Join the 2025 travel competition winners as they reconnect with their Swedish and Danish roots and discover the beauty of Norway. Here they share their favourite sights, smells and tastes from their journey – from charming Gamla Stan in Stockholm to cocktails on the canal in Copenhagen to spring flowers and hot cocoa in Bergen!
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This American family's touching and wanderlust-inspiring story was selected as our 2025 travel competition winner!
Our parents always spoke with great pride about their heritage – our mother’s family came from Denmark, our father’s from Sweden – a pride which they passed on to us. We worked with Authentic Scandinavia to plan a once-in-a-lifetime trip to visit the lands of our ancestors in May 2025. It gave us a chance to reconnect as a family, since we all live in different parts of the U.S., and to explore places our grandparents once lived before immigrating. Because our parents had spoken about the breathtaking scenery of Norway, we added it to our itinerary as well. We combined destinations from two different tours – Scandinavian Capitals and Sognefjord Adventure – and shaped the itinerary around the number of days we needed.
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Having the accommodation and transportation handled by professionals made it easy for us to focus on the parts we wanted to plan ourselves. The hotels were all booked in convenient locations with wonderful breakfast buffets. Every morning while enjoying those breakfasts and sampling local foods, we planned our day together. Those slow mornings became some of our favourite moments of the trip.
We landed in Stockholm and explored the main attractions, including Gamla Stan and Skansen, and took a canal tour. We strolled through Kungsträdgården to enjoy the statues and flowers, stopping for pastries and coffee, something we often did on our travels.
Next, we travelled by train to Copenhagen, where we explored the city and its canals. One rainy day, we walked from Nyhavn over to funky Christiania. Even with the off-and-on showers, we enjoyed coffee and sandwiches at a small café, took in the scent of blooming lilacs, admired the street art, gazed up at the spiralling Church of Our Saviour and even stopped for cocktails on a canal boat on our way back to the hotel.
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We took a day trip north to visit Frederiksborg Castle and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. On the train we met several friendly locals who helped guide us and even took us to the art museum in their personal car.
We especially loved Tivoli Gardens, both during the day and at night. Our mother often talked about her father telling her stories of Tivoli when she was a child, describing it as a magical place, so it felt meaningful to be there. We enjoyed a traditional Danish meal at the Grøfton restaurant, rode the roller coaster and the Tilt-A-Whirl, and wandered among the flowers and lights. Seeing the gardens in daylight and then again with the evening lights truly showed us why it was so special to both our mother and grandfather.
After Copenhagen, we travelled by overnight cruise ship through the sea and up a fjord that brought us to Oslo. We explored the nearby sites, including the Oslo Opera House, Akershus Fortress along the harbour, and took a short boat ride to Bygdøy to visit the Fram and Kon-Tiki museums. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the sites of Oslo.
We loved the food halls in each country, with so many inspiring displays of flowers, produce and international food. My sister and I especially enjoyed lunch at Mathallen in Oslo, where we tried a variety of pintxos – open-face sandwiches – at Barramon, a Spanish food stall. Later, we stopped for drinks at SALT, where cosy fire pits added warmth and atmosphere. From there, we had great views of the floating saunas, the modern Opera House and the floating glass sculpture in the fjord. I later walked up and down the sloped sides of the Opera House and loved the views of the city, the Ferris wheel and the Munch Museum.
From Oslo, we began our journey west through Norway by train and then by boat, traveling toward Bergen. We stopped for a day and night in Balestrand, a charming village on the fjord. The surrounding mountains and small villages across the water created a breathtaking scene. That evening, we watched the sunset cast a pink glow over the village and mountains across from us.
We wandered the quiet streets, visited a stave church and admired the spring flowers – especially the rhododendrons blooming in every colour imaginable. My sister and I enjoyed a pear and elderflower cider at Ciderhuset with views of the orchard and mountains. We had two meals at restaurants owned by a Ukrainian family, including one called Pearl by Harbor, and both were wonderful and cosy.
The next morning, we boarded another small ship and continued through the fjords toward Bergen. My parents had always spoken of Norway’s awe-inspiring scenery and seeing it in person did not disappoint.
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In Bergen, our hotel was again centrally located, allowing us to walk everywhere. We took the Fløibanen funicular for views of the city, and another day we walked the switchback roads to an old fire station, which was even more enjoyable. We passed pretty houses, shops and quiet neighbourhoods along our way.
We explored the fish market and Bryggen wharf. A small walking tour of the historical city centre, led by a woman from the U.S., ended with her recommending a tiny hot cocoa café called Fjåk. The cocoa could be taken next door, where they sold ice cream and had daily soup specials. It was so delicious, we returned twice.
I especially loved the springtime flowers everywhere we went! They added beauty and colour even on grey days. We enjoyed flower and vegetable markets in every city. The ranunculus in Stockholm, the lilacs in Christiania and the rhododendrons in Denmark and Norway were stunning, as my mother would say, and seeing them in so many different colours was an unexpected highlight of our trip.
This was truly a trip of a lifetime to visit the countries of our ancestors and spending time with my siblings. I would go back again and again if I could. The people everywhere we went were welcoming, kind, patient and helpful, whether we needed directions or simply had questions. Throughout the trip, we felt safe and comfortable, which allowed us to relax and truly enjoy every moment. The spring flowers, the water, the history and the warmth of the people made me proud of my heritage and left us all with an unforgettable experience.
Authentic Scandinavia was incredibly helpful from the very beginning, and their staff actually lives in Scandinavia, giving them firsthand knowledge of the places we wanted to visit. They offer both guided and self-guided tours; while the guided options looked wonderful, we knew we wanted the freedom to plan our own daily itinerary. They took care of all the logistics I was too nervous to arrange myself – especially the transportation between countries. They booked hotels in excellent, central locations, each with fantastic breakfast buffets, and arranged all of our travel from city to city. It was the perfect balance of independence and expert planning for our heritage trip.
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