Yorick our tour guides for the previous ten days

On the way home we had a one-night layover in Paris.  Since we arrived later in the evening we didn't get to see much of the city, but we did go on a driving tour and were able to stop at the Eiffel Tower for a few photos.  

Me with the Eiffel Tower

Devon, Dana, Christine, and I at the top of the Eiffel Tower

As you can see the ten-day trip was pretty full-on.  We were exhausted at the end of each day and we'd seen as much as possible in the time we had.  I had an absolutely amazing time on the trip and was looking forward to returning to Europe at some point in the future.  I am so happy I went on this trip instead of opting out like I had originally intended to do!