Who knows the best time to travel to Northern Europe?

The best time to travel in Northern Europe is from May to September every year, and the best way to travel in Northern Europe is cruise travel. You can not only cruise the four Nordic countries, but also visit the countries along the Baltic Sea.

Some people say that if you have never been to Norway, you don’t know what paradise on earth is. So when you think of Northern Europe, what do you think of? Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian forests, fjord scenery, Andersen’s fairy tales, or still want to know what life is like in this area with the highest welfare and high income in the world?

After choosing for a long time, my family and I finally embarked on the Royal Princess’ Nordic trip in early May this year. As for why I chose a cruise ship to travel to Northern Europe, please allow me to explain it later. First, let’s take a look at the charming Nordic scenery during my trip. We took a Finnair flight from Beijing to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, on May 12th and started our 14-day trip to Northern Europe.

We chose Copenhagen as the first stop of this trip because it is the largest city in Northern Europe. We stayed here overnight and had leisure time to appreciate this "most livable city" rated by the United Nations Human Settlements Agency. "Best Designed City".

Drinking a cup of beer or coffee under the sunshine in Newport will definitely slow down your pace and make you wonder for a moment whether we have traveled hundreds of years ago.

Denmark is world-renowned for its design, and you can find high-quality designs in small shops on the roadside.

Even the most famous restaurant in Tivoli Park is not only because of its delicious dishes, but also because you can enjoy the delicious food while admiring the restaurant's architectural design and tableware audits. Every knife and fork is of high quality.

After visiting Copenhagen, our imperial princess came to pick us up. Let’s see if our princess is as tall as the Nordics? The 140,000-ton luxury cruise ship will set sail with 3,500 guests. Dear readers, please allow me to describe the various high-level enjoyments on board later. I am eager to show you the beautiful scenery along the way.

The cruise ship set sail from Copenhagen in the evening, and early the next morning, we had docked in Oslo, the capital of Norway. This is the magic of cruise travel. You don’t feel the rush on the road at all. When we are asleep, we have already reached the next destination.

Oslo is the oldest capital city in Scandinavia. It was founded in the 11th century AD. It is located on the hills at the northern end of the Oslo Fjord, facing the sea and backed by mountains.

When you come to Oslo, you must see the works of two world-famous artists. One is the painting of Munch. This master's painting "The Scream" was auctioned for US$120 million in 2012. Shocked the whole world. There is also the sculpture park of Vigeland, the sculptor who was his best friend and romantic rival.

Such an ancient and young city once hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics. Snow jumping is the most popular sport among local people. How could we miss the opportunity to visit the highest snow jumping platform in the world? ?

If you are interested, you can also sit in the simulation cabin and simulate snow jumping.

Visit the ski jumping platform. The beautiful scenery on the mountain along the way will definitely make you unforgettable. Even the King of Norway has a resort on this mountain. Here I must recommend to everyone the restaurant where we had lunch. It is in a hotel. The buffet is very delicious and the desserts are top-notch. The most unforgettable thing for me is the scenery outside its window. You can see the beautiful scenery of Oslo Port, overlooking the snow-capped mountains in the distance and the lake up close. This is definitely a restaurant with a view.

At the end of the day's tour, our minds are still filled with the beautiful scenery of Oslo, but our bodies are already tired. Let's quickly return to our Princess Cruise, take a hot bath, and then have a good time Enjoy our champagne and dinner. If you are still not satisfied after the meal, then go shopping, SPA, exercise, go to a bar with friends or go to the casino to try your luck. But don’t be too tired, there are more exciting places waiting for us tomorrow.

When we opened our eyes in the morning, we had arrived at Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden. When it comes to Gothenburg, some people may not be very familiar with it, but when it comes to VOLOV cars, I believe everyone is familiar with it. That's right, this is where VOLVO's headquarters is located. Gothenburg is a small city. Here we recommend the canal tour we took. Because the main scenery of this city is on both sides of the canal, and looking at the scenery from the canal is unique.

Farewell to Gothenburg and set sail.

Unknowingly, our trip has reached the fourth day. Taking a cruise will take you to the next destination. Shore excursions have also been arranged, so you don’t have to worry about planning for the next stop every day. Time seems to speed up unknowingly.

The purpose of the fourth day is Berlin, the capital of Germany, which I am very much looking forward to. I have been to many places in southern Germany during my previous travels, but I gave up this stop because the overland trip to Berlin would be very detoured. But Berlin, this famous World War II city with so much history, how could it be given up? This time I finally made up for this regret.

In addition to sightseeing, Berlin is also a good place for shopping during this trip. Prices in Northern Europe are relatively expensive, but prices in Germany are very attractive. Especially after this year, the depreciation of the euro will make it difficult for us Chinese to travel. Shopping is such a good thing. The department store industry in Berlin is very developed. The prices of H&M and ZARA are cheaper than in China, and the designs are more diverse. There are also ROMOVA boxes and Zwilling knives. The prices are only about half of those in China. How could you miss this opportunity? Buy it all at once. :-)

After four consecutive days of sightseeing, everyone was a little tired. The fifth day turned out to be the sailing day of the Imperial Princess. What a considerate arrangement, we can take a long nap, then call for free ROOM SERVICES, and have breakfast in bed like the British. :-) Then have a good rest on the boat, meet friends to drink coffee and chat, play cards, go to the atrium to watch a show, learn to dance, go to the gym, go to the SPA, or read a book and stare at the sea in a daze on the balcony. As for eating, I'm afraid I only have to worry about my stomach being small.

After a day of adjustment, we are all resurrected with full health, because on the sixth day we will go to the most beautiful ancient city of this trip, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Tallinn means "Danish Bunker". It was built by the Danes in the 13th century. The current ancient city has completely maintained its original appearance. 80% of the buildings in the ancient city are original buildings. That is to say, when we step on the cobblestone road under our feet, pass by small shops, and climb the city wall to have a panoramic view of the ancient city, we have actually been passing through buildings hundreds of years ago. The restaurant waiters here are all dressed in national costumes, and the young girls and boys are all handsome. It is really an unforgettable small town.

While everyone was still talking about the charm of Tallinn, our princess had already docked at the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, the most anticipated city on the seventh day in the morning. . When my friends heard that I went to St. Petersburg, they were all surprised: "Aren't you going to Northern Europe? How can you go to Russia?" Yes, this is one of the important reasons why we chose to take a cruise to visit Northern Europe. Although St. Petersburg is Russia's second largest city, but it's right on the Baltic Sea coast. Taking a cruise here will save a lot of time and cost compared to land travel in Russia, because even coming here from Moscow requires an overnight train ride. More importantly, there is no need to prepare a Russian visa when taking a cruise to St. Petersburg. They provide additional preferential policies to cruise guests, eliminating the need for a visa.

St. Petersburg is Russia’s window to Europe. It has been the capital of Russia since Peter the Great established the capital here in 1712 until the Russian October Revolution. St. Petersburg is still known as the scientific, cultural and artistic capital of Russia. St. Petersburg not only holds special significance for Russia, it is also one of Europe's major cultural centers. There are more than 200 museums here, and the authentic works contained in them are amazing. The Neva River flows quietly, and the wide water surface makes it difficult to tell whether it is a river, sea water or a lake. Most of the buildings on both sides of the Neva River were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. The architectural style is influenced by the Western European Renaissance and has Russian characteristics. It is majestic. Walking on the riverside road, or taking a motorboat tour on the Neva River, I suddenly felt that this city was very much like Paris, and it was a bit more northern and spacious than Paris. The people of St. Petersburg themselves call this place the Venice of Russia, because there are many large and small rivers passing through the city, and there are more than 400 bridges, each of which is a scenic line.

Speaking of the architecture of St. Petersburg, there are many Russian classical buildings and places of interest left by the former imperial capital, such as the Winter Palace and Palace Square, the Summer Garden and Summer Palace, and St. Isaac's Cathedral. ． ． ． ． Hey, everyone should just watch the movie.

On the early morning of the ninth day, our princess stopped her steps again, and we arrived in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

When we arrived in Helsinki, it was drizzling and the weather was a bit cold. Northern Europe is the world's summer resort, and the best travel season is from May to September every year. For me, coming from Beijing, this is the best place to cleanse my lungs.

Helsinki is a garden city where urban architecture and natural scenery are cleverly combined. The forests and urban architecture echo each other, which makes me envious. We drove for more than an hour to visit the local ancient town of Porvoo to see how it was different from ancient towns in China.

Although we were so reluctant to leave, the trip came to an end. In the early morning of the tenth day, we arrived in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, the largest of the four Nordic countries. Among the capitals of the four Nordic countries, I personally feel that Sweden is the most developed and Stockholm is the most beautiful. Stockholm has been the economic and cultural center of Sweden since the 13th century. It has never been damaged by war and everything has remained intact.

I have been wondering for a long time. Why did you choose the Imperial Princess Cruise to travel to Northern Europe? I decided after doing my homework.

First of all, it is from an economic perspective. As we all know, Northern Europe is a high-income and high-consumption region. In Sweden, even taking a bus within the city costs 5 euros. If you are going from one country to another, you may be able to get relatively cheap short-distance tickets if you book your tickets early, but even if you are traveling from the city to another The airport and one-way bus transportation will cost more than 30 euros, let alone taking a taxi. Then some people say, take the train. I don’t have a detailed understanding, but according to other people’s introduction, the cost of the train is not more cost-effective than flying. When it comes to accommodation and meals, they are more expensive than in China. The simplest restaurant for two people to eat in Copenhagen will cost about 400 yuan. If they eat Chinese food in Stockholm, it will cost about 1,000 yuan. Calculated in this way, if we choose to travel by land, I am afraid that we can only save money and save money, which will really affect the quality. So why not spend about the same amount of money to enjoy the full five-star service? Calculated in this way, cruise travel is very cost-effective.

The second reason is time. When I come to Northern Europe for the first time, I always want to see more places, but the vacation is only so long. For me, a two-week vacation is already the limit. If it is longer, I will be fired. This time I visited the capitals of 4 countries in Northern Europe, including Berlin, Gothenburg, Tallinn and St. Petersburg. I visited eight cities in one day. If I choose to travel by land, then I must take time to travel between cities. Even if the distance between the two cities is only a two-hour flight, including the time to go to the airport and the waiting time at the airport, it will still take at least half a day, not to mention that the flight time may not be suitable. Then there is no way I can cover such a place in 12 days. When you choose a cruise ship, everything becomes possible and easy. The boat will sail in the evening when tourists are tired and return to the boat to rest, and arrive at the next destination while the tourists are sleeping. The schedule of the Royal Princess is very reasonable. When everyone is tired from playing on the fifth day, there will be a sea sailing day, so that everyone can fully rest on the ship and enjoy the facilities and food on the ship. For big cities, such as St. Petersburg, because there are so many things to see, they will choose to stop here for two days, giving everyone enough time to go sightseeing ashore.

The third reason is quality. I have chosen land travel in the United States and Europe before. I changed cities every day. I didn’t even dare to unpack my luggage when I went to bed every day, because I knew that I would be asked to get on the bus before dawn tomorrow morning and be dragged down. a city. The only impression I have now is that I am tired. I can’t wake up from sleeping on the bus every day. When I arrive at a scenic spot, I am asked to stop and take photos. I often forget where I am when I come back. When choosing a self-driving tour, I think it is best to travel in an area that is not too far away, and do enough homework, book all the hotels, and make a plan. The longest distance between each stop should not exceed 300 kilometers, otherwise there will be only I'm exhausted. There are no such problems when choosing a cruise ship. The food, accommodation and entertainment on board are only better than those in five-star hotels. Children who often go to European five-star hotels must be very clear about the quality of our five-star hotels in Asia. Hotels can't compare. But cruise ships are completely comparable and of better quality. There is no need to do any strategy, shore excursions are the selection of cruise companies. Each city will have at least 5-6 shore excursions for you to choose from. Some are for sightseeing, some for tasting delicious food, and some for fishing. Regardless of your interests Wherever you click, I’m sure you’ll find one that suits you.

For me, who is coming to Northern Europe for the first time, the first shore sightseeing route in each place is "The BEST Of XXX", which is "The Best of XXX" in Chinese. This route will arrange the essence of this place into one sightseeing route. , best for first-timers. Moreover, the daily ship report will be delivered to the room regularly, which introduces the history and situation of each scenic spot in detail. Why bother to make a guide? Use the time you spend working on the guide to bask in the sun on the balcony and be in a daze.

The fourth reason is the attraction of the cruise itself. This is a 19-story five-star hotel that can host 3,500 guests and more than 1,500 staff at the same time, but you will not feel crowded at all. The buffet is available from 6 o'clock in the morning to 24 o'clock. The main restaurant, bar, coffee shop, PIZZA BAR, and ice cream BAR, no matter when you return to the ship or stay on the ship to enjoy, food can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere. Not to mention, if you are lucky, you can book a chef's dinner with a value of 3 million US dollars, or a king crab banquet that only costs 20 US dollars. How important this is for a foodie. The rooms on the Imperial Princess have also been expanded. Not only are they larger in size, but they are also equipped with two large-screen LCD TVs in the mini-suite room. The movie channel actually has Chinese subtitled programs. It was on the ship that I saw the "Simulation Game" that I had missed before. 》. As for the entertainment programs on the ship, there are countless. In addition to the professional performances in the theater every night, various activities will be organized on the ship. The activity forecast will be published in the daily ship bulletin. You can choose according to your own interests. If you are a sports enthusiast, the large professional gym, basketball court on the deck, simulated golf, and circular track will definitely satisfy you. I think choosing a cruise gives us another level of enjoyment in addition to enjoying the beautiful scenery of the destination, so the price-performance ratio is by no means comparable to ordinary land tours.