Scandinavia Day 15 - Morning in Copenhagen, Heading Home
August 30, 2026
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We packed out suitcases, checked out of the hotel, grabbed breakfast at another excellent bakery, and then headed to the Rundetaarn (the Round Tower), a 17th century structure built as an astronomical observatory.
The most special thing about it is its equestrian staircase, which is actually not a staircase at all, but a 7.5-turn helical corrido...
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Scandinavia Day 14 - Copenhagen (København, Danmark)
August 29, 2026
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For our last full day of the trip, we planned to explore all over the city of Copenhagen. Before my family and the rest of the city woke up, I took my camera back to Nyhavn hoping for some sunrise light and reflections on the still water of the early morning. Unfortunately, Copenhagen is (much like Seattle) often overcast in the morning--so no luck...
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Scandinavia Day 13 - Sweden to Copenhagen
August 28, 2026
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After hitting up a nice breakfast at the hotel, we left Gothenburg in the morning and headed south towards Denmark. Passing through the Swedish city of Malmö, we stopped before crossing the Øresund Bridge, which is the the second longest bridge in Europe. The bridge and its continuation as the Øresund Tunnel (which goes below the sea) directly conn...
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Scandinavia Day 12 - Oslo to Gothenburg (Goteborg), Sweden
August 27, 2026
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After a great hotel breakfast, we packed our stuff into the car and headed out. Before leaving Oslo, we stopped at the famous Vigeland sculpture park.
We almost didn't go but I'm so glad we did. It is the largest sculpture park in the world created by a single artist, containing more than 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland in bronze, granite...
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Scandinavia Day 11 - Oslo
August 26, 2026
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We had an early flight from the Harstad/Narvik airport (very near where we stayed in Tjelsund) to the Norwegian capital of Oslo. We rented a car at the airport and headed into the city. We found a delightful bakery where we had a nice late breakfast, and then headed beck to the hotel to get a little rest. Once rested, we set out into the city to ex...
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Scandinavia Day 10 - Lofoten, Skrova
August 25, 2026
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On our last full day in Lofoten we decided to take a morning ferry to the island of Skrova, which is accessible only by boat.
Once we arrived on the island, we did a short hike to the secluded and beautiful Socks/Hattvika Beach. The place was gorgeous, with white sand, shallow turquoise water, small rocky islands, and a massive mountain jutting...
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Scandinavia Day 9 - Trollfjord and Henningsvaer
August 24, 2026
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We woke up at the Svinøya Rorbuer, and after a quick yogurt breakfast,
headed to the the Svolvaer Port for our cruise of the Trollfjord, which is only accessible by boat. We traveled about 10 km among the surrounding islands,
enjoying stunning views along the way. The blanket of fog and golden morning light on this peak was magical.
We m...
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Scandinavia Day 8 - pt 3 - Offersoykammen hike
August 23, 2026
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From Nusfjord we headed to Leknes for lunch, where we had delicious pastries and sandwiches at Huset Kaffebar. We then headed to my favorite hike of the trip: Offersoykammen. The terrain was steep and rocky
requiring a few rests along the way.
The summit provided stunning 360 degree views of the beaches and peaks of the Nappstraumen,...
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Scandinavia Day 8 - pt 2 - Lofoten Beaches
August 23, 2026
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We didn't make it far before I had to pull over for a few more photos. It's tough for me to drive by a scene like this without trying to capture it.
From there we made our way towards the northern Lofoten islands, with several stops along the way, including Ramberg Beach, Skagsanden Beach, Flakstad, and Nusjord.
The drive was half the fun, wi...
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Scandinavia Day 8 - pt 1 - Leaving Reine, Lofoten
August 22, 2026
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Before departing my favorite spot of the trip (the Rienefjord), I had to get a few last pictures. The sun was (partially) out as we were leaving in the morning so it was the best view of the Olstinden and the Festhelltinden peaks since we'd arrived. The kids waited patiently a few minutes as I snapped some final shots:
and played with the drone:...
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Scandinavia Day 7 - Lofoten (Hamnøy and Reine)
August 22, 2026
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We woke up in our comfy rorbu on Hamnøy, grabbed some breakfast at the cafe, and headed to the nearby town of Reine for our morning kayaking excursion.
It was foggy, but we were excited to paddle around the reinefjord.
Despite the lack of sun, the scenery was beautiful.
No orcas were seen, but we did spy tons of different species of...
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Scandinavia Day 6 - To Lofoten
August 21, 2026
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We woke up early in Alnes and made our way to the airport, where we took a flight from Alesund to Oslo and then on to Bodø, Norway. We rented a car in Bodø and made our way directly to the dock where we boarded a 3 hour ferry to to the island of Moskenes in the Lofoten archipelago.
Simply put, the Lofoten islands were the absolute highlight ou...
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Scandinavia Day 5 - Geiranger and Trollstigen
August 20, 2026
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We woke up on the island of Godøy. Seth and I went for a walk while the others were getting ready.
We drove though Ålesund and grabbed some pastries,
on our way to the town of Gieranger at the mouth of the most famous fjord in Norway. The Geirangerfjord is a branch of the huge Storfjord, located about 2 hours from Ålesund. It is a UNESCO wo...
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Scandinavia Day 4 - Western Norway: Godoy, Alesund, and the Hjorundfjord
August 19, 2026
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We woke up super early in Bergen, headed to the airport, and took a short flight to Oslo and then to Ålesund, Norway.
Ålesund is a beautiful town scattered over several islands in Western Norway. The infrastructure is jaw-dropping. The airport is on the island of Vigra, which is connected to multiple adjacent islands by a series of bridges and u...
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Scandinavia Day 3 - Norway in a Nutshell
August 18, 2026
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We woke up in Bergen and headed to the train station for a day of unabashed tourism. Our full-day "Norway in a Nutshell" tour began at the Bergen train station, where we boarded a train with hundreds of other visitors (not my favorite way to vacation) and headed into the countryside. Still, there is a reason so many people do the tour. The scenery...
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