anticipation & preparation: a slow motion journey through scandinavia

Monday, August 3: For the next leg of our “Living Outside of the U.S.A. for 75% of the four-year span of our current fascist administration,” we are visiting the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden for the 89 days we are allowed to stay in the Schengen Zone. We will be moving slowly through these countries, most often staying a week in each place with some exceptions in Finland and Norway.

Of course we timed our trip to be back in the U.S. in time to vote in the mid-term elections on November 3. If Democrats don’t take power in both/either the House and/or the Senate, we’ll be seriously considering moving out of the U.S. more permanently, though we will likely always have a small home in the U.S. for various financial and medical reasons.

It is my understanding that the true “Scandinavian” countries are Denmark, Sweden and Norway, while the “Nordic “countries also include Iceland and Finland. Since we’re including Finland but not Iceland on this trip, I guess you could call it our Nordic trip. However, some people broaden the definition of Scandinavia to include Finland and Iceland. Thus, I will call it our Scandinavian trip although it’s not technically correct.

I have been dreaming of visiting these countries for ages. I love the cold, although I don’t know how much I’ll care for the rain during the shoulder season when we are going, from August 4- October 30. I love the idea of “hygge” in Denmark, the coziness factor that is practiced by the Danes: cozying up under blankets with candles all around and drinking hot cocoa, playing board games with friends, cooking with others, curling up with a good book. I have always been enamored with Denmark due to the many television series and movies we have watched, especially the political drama Borgen. I am a real fan of Danish culture. I also look forward to exploring the fjords of Norway and the lakes and cool landscapes of Finland and Sweden.

INSPIRATIONAL T.V. SHOWS & MOVIES

Below are some of my favorite Danish shows and movies:

1. Denmark
   1. Borgen (TV series 2010-2022) *****
   2. Rita (TV series 2012- ) ****
   3. Dicte: Crime Reporter (2012-2016) ****
   4. Copenhagen (2014)
   5. Bron/Broen (The Bridge) (2011-2018) ***** (& Sweden)
   6. Skruk (Baby Fever) (2022- ) ****
   7. The Nurse (TV Mini series 2023) *****
   8. Families Like Ours (Familier som vores) (TV Mini Series 2024) *****
   9. Sult (A Copenhagen Love Story) (2025) ****

We also have favorites from Norway, especially Okkupert and Pørni (Pernille):

1. Norway
   1. Okkupert (TV series 2015-2020) *****
   2. Home for Christmas (Hjem til jul) (2019-2020) *****
   3. Atlantic Crossing (TV Series 2020) ****
   4. The Worst Person in the World (Verdens verste menneske) (2021) *****
   5. Pørni (Pernille) (TV Series 2021 – ) *****
   6. Sentimental Value (Affecksjonsverdi) (2025) *****
   7. The Wrong Track (2025) *****

And from Sweden:

1. Sweden
   1. As It Is in Heaven (2004) ****
   2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) ****
   3. A Man Called Ove (2015) ****
   4. Bron/Broen (The Bridge) (TV series 2011-2018) ***** (& Denmark)
   5. Bonus Family (Bonusfamilgen) (TV series 2017 – )
   6. The Restaurant (Vår tid är nu) (TV series 2017 – ) (Stockholm)
   7. Midtsommernatt (Midsummer Night) (TV Mini Series 2024) ***
   8. Släpp taget (Let Go) (2024) ****
   9. Diary of a Ditched Girl  (Halva Malmö består killar som dumpat mig) (TV series 2025-  ) ****

INSPIRATIONAL BOOKS

Below are books set in each location. The ones with star ratings I have already read, the green ones I own and plan to read, and the others are suggestions for future reading.

1. Denmark ↓
   1. The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
   2. The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard
   3. The Midnight Witness by Sara Blaedel
   4. The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen: Childhood, Youth, Dependency
   5. The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
   6. The Summer of Ellen by Agnete Friis
   7. The Dinosaur Feather (Søren Marhauge #1) by S.J. Gazan ****
   8. The Arc of the Swallow (Søren Marhauge #2) by Sissel-Jo Gazan *****
   9. Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg
   10. The Murder of Halland by Pia Jaul
   11. The Boy In the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl, Agnete Friis (Kindle)
   12. One of Us Is Sleeping by Josefine Klougart
   13. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
   14. The Copenhagen Affair by Amilya Malladi
   15. Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors
   16. To Siberia by Per Petterson
   17. The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
   18. The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking ***
   19. Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (Mike’s Kindle)
   20. Lonely Planet Denmark & the Faroe Islands
   21. FAROE ISLANDS
   22. GREENLAND
       1. Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

Here is my list for Finland:

1. Finland
   1. Juha by Juhani Aho
   2. The Railroad by Juhani Aho
   3. Art in Nature by Tove Jansson
   4. Fair Play by Tove Jansson
   5. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (Kindle)
   6. The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson
   7. The Girl and the Bomb (Metro-Trilogia #1) by Jar Järvelä
   8. Ellen’s Song by Ben Kalland
   9. The Women I Think About at Night: Traveling the Paths of My Heroes by Mia Kankimäki *****
   10. A Fool’s Paradise by Anita Konkka
   11. My First Murder (Maria Kallio #1) by Leena Lehtolainen
   12. The Colonel’s Wife: A Novel by Rosa Liksom (Kindle)
   13. Unknown Soldiers by Väinö Linna
   14. The Most Dangerous Game by Gavin Lyall
   15. The Girl in Gray by Annette Lyon ****
   16. The Manila Rope by Veijo Meri
   17. Norma by Sofi Oksanen
   18. The Howling Miller by Arto Paasilinna
   19. The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna
   20. Berlin Poplars by Anne B. Ragde (Kindle) ****
   21. The Maid Silja: The History of the Last Offshoot of an Old Family Tree by Frans Emil Sillanpää
   22. The Summer House by Philip Teir *****
   23. The Winter War by Philip Teir
   24. Manrape by Märta Tikkanen
   25. The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen
   26. The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen ***
   27. The Moose Paradox (The Rabbit Factor Series #2) by Antti Tuomainen
   28. The Parson’s Widow by Marja Liisa Vartio
   29. The Wednesday Club by Kjell Westö
   30. Lonely Planet Finland (10th edition) ****

Books set in Norway are listed below:

1. Norway ↓
   1. North of Dawn by Nuruddin Farah (Kindle) ****
   2. Eva’s Eye (Inspector Sejer Mysteries #1) by Karin Fossum ****
   3. Don’t Look Back (Inspector Sejer Mysteries #2) by Karin Fossum (Kindle)
   4. Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
   5. Lonely Planet Norway by Gemma Graham ****
   6. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson *****
   7. The Last Light Over Oslo by Alix Rickloff  ***
   8. The Fellowship of Ghosts by Paul Watkins ****

And finally, my list for Sweden:

1. Sweden ↓
   1. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman ***
   2. Beartown (Beartown #1) by Fredrik Backman
   3. Us Against You (Beartown #2) by Fredrik Backman
   4. The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
   5. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman ***
   6. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman ****
   7. My Friends by Fredrik Backman (Mike’s Kindle)
   8. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman **
   9. What We Owe by Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde (& Iran) ****
   10. Under the Storm by Christoffer Carlsson
   11. Black River by Will Dean
   12. Dark Pines by Will Dean
   13. Femicide by Pascal Engman
   14. Hanna’s Daughters by Marianne Fredriksson (Kindle)
   15. The Details by Ia Genberg
   16. Antiquity by Hanna Johansson
   17. The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
   18. The Singularity by Balsam Karam
   19. Autumn by Karl Ove Knausgaard (Kindle)
   20. The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg
   21. Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius
   22. The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf
   23. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1) by Stieg Larsson *****
   24. The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium #2) by Stieg Larsson *****
   25. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Millennium #3) by Stieg Larsson
   26. The Girl in the Spider’s Web (Millennium #4) by David Lagercrantz
   27. The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye (Millennium #5) by David Lagercrantz
   28. The Girl Who Lived Twice (Millennium #6) by David Lagercrantz
   29. The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons (Millennium #7) by Karin Smirnoff
   30. The Girl with Ice in Her Veins (Millennium #8) by Karin Smirnoff
   31. The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly: Life Wisdom from Someone Who Will (Probably) Die Before You by Margareta Magnusson ***
   32. Popular Music from Vittula by Mikael Niemi
   33. To Cook a Bear by Mikael Niemi
   34. Malma Station by Alex Schulman
   35. W. by Steve Sem-Sandberg
   36. Doctor Glas by Hjalmar Soderberg
   37. Lonely Planet Sweden (8th edition) ****

OUR ITINERARY

Our itinerary focuses on living like a local as much as one can in a week. Ideally we would have stayed three weeks in each of the four different countries, but then we would have missed a lot of places in each country. Our goal is to live about a week in each place with daily excursions, giving us time to relax, cook in, and explore neighborhoods at a leisurely pace.

Here is our itinerary:

• August 4-11 (7 nights): Copenhagen, Denmark
• August 11-18 (7 nights): Aarhus, Denmark. See Aarhus City Guide & Explore the Aarhus Region.
• ON AUGUST 18: FlixBus from Aarhus to Copenhagen, then flight to Helsinki.
• August 18-25 (7 nights): Helsinki, Finland
• August 25-30: (5 nights) Tampere, Finland
• August 30-September 4 (5 nights): Vaasa, Finland
• September 4-10 (6 nights): Turku, Finland
• ON SEPTEMBER 10: train from Turku to Helsinki and flight to Bergen, Norway
• September 10-17 (7 nights): Bergen, Norway
• September 17-19 (3 nights) : Hurtigruten cruise from Bergen to Svolvær, Norway, with stops in Alesund, Trondheim and finally at Svolvær in the Lofoten Islands.
• September 20-23 (3 nights): Lofoten, Norway.
• ON SEPTEMBER 23: Express boat from Svolvær hurtigbåtkai to Bodø hurtigbåtkai 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Tickets on REIS app.
• September 23-25 (2 nights): Bodø, Norway. See Things to do in Bodø, Norway.
• ON SEPTEMBER 25: 10-hour train ride from Bodø to Trondheim.
• September 25-28 (3 nights): Trondheim.
• ON SEPTEMBER 27: Rent a car to explore around Trondheim and drive on the 28th from Trondheim to Geiranger (5 hours 41 min).
• September 28-October 1 (3 nights): Geiranger, Norway.
• ON OCTOBER 1, drive 4+ hours from Geiranger to Lillehammer, Norway. Return rental car in Lillehammer.
• October 1-3 (2 nights): Lillehammer, Norway.
• October 3, take a train 2 hours from Lillehammer to Oslo, Norway.
• October 3-10 (7 nights): Oslo, Norway.
• October 10-17 (7 nights): Stockholm, Sweden.
• October 17-23 (6 nights): Gothenburg, Sweden.
• October 23-30 (7 nights): Malmö, Sweden.
• ON OCTOBER 30, Fly home from Copenhagen to Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.

Most of the time, we will be using public transportation, especially trains between destinations, except for the cruise and the car rental in Norway. We will also take buses. It is possible we may rent a car for short stints in Aarhus, Denmark and Tampere, Finland.

I have created two journals I’ll take along, one for Denmark and Finland, and the second from Norway to Sweden.