Scandinavia, by land and sea
If there’s one region that stands out in Europe as an easy sell for overland travel, Scandinavia is up there. Because if you’re going to Oslo, why wouldn’t you also go to Bergen? To Stockholm? To the mountain village of Flåm, or the tiny island of Utö?
As our first family holiday abroad in five years, my family and I settled on a two-week trip around Scandinavia. I wanted scenic trains (shock), my sister wanted Swedish buns, my dad wanted galleries, and my mum wanted to tick off a Parkrun in the remote trails of Løvstien. So I designed a two-week itinerary (with the help of Byway's concierge) that would prove that our days of family holidaying were far from over.
Day 1: London to Brussels by Eurostar, via Cologne to Hamburg by train
Our first day might have been our longest, but the reliable excitement of the Eurostar set the tone of the trip as my sister, parents, and I spread out over a table of four on the first leg of our journey. In usual fashion, we’d rocked up with relatively few plans, so this day provided the time to skim the last-minute guidebook with a coffee to soften the early start.
There would be plenty of time for slow wandering, but our speedy change in Cologne was not one such time. After disembarking, we grabbed lunch from a small deli by the station, snapped a selfie outside the Cologne Dom, and boarded our train to Hamburg. Spirits were high, and the satisfaction of swift (but never stressful) connections got us acquainted with departure boards, platforms and our Interrail passes.
Taking advantage of complimentary First-Class Interrail passes, the small touches on this long travel day did not go unnoticed: regular top-ups of hot drinks in real china, extra space to stretch out with a book, and spacious luggage storage made the entire experience feel stress-free and more like travelling in a moving café as we watched the changing landscape from urban city sprawl to idyllic German Rhineland.
By the evening, we pulled into Hamburg, pleasantly surprised that our short walk to our first stay led us along the banks of the Elbe, the sun low in the sky. Our first stay was the 25hour Hotel that we’d had previous positive experiences with in other cities, including Paris and Berlin. Despite being a small chain, each one is distinctly unique and inspired by the local neighbourhood, with great sustainability creds and (most importantly) a top-notch breakfast.
Day 2: Hamburg to Kiel, and the Colour Line sailing to Oslo
A short and early departure from Hamburg to Kiel took us to the start point of one of the most anticipated legs of our journey: an overnight sailing straight to Oslo. I’d often heard this sailing heralded as one of the nearest things to a cruise, despite being a ferry, and even as someone uninterested in cruises with terrible sea legs, I’d been intrigued to try it for myself.
A spa, a gym, a cinema, a live music venue and a slew of restaurants made us wonder if we’d be able to scratch the surface of everything on offer, even on an 18-hour crossing. After watching the ship depart from top deck, my sister, mum and I got lured in by the reasonable price of the spa (around £20 per person, yes Dad, that’s a bargain), and before we knew it, we were padding down to the sauna in fluffy robes and slippers.
The one experience on board we did not want to miss was dining in the ship’s Oceanic Restaurant overlooking the water at the back of the boat. The ornate decor had a slightly Titanic-esque feel, but the sailing was so smooth we had no trouble enjoying fresh scallops, locally caught monkfish, and salt-baked beets, washed down with wine suggested by the friendly, nautical-suited-and-booted waiter.
After winding down with coffee overlooking the now darkening water, we headed up to our cabin, happily tired from the day’s adventure. On our way, we passed swathes of fellow passengers dressed in their finest, heading to live cabaret or the Manhattan bar where the live pianist was playing. I was craving my cosy cabin bed, but my sister and I joked we could ditch our parents and head to the onboard club if only we had a bit more energy. Another time.
Our cabins were two standard adjoining cabins with en-suite bathrooms (and a surprisingly powerful shower) and large portholes. We tucked ourselves up in our twin beds and kept the curtains open so we could watch the clear night sky drift past the window, rocked to sleep by the gentle motion of the water.
Day 3: arriving into Oslo by ferry
We awoke to the gentle morning light, with fjords studded with red fishing huts floating past our eyeline: the perfect first glimpse of Scandinavian idyll. We showered, packed up and headed down to the ship’s buffet for our first Nordic breakfast: coffee, pastries, and pickled herring and Norwegian ‘brown cheese’ for the more adventurous.
Disembarking at the port was swift and efficient, and after heading through the town on foot, we arrived at our stay for the next three nights at Karl Johan Hotel, a grand-fronted building on the corner of the pedestrianised Karl Johans gate overlooking the leafy Studenterlunden Park.
Our three days in Oslo felt a far cry from a hectic city break. Oslo was green with city parks, markedly clean of rubbish, and evidently designed for pedestrians and cyclists. Every outing was an architectural display of contemporary Nordic design, colourful waterfront facades and grand boulevards, with detours made frequently down an enticing cobbled street or for a mid-morning bun that glistened in a bakery window.
There were some standout museums that deserve a mention: The Nobel Peace Centre, The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, the famously housed Munch Museum on the waterfront, and the outdoor sculpture park on the edge of town. We’d also booked in advance a showing of Hansel and Gretel at the Snøhetta-designed opera house, a glass and concrete masterpiece that’s worth visiting even just to climb up onto the roof that doubles as a viewpoint across the waterfront, jostling with small boats and floating saunas.
Day 6: along the Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana) to Bergen
A bucket-list scenic route through rural Norway was barely considered a ‘travel day’ given the fact that this felt more like a day’s excursion than a means of getting from A (Oslo) to B (Bergen).
The first leg was along the first section of the Bergen Line to the tiny mountain town of Myrdal, and even as the precursor to one of the world’s most scenic railways (the Flåm line), this journey was no less scenic, seeing us through the hills of rural Norway studded with red villages, and our first glimpse of snow as we traversed the harsher mountain terrain on the approach to Myrdal.
It was possible to stay on the same train along the line directly to Bergen, but the promise of a Lonely Planet and National Geographic-acclaimed journey, with vintage wooden carriages and one of the steepest single-track ascents in the world, was all too tempting. So we alighted in the tiny mountain-top junction of Myrdal, backed by the gorges and valleys of the Aurland, and the dark green carriages of the instantly recognisable Flåmsbana were waiting for us, and an admittedly huge number of other travellers excited to traverse the longest and deepest fjord in Europe.
The scenery along the Flåm Railway immediately explained the number of tourists. There was hardly a single free seat on wood-clad vintage carriages, and with convivial table seating throughout the train, we shared with other travellers in conversation and exclamation on everything we passed: neck-bendingly high waterfalls (including the Kjosfossen for which the train makes a brief stop), the famous Horseshoe Loop (a 180-degree turn that happens inside a mountain tunnel), vertical cliff-drops and fairytale farmsteads that peppered the verdant landscape. Our verdict was “busy, but worth it”, overheard by a fellow traveller as we alighted at the terminus point of Flåm.
Rather than rejoining the Bergen line for the final leg to Bergen, we opted for the ferry journey right through the Sognefjord. A significantly slower option, but similarly, felt more like a day’s excursion that we could have opted for even as a day trip from Bergen: the fact it was integrated into our journey felt like the ultimate hack. We departed in cloud and a brisk breeze, the Norwegian boat flag flapping at the bow, but as we weaved through the fjords, the clouds lifted and the water took on a remarkable turquoise. We docked into Bergen, greeted immediately by jostling boat masts and seafood stalls, and by water felt like the most natural way to arrive into this markedly traditional fishing town.
With three nights in Bergen, we didn’t mind staying a little further out to save on eye-wateringly expensive accommodation in the town centre. In fact, a waterfront spot on the Puddefjord in the marina was better placed for the hiking and walking we’d wanted to do in the trails of Mount Løvstakken (along with the local Parkrun in Løvstien), as well as a great spot for a sundowner across the water.
Our stay in Bergen happened to overlap with the yearly Bergenfest, so the city was in full festive swing, brimming with Bergen jumpers, boat parties on the waterfront, and live music across the city. Bergen itself was picturesque, with cobbled streets and pastel houses straight from a picture book. Once we’d explored the town (and sampled seafood and baked goods), we took the funicular up to Mount Fløyen to hike the forested mountain trails, ending with a drink overlooking the viewing platform. The ability to flit so easily between urban and natural settings was an ongoing highlight of each of our Scandinavian stopovers.
Day 9: the return to Oslo
A necessary return to Oslo before heading on to Sweden was the train journey along the direct Bergen Line, so while we were heading back to Oslo, the direct train had a different feel to the longer and multi-modal option we’d travelled out on. The quietness and simplicity of the direct service was a breath of fresh air compared to the Flåm Railway and Fjord ferry, and the bluebird sky day offered spectacular views of tiny fishing villages and Fjords.
An additional night in Oslo was also the perfect opportunity to fit in a few things we’d missed previously, including a visit to the famous Farine bakery and Oslo’s star coffee roaster, Fuglen. However, with such a short stopover, our single-night stay in Amerikalinjen, just five minutes from the station with a spa and incredible restaurant, meant relaxing locally was a natural choice.
Day 10: SJ train from Oslo to Stockholm
The next section of our trip crossed the border on the direct SJ train from Oslo to Stockholm, an efficient service, with the usual First-Class perk of coffee and snacks to keep us well-fuelled. Having experienced Scandinavia’s most raved-about journey already, we were remarkably surprised yet again at the scenery of even the most functional intercity services between major stopovers.
Arriving into Stockholm city late in the evening, we bedded down for one night in the hub of the city before heading back to the water for our final journey by boat, our most off-grid and anticipated stay yet: a tiny fishing hut on the Stockholm island of Utö.
Day 11: going off-grid in Utö
From Stockholm’s tiny ferry terminal, Årsta Brygga, there are semi-regular sailings to the island of Utö, located on the outer southern archipelago. The Nordic sun was reflecting off the water, and the ferry crossing felt like sailing to the edge of the world, past floating islands and seabirds.
We docked on Utö and disembarked at an even smaller ferry terminal with a community library, where locals on upright cargo bikes collected old relatives. There were no cars in sight, and as we walked along a dusty track to our next stay, we passed the epitome of rural Scandinavian bliss: kids jumping off wooden jetties into the water, wildflower meadows, and (honestly) deer bounding across fields of long grass.
Our three nights on Utö passed with no rigid agenda. Aside from a small shop, a famous bakery which we frequented every morning, and a bike rental, there are very few businesses or attractions. But that was the charm: we spent days cycling, walking, swimming and sunbathing, stretched out on rocks along the sea. It was Midsommar, and the sunlight lasted well into the night, getting dark only after midnight. Time became a construct as we passed days with no rigid itinerary, without even the sun to remind us, until it was already 11pm. Every evening, we ate out in the ‘garden’ of our red fishing hut, with no gate or fence, only sprawling woodland we shared with woodpeckers and the occasional inquisitive deer.
(NB: The Island of Utö is so off-grid, we organised this separately from our Byway package, but the concierge team integrated it perfectly as part of our wider itinerary.)
Day 14: leaving Utö and the Nightjet from Stockholm to Hamburg
Utö was the saddest goodbye of the trip: it was our slice of rural bliss and as we departed back on the same ferry that carried us there, Midsummer festivities were in full swing. Our boat was even decorated with climbing ivy and wildflowers from the locals who were preparing the island for the celebration of the year.
From Stockholm, the a private Nightjet sleeper cabin would be our transport and our accommodation for a night. The enjoyment of a sleeper train was something controversial amongst our family, split between the heavier and lighter sleepers. But the novelty of having a private room to watch the final Scandinavian sunset across the water with a glass of wine was enjoyed by all, and as I climbed the ladder to my top bunk, and drifted off with the glow of my reading light and a good book, I decided I was in the ‘love’ camp.
Morning arrived and there was no risk of oversleeping thanks to a loud announcement and a loud knock on our cabin door for good measure. We’d had no major delays so far, but had a WhatsApp from Byway informing us of a train delay, with new tickets for an alternative route to Amsterdam via Dortmund. It was a functional day of travel, and without the views of Norway and Sweden, there was no distraction from getting a few pages of my book and making use of the edible onboard perks of our First-Class Interrail pass.
Day 15: A Dutch stopover
The final stay of our trip was Amsterdam. As our final stop, we’d kept our itinerary brief, and thanks to good weather stuck to wandering the canals and joining the locals in cheering for the Dutch team's victory in the World Cup. We toasted the win for the Dutch team over Trappist beer, and to our final night, before our morning Eurostar from Amsterdam to London.
