Wow! 5 weeks just flew by. I’m still digesting it all but here are my top-of-mind impressions.

Most Outstanding Experiences:

• Reffen, located in an industrial area known as Refshaleøen in Copenhagen. It’s super cool with street food, beer halls, live music. Totally chill vibe. Thank you Mads and Anita for taking me here.
• Vippa, Oslo – somewhat similar to Reffen, great place to hang out right by the water.
• Södermalm (Stockholm), visiting with Ann and Larry, strolling around their neighborhood, meeting many of their friends
• 100% CASHLESS for 5 weeks – everything purchased through credit card (no matter how small). Did not exchange a single penny.
• SAS Business Class.  Service, food, cabins all superior to anything I’ve experienced before on international flights in Business or First on Delta, Air France or American. So grateful that Pablo Cruz insisted I go for the upgrade!!

Most Outstanding Restaurants:

• Juuri, Helsinki
• Kødbyens Fiskebar, Copenhagen
• Le Benjamin Bar & Bistro, Oslo

Most Outstanding Hotel:

• Hobo Hotel, Stockholm.
• This is not for everyone – if you’re a Four Seasons kind of person, this is NOT where you want to stay. But if a cool, high-energy lobby scene is what you’re after, Hobo is SO for you!

Most Outstanding Architecture:

• Oslo Opera House by Snøhetta

Most Outstanding Art Experience:

• Graffiti Hall of Fame, Stockholm

 

Read on below for my overall impressions of each city.

 

COPENHAGEN

The most stylish and trend-forward of the Nordic cities. It has the classic architecture of the 17th and early 18th century, but Bjarke Ingels’ imprint is all over what’s new and innovative.

 

4 Copenhagen Standouts:

 

Reffen in the Refshaleøen area – I LOVED this part of the city!!

 

• La Banchina
• Urban Rigger (Bjarke Ingels’ student housing project made out of shipping containers)
• Amager Bakke Waste-To-Energy Plant with a year-round rooftop ski slope (again by BIG)
• Alternative (and tiny) housing options

 

Kultur Tårnet (Culture Tower)

 

• Was fortunate to meet Lars Erik Lyndgaard Schmidt when I popped in to check out the tower – and I could kick myself for not getting a photo with him.
• Fabulous spot for drinks, tapas and creative events.
• Look for the white flag – if it’s flying, you’re in luck – they’re open!
• And, btw, the Tower just celebrated its one year anniversary

 

Meatpacking District – BUT it’s all about FISH nowadays!

 

• Kodbyens Fiskebar – best fish dinner. Also, best cocktail: the Dopo Cena made with Campari, Antica Formula, Mezcal, chocolate bitters and coffee beans.
• And dining at the bar got me an invite to tour the kitchen with the sous chef, Peter Rose.

 

Vikings on Bikes!

• Insane amounts of bike riding gives the city a distinct rush of energy.
• 30% of the city’s population bikes to work (all year round) and they are fierce riders, do not get in their way!
• Parking for bikes in residential buildings is more coveted than car parking spots.
• Also, lots of cargo bikes schlepping people around – very peculiar!
• Most hotels also offer bikes for their guests either as freebies or for rent (my hotel’s bike courtyard in pic above).

Here’s a link to my final Copenhagen itinerary.

 

 

STOCKHOLM

My favorite city. Partially because of how much I loved my hotel but also because I met friends there and because there is a LOT to do and see especially in some of the up-and-coming neighborhoods.

 

3 Stockholm Standouts:

 

Hobo Hotel

• I always gravitate to hotels like this with cool lobbies that are fun for people-watching and a great vibe for working. Hobo totally delivered. Great staff and perfect (for me) ambiance.
• Guests tended to be somewhat younger. Many also worked for Stockholm’s more entrepreneurial companies e.g. Spotify. But, overall, a wide range of ages staying here, both tourists and business travelers.

Note: Only Stockholm offered this type of hotel – and I looked long and hard. Copenhagen came close with SP34 but Oslo and Helsinki totally missed the boat. Hotels in most Nordic cities tend to be more “grand” with a skew to old-school luxury. OR, if they do attempt this (e.g. the Scandic Vulkan in Oslo), they get it all wrong by trying too hard to be cool.

 

Rosendals Garden

 

• Fabulous lunch in the garden (made even more so, because it was a sunny day).
• Also a wide array of guests (mainly locals).
• Many chefs get their produce from these gardens and greenhouses.

 

Snösätra Graffiti Hall of Fame

 

• Came across this on my last day in Stockholm. Several of the hotel’s staff live in this area and encouraged me to check it out.
• Only in operation since 2014, rumors have it that the area may be getting developed for housing.
• Anyone even marginally interested in street art, needs to check this out. It’s about 30 minutes by subway from city center and entails a short bus ride and a 15 minute walk.

Link to my final itinerary in Stockholm, here.

 

 

OSLO

 

• Much to offer the visitor in terms of sightseeing but I had a tough time getting in sync with the city beyond the typical tourist stuff.
• Oslo has a reputation for being a bit aloof, although I met some great people at restaurants and at my hotel. Overall, the city is less warm and welcoming than I expected.

 

5 Oslo Standouts:

 

Opera House by Norwegian architects Snøhetta.

The most extraordinary architecture I saw on this trip. Perfectly attuned to the location. It looks like a giant iceberg floating off into the fjords.

 

Vippa

Huge converted warehouse, covered with a street art mural, right by the fjord with a selection of global street food. On a sunny day, this is THE spot to be. A bit like Copenhagen’s Reffen.

 

Public transportation

• Since my hotel was located in Grunerlokka (the Shoreditch or Brooklyn of Oslo), I used more public transportation than I did elsewhere. And it was superior to what was offered in all the other cities. Every bus and tram I rode was clean, ran on time, and had a great system to let you know what the next stop was and/or when the next bus/tram would arrive.

 

Teslas everywhere.

 

• Oslo is called the Tesla capital of the world. And I have, indeed, never seen as many Teslas in one place.
• The Norwegian government has made it very advantageous to have an electric vehicle. Perks include driving in the bus lanes and free charging stations.

 

The most Islamic of the Nordic countries

•  Of all the Scandinavian countries, Norway has been the most receptive to refugees.
• In the area where I stayed, at least 30% of women wore traditional Islamic attire. I did not observe anything similar in the other cities.
• Even breakdancing is performed to an Arabic soundtrack. Here’s an event I discovered one day while out exploring. The music is by Elias Rahbani (Lebanese) and was written in 1974, pretty cool!

 

Here’s the link to my final Oslo itinerary.

 

 

HELSINKI

 

• Beautiful sights but small and low-key compared to other cities with almost everything shutdown on Sundays (some restaurants and shops are even closed on Mondays).
• Helsinki is perfect for a 2-3 day visit, ideally in combination with another Nordic capital (I elected to stay for 8 days because of my “immersion in the culture” goal).
• Helsinki also turned out to be the most expensive city I visited e.g. a ticket for a single subway/bus ride, usable for only one hour, is $5!
• On the other hand, I met the friendliest people in Helsinki and had my best Nordic meal (at Juuri).

 

5 Helsinki Standouts:

 

An extremely interesting food scene.

 

• Hills Dumplings, located on the ground floor of Mothership of Work (MOW), the co-working space I used. See Q+A with one of the owners this coming week.
• Pobre (a recently opened spot from 6 young Filipino chefs/partners)
• Juuri – perhaps the best meal of my trip. It’s considered New Nordic, an innovative take on Finnish cuisine, everything absolutely delicious and sizable portions vs. the teeny tiny servings many of Helsinki’s top dining destinations offer up.
• My hotel (F6) provided an outstanding organic, Finnish-centric breakfast every morning. One of the women who cooks there also has a youtube channel dedicated to her grandmother’s recipes.
• Kahvila Siili (a cafe serving a great brunch), located in the Käpylä district, a beautiful area just outside of Helsinki, known for its 100 year old historic wooden houses. The café is only open during the summer and is owned by a couple who live in San Francisco.
• Richard McCormick!! This is the guy everyone in town is talking about. He’s making the biggest waves as a chef, restaurateur & food stylist – and I think I actually took a photo of him at dinner at one of his restaurants (The Cock) but didn’t reach out to him because I didn’t realize it might be him! (Photo lower left)

 

Kamppi Chapel of Silence

 

• This the most exquisite building in Helsinki. The interior is as beautiful as the outside (with no interior photos allowed).
• Designed by a local firm, K2S Architects.

 

The Design Museum

 

• Exceptional installations – and far more interesting than what I saw at the Copenhagen Design Museum.

 

The Alvar Aalto House/Museum and Studio

English-speaking tours are available for both the House and the Studio (which is about a 10 minute walk from the House). It’s definitely worthwhile (book ahead) but although they advertise it as an hour tour in both cases, it’s only 30 minutes maximum.

 

Saunas: The only Finnish word to make it into everyday English.

 

• Finland is the land of saunas: it’s estimated that there are two million saunas in Finland, for a population of 5.3 million.
• And everyone told me I had to have a sauna experience while in Helsinki. I didn’t. I don’t like it hot and I don’t like it wet. BUT if you are into saunas, there is probably no better place to experience the real thing than Helsinki.
• The newest and trendiest is Löyly.

Here’s a link to my final itinerary.

 

OTHER NOTEWORTHY NORDIC TRENDS:

 

TYPICAL FOODS

 

• Porridge (grod) served everywhere – not just for breakfast
• Freshly made yogurts – am trying to hunt down something similar in NYC
• Fish esp. herring and salmon (warm smoked is my favorite)
• Plant-based meals
• Potatoes – a side dish accompanying virtually every meal
• Reindeer (in Helsinki) shows up in chips, baguettes, and menus instead of beef; they even served it on the flight back to NY.
• Ice cream
• And more coffee than you can imagine!!

 

FAMILY-CENTRIC/KID FRIENDLY

 

• Very child and family friendly
• In Copenhagen and Stockholm, huge baby boom (not evident in Helsinki). Apparently if you give birth by August you get all kinds of benefits for the next year. If you miss that August date, you’re out of luck!
• Kids are also allowed to run free, definitely not overprotected. Lots of activities that Americans would consider extremely reckless. And I also saw lots of baby carriages (with babies in them) left outside of restaurants and stores while mom/dad were inside.
• Bridal Squad parties abundant in June/July – getting married is clearly still a thing in the Nordics

 

STREET ART

 

•  It’s generally illegal here but the concept seems to be catching on especially as real estate developers notice that street art can make an area/building cooler and more desirable.
• Helsinki currently has a museum show of graffiti art (with photos of NYC graffiti from the 80’s shot by the legendary Martha Cooper).

 

PEOPLE ARE EXCEPTIONALLY FIT & OUTDOORSY

 

• Crossfit is huge in Scandinavia – I came across a competition in Oslo and it was fierce!
• People are also big on biking, and with so many parks and forests, there’s lots of hiking, walking, and camping.
• Additionally, with each of these cities on the water, sailing and other water activities are extremely popular e.g. kayaking, paddleboarding.

 

CONSTRUCTION CRANES/BIG DIGS

 

• EVERYWHERE. Huge construction projects in the middle of every city except Helsinki where the cranes are situated in an area just out of the city center.
• Helsinki will be getting its first skyscraper soon.

 

THE HAPPINESS FACTOR

•  One of the key questions I had was about happiness. Are the Nords really happier than the rest of us?
• Based on some very limited exposure to the people and the culture, I would say yes because the financial stress factors have all been removed e.g. college tuition, healthcare, pensions are all taken care of through that ultra high tax rate.
• But I don’t get any sense that people are inherently happier or more energized or gung-ho about life.
• But providing people with financial peace of mind is  clearly an extremely important part of the happiness equation and makes for a more relaxed populace.

 

Bottom Line.

The opportunity to experience these cities for an extended period of time has been MAJOR in helping me to understand (a tiny bit) what makes Nordic culture so aspirational and influential.

I loved and appreciated everything about the cities I visited but I was surprised at how much I ended up missing the hustle and crazy energy of NYC.

That said, I am having a hell of a time adjusting to being back. I feel restless – I want to wake up in a hotel and have my day open for utterly new and fresh experiences….I may have learned more about myself than about the Nordics. Let’s see where this feeling takes me.