Summer is the perfect time to visit Scandinavia. Once you get there, consider a cruise in the Baltic Sea. It’s an effortless way to get a quick introduction to a few of the famous cities in that corner of the world. 

We flew on Norwegian Air directly from Miami to Oslo, Norway. Great, easy flight. From there, this was our city itinerary:

Hamburg, Germany
Copenhagen, Denmark
Stockholm, Sweden
Tallinn, Estonia
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Kiel, Germany

We flew into Oslo and took the tram to our hostel, where we had a very civilized family room. The great thing about hostels is that everything you need to live comfortably is often close by. This hostel had a grocery store accessible from the lobby, complete with hot food, coffee station, fresh fruit, and picnic tables outside to enjoy your meals.

Pizza snack at the airport in Oslo
Catching the Trikken tram
Caffeine and strawberries from the grocery in hostel.
Strawberries in our room window overlooking the courtyard.
Exploring our neighborhood of Grünerløkka.
My favorite neighborhood characteristic–cozy outdoor tables lining the sidewalks with pillows and blankets.
They savor the balmy weather.
Fantastic Asian restaurant near our hotel.
That’s where you’ve been hiding!
Colder climate countries have often master two kinds of comfort food;
bread and soup.
Delicious pub fare with a (surprisingly) yummy pea mash.

We loved Oslo, especially to the Grünerløkka neighborhood that we became familiar with. But it was time to move on to Hamburg, Germany. We’ve visited Germany many times, but had never spent much time in Hamburg other than passing through the airport.

Paul’s go to breakfast.
The photos reminded me of my grandpa who was a baker in Germany
in the early 1900’s.
Fresh juice machines are in most groceries.
Catching up with work and friends.
In the port of Kiel, where we boarded our ship,
there was a week-long tall ship festival starting. 

We boarded our ship and settled into our pumpkin colored cabin.

We switched cabins with a fellow passenger so their room could adjoin their elderly grandparent. They kindly thanked us with champagne and sweets.
The colorful row houses of Copenhagen, Denmark catching sun.

Next came Stockholm, Sweden.

Beautiful cobblestoned streets.
The perfect storm of coffee, sweets, and wifi.

Blankets for the outdoor seating.
Enjoying the sail out of the fiords, from our balcony.

Tallinn, Estonia was another beautiful city with a large city center. It was market day, lucky us!

drinks back on the ship

In Saint Petersburg, Russia we visited the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral and did a river tour.

Back in port in Kiel, Germany