The Land of Vikings and Lingonberries

Helsinki, Finland

After the tears at home as I said goodbye to C, and the tears on the drive to the airport as I thought about how long I’d be away from C, and the tears while sitting on the runway as I was reminded how much C loves airplanes, I managed to survive the journey to Helsinki despite the mom guilt.

There, K and I met up at the completion of his work trip to start our Nordic & Scandinavian vacation - our first true baby-free trip in 2 years (we had spent about 16 hours in Houston without him earlier in the year, but that was barely comparable to 12 days without him). We took the train into the city and checked into our ADORABLE AirBnB before feasting on a traditional Finish meal of reindeer with lingonberry sauce at The Seahorse. Boy, oh, boy - it was delicious! 10/10 - strongly recommended!

The next day, we headed out on a walking tour of the city where we strolled passed the Havis Amanda Fountain, Senate square, Helsinki Cathedral, Uspenski Cathedral, and the harbor. For lunch, Kevin and I sat among the locals at one of the many food stalls at Market Square before browsing the works of Luther, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin, and Voltaire at the Helsinki Library.

Our second full day day in Helsinki, we took a small ferry to Suomenlinna Island, where we walked the cobblestone roads of the 18th-century sea fortress and took in the scenic stops along the defensive walls. Back in the city, we tried to achieve serenity at the Kamppi Chapel of Silence and in the pews of the Temppeliaukio Church of the Rock.

St. Petersburg Russia

In order to take advantage of the 72 hours visa-free visit to Russia, K and I arrived in St. Petersburg on the Princess Anastasia “cruise ship.” Disembarking the large ferry was nothing short of hectic; even knowing that things would be a bit crazy, we were not prepared for the chaos and lack of instruction. Nonetheless, we made it to our hotel around noon before heading out to see the Hermitage Museum - the second largest art collection in the world, second only to The Louvre. Also known as The Winter Palace, the iconic pastel green building was gorgeous - standing beyond the Bolshevik Revoluation and the bombings of Leningrad during World War II.



That night, we watched the sun set at the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood before watched the St. Petersburg ballet perform Black Swan at the Mariinsky Theater.

The next day, we took the train to Pushkin, about 18 miles outside of St. Petersburg, to tour Catherine Palace - the former summer residence of the Tsars. There we learned about the destruction of the palace during the Nazi siege, the disappearance of the infamous Amber Room, and the heroic efforts of the staff to save and restore as much of the original artwork and architecture. That night we dined at Gustogram, a gastro pub whose menu is entirely based on “Instagram worthy” plates - honestly, our meals were as good as they looked!
Our last day in St. Petersburg we braved the rain and the cold for a tour of the city, and we fell more in love with Russia’s former capital with each step - St. Petersburg was easily a favorite for both me and K. The history, the food, and the people were all phenomenal! After re-boarding the Princess Anastasia, we journeyed back across the Gulf of Finland, to continue our vacation.

Stockholm, Sweden

After arriving in Stockholm, we spent our first afternoon at the Vasa Museum - K’s FAVORITE thing from the entire trip. Without giving too much away, the entire museum is built around a restored 17th century Swedish ship and definitely worth a visit!

Our first full day we walked -a lot- doing a walking tour of the Stockholm city center in the morning, and a walking tour of Old Town in the afternoon. We saw where the Nobel Prizes are handed out and the picturesque Stortorget, stuffing our faces with delectable gluten free Swedish meatballs and coffee at Under Kastanjen (don’t forget the side of lingonberries)! 

The following day we toured City Hall on the tip of Kungsholmen island, and the site of the Nobel Prize celebratory dinner, before returning to Under Kastanjen for ANOTHER round of Swedish meatballs before catching our plane to our final destination.

Copenhagen, Denmark

When we originally packed for our Nordic and Scandanavian vacation, the weather was supposed to be cool, but pleasant - a nice reprieve from the 100+ degree Texas heat - but by the time we arrived, the weather had plunged 15 degrees and the fall rain had moved in. At a brisk 50 degrees, Copenhagen greeted us with the warmest but wettest weather of our trip.

The first day we spent in Denmark, we - of course - went on a walking tour of the city before meeting up with our friend from college and her husband. Although J & R had also lived in Texas for a few years, apparently it took crossing an ocean to see each other again after their move to the Midwest several years ago.

We started the next morning/the last day of our vacation, highly stressed after we tried to check in for our flight(s) home and learned that Thomas Cook Airlines, without warning, had gone out of business three days prior, essentially stranding us in Europe. After several hours of calls and internet searches, we booked new flights home and took our frazzled selves to the Michelin-starred Restaurant 108 for lunch with J & R, a can’t miss reservation for foodies the world over who don’t want to spend an arm & a leg at its sister restaurant Noma.

We then took in the breathtaking panoramic view of Copenhagen from atop Christiansborg Palace and ate our final meal at Torvehallerne market. I feasted on the traditional Danish Smørrebrød, while we watched the sunset one last time on our vacation.