Stockholm and Helsinki

J

jonclas

< 25 Posts
Headed to Stockholm and Helsinki from Jun 15 - Jun 26 and wondered if any of you well-traveled hornfans had recommendations for eats, lodging, or sites.

about us: 2-3 guys mid to late twenties, not looking to spend crazy amounts, but want to have a good time (obviously). we've looked at some hostels but not sure where to book just yet.

we did toy with the idea of just not booking a room and planning to hook up with some Scandinavian ladies and staying with them...but just in case that doesn't come through I'd like to not die of exposure on this vacation.

thanks for all your help ahead of time!
 
I've basically only seen the train station in Stockholm (with a little more), but a little more of Helsinki.Stockholm-

Beautiful architecture and is an archipelago. Definitely go see the water. There is a place where the river runs into the sea. Maybe check it out. Maybe see how you rate the topless sunbathers.

Try the salmon.

There is a hostel in Helsinki that is in an old ship that is docked in the port. That could be a cool, yet cheap option for crashing just in case you don't meet hot Swedish babes. Then, if you do, you can get a hotel room for the night.


Helsinki-

See Stockholm, but maybe instead of the river, you go to the lake North of the port.

Instead of a boat for a hostel, I actually stayed in a hostel built inside the Olympic stadium in Helsinki and swam in the Olympic pool.


Both have hosted the Olympic Games. Checking out the sites of the semi-ancient games is cool.

You are going to be experiencing the "White Nights". They usually only say this about St. Petersburg, Russia, but Stockholm and Helsinki are on the same latitude as St. Petersburg, thus in the middle of the night, it is going to seem like "dusk" for a little bit and then it is going to start getting lighter again.

So remember this when finding a place to sleep. You are going to want some place with (1) Dark Curtains/shutters or (2) You need to find something to cover your eyes while you sleep.


Have fun.
hookem.gif
 
I just got back from a weekend trip in Stockholm last month. Don't miss the Vasa museum, which has an old Viking ship that sunk in the 1600s(?) and was raised about 60 years ago. Skansen is also worth a few hours. It's the world's oldest and largest open air museum. Take a walk through Gamla Stan (Old Town).

I stayed at the Hotel Riva, which is owned by one of the ABBA members. Check out the bar there on the weekends - it's packed and a good scene.
 
I went there with some buds around the same time. If I remember correctly this is holiday time - summer solstace. There is like 1 hour of nighttime - pretty crazy stuff. Most of the hotels will be packed and in Helsinki everyone left town for holiday during the weekend of the solstace. We tried to wing it for rooms and stuff and it was a pain in the ***. We barely got a hotel. Anyway book stuff in advance. Its busy and its expensive out there during that time. Stockholm has a pretty good scene. Hung out with Peter Forsborg one night and lets just say every woman in Sweden is in love with him.
 
From Helsinki you can take a quick hydrofoil trip to Tallinn, Estonia, which is nice to visit for a couple days. I didn't find much to do in Helsinki to be honest, but maybe I didn't look hard enough.
 
If you are into contemporary/modern design (furniture, architecture, etc) Helsinki can be a real experience. There are Alvar Alto buildings everywhere.

But from a general tourist standpoint, i would always recommend Stockholm over Helsinki. Helsinki doesn't have the grandour and "wow appeal" that Stockholm does.
 
thanks for the info guys.

I guess I could have mentioned this...

our main goal is to venture to oulu in finland, and then head to my friend's grandparent's island for the midsummer festivities. so, hotels during that weekend are not needed. we're flying into stockholm (it's cheaper to, and we also just wanted to see it) and then taking a cruise/ferry to helsinki...everything else surrounding that is still up in the air.

will look for modern architecture. will try to hit on as many Scandinavian ladies as possible. will hopefully not get detained at any airports.

oh, and I will try to get photos of guys like this.

Oh, and these dudes...
 
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