Conference turris::scandia

    Well, tell us a little about what you like. I have been all over
    Scandianavia, but different people different interests. 
    
    Peter
    

    If you're taking a personal poll, I'll register my favorite as the
    Swedish west coast -- anywhere, from Varberg to Str�mstad!

    
    I like the waters, boating, seeing the Fjords and the small waterside
    villages and larger towns  and of course...Oslo.
    
    I have spent most of my time in Southern Norway in the Kristiansand
    and Arendal Area...as I lived in Arendal briefly and go back to
    
    visit relatives in that area.    However I have not seen places
    to the west...such as Stavanger, Bergen (only the airport) nor
    have I been to any other countries such as Sweden, or Finland.
    
    What I am interested in is hearing about some nice places to enjoy
    the scenary, the quiet , culture, and also the nightlife.
    
    I would like to explore other areas of Scandinavia but I have a
    hard time deciding where I would like to go.  I find that the
    travel agents locally are not very knowledgeable with regards to
    Scandinavia and "things to do and see".  (Often they don't know
    how to get you there either!... but thats another story..)
    
    I would greatly appreciate your thoughts & opinions!
    
    regards....Karin

    When I have heard of Sweden it is usually only in regards to
    Stockholm.   Some good , some not so good.
    
    I would be very interested in hearing about the West coast of 
    Sweden!  It is also so close to Denmark!    What did you like
    about that area?  What kinds of things did you do / see...
    and where did you stay?
    
    Karin

    Well if you like waterways and boating, you should definitely check
    out the Swedish west coast. This coast is riddled with many inlets,
    like fjords but on a smaller scale. There is some resemblance to
    the rock-bound coast of Maine (if you've been there). Lots of nice
    bare rock for sunbathing. There are places where you can see
    prehistoric rock paintings (H�llristning). 
    
    When I was there, over 20 years ago, there were lots of people
    vacationing in tents. But I was with a family that had a small cottage
    situated so that you could look out and see rock (without visible
    water) for as far as the eye could see. I also visted a marine biology
    laboratory (Lysekil, as recall), went to concerts and dances, and went
    moose-watching in the hills near V�nersborg.  On the west coast in
    August there was always somebody ready to have good time. [Swedes
    know how to make the most of a short summer and the west coast is
    a primary place they do it!]
    

    Neil,
    
    It sounds wonderful!  I will certainly investigate it when I'm making
    my travel plans next time!  
    
    Thanks! 
    
    Ps..  Are you of Swedish decent?
    

    If you come to the Swedish West coast you must visit the second
    largerst city G�teborg (Gothenburg). It was the main port of Sweden
    during the 19th century and there are lot of intresting museums
    and places to visit. You can also find Liseberg, Swedens largest
    amusement park in Sweden. 
    
    (If decide to go there I can give you more detailed information)
    
    From G�teborg it's possible to take the boat to Denmark, it takes
    about 3-4 hours and then you can easily continue to Skagen, the
    famous coast where many painters lived during the end of the 19th
    century.
    
    You can also visit Copenhagen in Denmark. Scandinavia's largest
    city with a lot of things to do.
    
    If you like to see some nature I can recommend Bohusl�n (the west
    coast north of G�teborg) where you can see some fantastic scenery.
    It's also possible to go to V�sterg�tland (West of G�teborg) which
    is my favourite landscape in Sweden.
    
    (Sweden is 2500 km long so there is a lot more...)
    
    Paul.

>>    I would like to hear about some "favorite" places to visit
>>    while in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland...
    

	If you are interested in seeing Iceland, there is a really
fantastic, day-long bus tour from Reykjavik which will show you
a lot of the countryside and also some waterfalls and geysers. I
recommend it, if you have the time.

	As far as things to do in Finland, there are cruises from
Stockholm (and other Swedish cities, I'm sure) which go to Finland.
My personal favorite things to do in Finland are: shopping and
touring in Helsinki (there is an endless number of things to do there),
and taking boat rides down the connecting lakes in the center of Finland.
    

					-Maja
    

    re .7: 
    
    >(Sweden is 2500 km long so there is a lot more...)
    
    I always knew that you Swedes are good in exaggerating, but this
    much...?   :-)
    
    How about something like 1600 km?
    

    Thank you for the colorful information about Goteborg and the
    surrounding areas!  I think it sounds wonderful, and I will
    most definatley investigate it further.  
    
    I also find the accessibility to Denmark via boat very nice.
    
    I am basically looking to take a 3 week vacation , finishing
    for approx 12-14 days in the Kristiansand /Arendal Area.
    (family)
    
    I think that the West coast of Sweden and Denmark would be 
    quite enjoyable!

    Re: .6:
    
    >>  Ps..  Are you of Swedish decent?
    
    Nope.  It all started with a cultural exchange program (Experiment
    in International Living - EIL) back in 1962. 
    
    Re: .7 & .9:
    
    I willing to settle for Sweden being slightly less than 1800 km
    long, according to my map scale (1:8,000,000)

    Re: Swedish length.
    
    Ok, I'm wrong, but THAT's how long it felt when I did my Military
    service.... :-)
    
    Sweden is about 1.650 - 1.750 kilometers depending on how draw the
    line. The COAST line is 2.500 kilometers...
    
    Regards,       
    Paul.
    
    

Just to mention the "personal" museums of Oslo, each dedicated to one man:

	Thor Heyerdahl - Both Kon Tiki and Ra on display, tiny boats of 
	balsa and reed respectively, that crossed mighty oceans.

	Fridhof Nansen - Fram, his ship, is there that went farther north
	than anyone ever had before.

	(these two are next to the maritime museum, across the fjord)

	Edvard Munch - this famously gloomy painter who painted in such 
	wonderfully bright colors.  When you see dozens of his paintings
	at once . . . inexpressible!

    The Viking Ships museum in Roskilde is extremely nice, both the ships
    and the architecture and siteing of the building.  It's a short
    train hop from Copenhagen.
    

    re .14, there is a one-woman museum, a very nice one: The Henie-Onstad
    museum was made by Sonja Henie, the ice-skater. It has a variety
    of exhibits and activities, including her trophies, skates, etc.
    It is located just outside of Oslo, by the fjord.
    

    Re: .12
    
    > The COAST line is 2.500 kilometers...
    
    Actually, this depends also on how you draw the coast line. :-) :-)
    
    In terms of fractal geometry any piece of coast line is unlimited in
    length (and changing all the time). Not that it really matters.
    
    ...petri

    From: [email protected]
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
    Subject: Re: What we have in common
    Date: 20 Mar 91 15:57:12 GMT
    Organization: University of Helsinki                         
     
    Finland and Norway share a common border in the north of Finland, so
    Sweden, Finland and Norway have a common meeting point, at the end of
    the "arm" of Finland.  I've been there once, there's a big
    yellow-painted concrete marker on the spot.  My pals and I climbed on
    top of it and another traveler took a picture of us.  (It's not very
    crowded there.)

    The place is called Kilpisj�rvi; there's a camping ground and hostel
    there.  You can get there by bus from Rovaniemi, and from the camping
    ground you can take a hike through this nature reserve, first taking a
    boat across a lake that the border river (Tornio) of Sweden and Finland
    begins from, then walking along the Finnish-Swedish border, then coming
    upon the meeting point mentioned above, then walking along the
    Finnish-Norwegian border.  The trail then turns toward Finland again.

    It's an incredibly beautiful area; you can see mountains on the
    Norwegian side (the only mountain scenery in Finland), and at least the
    time I was there, the air had a certain clarity not often seen in the
    south.  The terrain was varied, at one point reminding you of Scottish
    highlands (I haven't been there, but I've seen pictures), at another
    the trail went through a cove of medium-sized birches (they don't grow
    very tall in Lapland), and at a third point you had to walk over big
    rocks, like giant-sized gravel.  There's a stream you cross and a small
    waterfall we cooked and ate our lunch by.  You can climb on top of a
    fell and look over the lake mentioned above and another fell, Saana,
    which has a curious profile and was held to be holy by the Sami (maybe 
    still is).  If you look in a certain direction, you can see something I
    never saw before, not on this scale:  Pure scenery, only nature,
    nothing man-made.  The illusion of an uninhabited planet is broken when
    you turn your head and see the road to Norway.
 
    Well, I guess you can see I was quite impressed by the place.
 
    --
    Teemu Leisti                       "I always wanted to be somebody."
    U. of Helsinki, Finland                                --Anonymous
    [email protected]