The Rough Guide to Scandinavia

Before I jump into some comments about this book, the best of all Rough Guides I've bought to date, let's get a few facts down about Scandinavia: 1) This part of the world is absolutely picture perfect. You'll not visit cities more architecturally stunning, clean, geographically blessed and culturally dynamic than these... anywhere. You'll not visit geography and nature more awesome and pristine than here... anywhere. 2) There's a price to pay for all of this loveliness: Scandinavia is the most expensive tourist destination in the world. The capital cities are hilariously expensive. What you pay in Stockholm and Oslo will be twice what you pay in Paris, four times what you pay in Prague, and ten time what you pay in Riga. 3) Three words: white, clean, and neat. Now, the book. There are 800 pages to get into the four countries that make Scandinavia. That's kind of like condensing world history down to one volume: There's the inevitable Wikipedia effect. People already familiar with Scandinavia will find the context a bit summary, but people new to the region will probably feel overwhelmed by the grandeur, rich history, and somewhat oppressive homogeneity. It's hard to please everyone, but this guide tries hard to fit into the gap between local comprehensiveness and general knowledge. I love this, but some readers will really hate it. If you want more detailed, pragmatic information, Bradt is probably the way to go. If you want more historic and cultural context, you'll need to buy a narrative history to complement this guide, though this history sections in this guide are particularly well done. Here's the point: Knowing that the British navy blew Copenhagen into oblivion in 1807 is not only one of history's great ironies, but reveals a critically important insight about the incredible accomplishments of the Danes since then. This guide will frame the issue for you without boring you with contrived or conjectural detail. Of course, there's emphasis on the capital cities here. Stockholm and Copenhagen, despite their relatively small sizes (each about a fifth the size of London or Paris), are so rich with sites, bites, walks, drinks, parks, boats, trains, shops, churches, palaces and universities that a quick tour around town will get your attention like a punch in the mouth. Helsinki, being relatively young by European standards, contains the most comprehensive ensemble of neoclassical and distinguished modern architecture you'll find in Europe. But one of the really nice things about this guide is that it gives you complete portraits of important towns OUTSIDE the capitals that you might otherwise, and unfortunately, overlook: Uppsala, Visby and Lund in Sweden; Arhus, Denmark; Bergen, Norway; and Turku, Finland are worth the journeys. In fact, they may even be the highlights of your trip. The density of life and institutions in Scandinavian cities are both exhilarating and frustrating. You'll feel anxious and stun