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Way back in the 1970s, when I was a school student I remember reading a famous novel called “Heidi”. This book was about a small, Swiss country girl, who lives in a wooden cabin with her grandfather in the Alpine region of Switzerland. The description of the Alps and the Swiss countryside has always fascinated me. The lush green meadows, colorful flowers, snow capped mountains, gushing sound of a small stream, tinkling bells of grazing cattle and sheep, the faraway chime of a church bell...my imagination went on and on, soothing and relaxing me. Since then, I have always wanted to visit Switzerland and it was a dream come true when my husband and I went there in 2004, as part of our European tour. The picture of my childhood imagination was unfolding in front of me. After having seen and experiencing the Alps my heart yearned for the mighty Himalayas. We visited the beautiful Indian cities of Simla, Kullu, and Manali. The Majestic Himalayas humbled us. Tall imposing peaks, dense pine forests, deep valleys, cave temples in remote areas and the simplicity of the local people gave us inner peace and tranquility. We set out to the Scandinavian countries in 2009, viz., Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in the European continent. Finland, Iceland, and Greenland are included in this category for the convenience of the travelers. These countries lie mostly in the Arctic Circle, and have a very cold climate. These countries have a rich culture, abundant natural resources, and a very low population which has not destroyed or spoiled the natural beauty. Finland is called the Country of Lakes. There are about 60,000 lakes and the archipelago in the Baltic Sea consists of nearly 6500 islands. Helsinki is the capital of Finland, and an important harbor city. To this day the Finns are grateful to the Russian Tsar Alexander II, for helping them to overthrow the Swedes and the Danes and become a Republic. Helsinki has a very huge University with diverse student population. We went to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, on board a cruise ship. The ship was a luxury liner with huge windows for us to enjoy the beautiful scenery. It so happened that we were in Sweden exactly on the 20th of June which was the mid summer’s day, ie. The day is the longest on that day and the sun does not set at all. We experienced the Midnight sun. In fact on all the 10 days we were in Scandinavia, we did not have darkness at all. In Sweden, midsummer’s eve is considered the most romantic day of the year. It is celebrated elaborately, flowers everywhere, everyone keeps awake the whole night, drinking, dining and dancing. Sweden is a monarchy ruled by King Karl Gustav. It is a lovely country known for its beautiful forests, exquisite landscape, gigantic lakes, and the rich culture of the people. Stockholm is a medieval city comprising of 14 islands. The old city has the Royal Palace, City hall, Vasa museum, and many of the government buildings. The Banquet for the Nobel Prize Winners is held in the City Hall. The Golden Hall in this building is spectacular with its walls of gold chips. The Vasa museum holds the huge 17th century warship, Vasa, which sank within 20 minutes of setting sail on its maiden journey. Three hundred years later, the Vasa was retrieved from the depths of the Baltic Sea, reconstructed and exhibited to this day in this museum. Oslo was our next destination, which we went by luxury coach. We passed the largest lake in Sweden called Lake Vanern. We also crossed a town called Karlstad, which is the birth place of Alfred Nobel. Oslo is the capital of Norway, the land of the Midnight sun. A wonderful country with pleasant low key cities, rich heritage sites, unspoiled fishing villages, medieval churches and of course Natural Beauty in abundance. The recent discovery of oil and natural gas has plummeted Norway to being one of the richest countries in Europe. Norway too is a monarchy. Oslo is one of the oldest and historical cities of Scandinavia. The City Hall here is where the Nobel Peace Prize is given. There is a huge fortress here and a castle called Akhershus. The most modern Opera House was a lovely tourist spot. The famous Karl Johan Street is in Oslo. This is a long pedestrian street, with many branded shops and restaurants. As it was summer, lots and lots of fruits like, strawberries and cherries were sold everywhere. Fish in any form, raw, cooked, boiled, dried was sold everywhere too. The west coast of Norway is famous for the Fjords (fi-yords). We now headed for the beautiful city of Bergen, the Gateway to the fjords. The one day round trip from Oslo to Bergen was called Norway in a Nutshell. We started this round trip on the Bergen Railway. This train ride over the largest mountain plateau was varied and spectacular. We passed through Finse, at a height of 1222 meters. All the way we saw snow capped mountains, snow melting down into streams and lakes. At Myrdal station we boarded the famous Flamsbana train and the one hour ride in the flam valley was exhilarating. We saw some of the most magnificent scenery with a shifting panorama of towering mountains and impressive waterfalls. At Flam station, we were surprised to see two cruise ships. We went in them for a 3 hour ride through the magical fjords. Fjords are narrow strips of sea between high mountains formed due to the erosion. The ride on the serene waters of the North Sea, through the passageway, surrounded by the mighty mountains, rising to a height of almost 6000 feet was breathtaking. We passed through the narrowest fjord which is the most dramatic fjord in Europe. The fjord landscape is a conservation area and is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. We reached Bergen, another ancient and historical city. It is multifaceted with a history of shipping and trading. The harbour is famous because the water does not freeze in winter. The Hanseatic Wharf with its pastel colored wooden houses and cobblestone streets is also in the World Heritage list. A funicular train took us to the top of Mount Floyen. The view of the city of Bergen surrounded by the seven mountains was an awesome sight from there. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is the biggest metropolitan city of Scandinavia. The statue of The Little Mermaid is the landmark of Copenhagen. In the Scandinavian countries, the wonders of Mother Nature, abundance of natural resources, sparse population, cleanliness, fantastic infrastructure, effective ways to attract tourists were all very impressive.
Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com). Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in August, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
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