Scandinavia. Almost as far north as you can get before hitting the north pole. Still, these countries have a lot more to offer than just ice and snow. Let us show you what Scandinavia is truly like when you actually look beyond what you might see as a tourist.
A vibrant culture
Some people believe that Scandinavia is dull and boring without a real culture. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Scandinavia has a strong culture and when you get to know us, we are not afraid to share this. For example, have you ever heard about midsummer? We Scandinavians take it very seriously and we are good at celebrating. I won’t spoil anything, to truly enjoy it, you have to see it for yourself.
An amazing heritage
You thought Christopher Columbus was the first to discover America? Well you were very wrong. Vikings arrived hundreds of years before him. Vikings, the heritage of all of Scandinavia. These warriors travelled all over the world, sometimes raiding but often trading.
If you come here, you might still find some of those Viking genes in the Scandinavian people. Just take the finish who likes to go swimming in the middle of winter. If that’s not a true Viking, I don’t know what is.
Interesting food
Food is not something many people travel here to try but we actually have a lot of great food for all tastes. We also have some food better left alone. If you are ever invited to try some “surströmming”, you might want to decline. All of the Scandinavian countries have unique food that you simply have to try if you ever choose to visit us. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.
Also, don’t judge all the food by what you eat in one country. We might all be called Scandinavia but each country has their own food scene to discover. But hey, that’s a good thing. More food for you to eat!
A nice climate
Despite what many people believe, we don’t have snow year-round. At least most part don’t. If you come here in summer, you might want to pack you bathing suit instead of your heavy coat. Also, whenever you visit Iceland, make sure you pack this no matter the season. You simply can’t travel to Iceland without trying out their hot springs. There is nothing quite like sitting under the starry sky in the middle of winter, surrounded by snow, in a natural hot spring. Believe us, you don’t want to miss it.
But why is our climate this mild? The main reason for this is something called The Gulfstream. This current brings warm water from the south, up to us here in the north. This then brings warm air that heats our country, even in the winter. Therefore, we never get the extreme weather some people associate us with. Sure, we do occasionally get a snowstorm or two but these are actually quite rare.
Why all these misconceptions?
Let me just say, there are a lot of misconceptions about Scandinavia. Some are fun, some are less fun but they all have thing in common: Isolation. We are located at a fairly isolated place, not a lot of travellers find their way here. That is why we are writing this article, to persuade more people to come and visit. Only be traveling to a place can you create your own image of it and break all of these misconceptions. We hope that you to will one day be able to explore these amazing countries and learn for yourself exactly what it means to be Scandinavian.
