NORTHERN EUROPE
DENMARK
Like so many of the old Palaces in Europe, this one in Copenhagen is today a museum and tourist attraction.
Here is the lovely canal in Copenhagen, Denmark that was home to Hans Christian Anderson when he was writing his delightful fairy tales & children's stories.
The Palace Square of the modern day Monarch, where a chauffeur awaits his majesty's desire to ride through the streets of Copenhagen in the white Rolls Royce.
The Changing of the guard, Copenhagen Palace.
This lovely bronze sculptured Mermaid graces the Harbor of Copenhagen & has become the cities symbol, like a logo.
A reminder and tribute to so many who sacrificed their lives during the Second World War.
SWEDEN
On the road again! We spent much of our time in Scandinavia viewing the breathtaking scenery on the rails. Happily, the trains in Sweden are clean, modern & comfortably dry on a rainy day.
A new friend departs at the local train station.
The vast majority of homes and farm buildings in this area of the world are painted this traditional color red with white trim. I wonder where I've seen that before?
Where'd you say you wanted to go? Talk about being on top of the world....this is it!
Marker locating the otherwise invisible line known as the Arctic Circle. Above which, in the summer the sun is always visible and in winter it is never visible. Up here it's cold even at the end of August.
No train lines cross the northern border from Sweden to Finland, but the railway companies provide bus transportation to the nearest station, some 30 miles away. It's included in the price of your ticket.
NORWAY
While cruising up the waterways between the long, fingering fjords, we spotted this peaceful village, blessed by a waterfall.
A beautiful waterfall is the very symbol of Norway's Fjords, rushing down the mountain to the waterways below.
A typical Norwegian village is nestled at the base of a fjord.
Everywhere you look there is beautiful scenery that has been hand crafted by Mother Nature. If you're searching for a vacation spot, do yourself a favor and go to Norway.
One of the most scenic places is Bergen, right on the western tip of a fjord. We arrived by train on a route called "Norway in a Nutshell," then departed across the fjord, and dipped a short ways out into the Atlantic on a high speed catamaran to connect with the southern train line.
Another side of Norway, inside the frigid Arctic Circle.
FINLAND
Finland is known as a land of beautiful lakes, which we visited on first class trains. This calm lake is perfectly reflecting the bright sky and billowy white clouds.
Central Helsinki is graced with a beautiful downtown park, where hundreds of people "chill-out" on a Sunday afternoon in summer.
Helsinki Railroad station with classic architectural features we saw repeated throughout the city. This is where we ended our three months of travel using the Eurail pass.
Cruise ships are big business in Scandinavia, as most people visit these countries only via the cold waters of the North & Baltic Seas, exploring various coastline cities rarely venturing very far inland.
The state capital building in Helsinki, being set up for some sort of meeting or festivities. The President of Finland is a woman, by the way, who had just been married in the week we arrived there.
All over Europe the double decker bus, or a tandem trolley, such as the one shown here, is an indispensable mode of public transportation.