In this latest series, I will be going through all the countries I’ve travelled to on my mission to visit every single country in the world. In this article, we will be covering countries #57, 58, and 59: Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. If you haven’t gotten a chance already, read this story first to find out why I’m trying to visit all 193 UN-recognized countries.
VIDEO – Country #57, 58, and 59: Denmark, Sweden, and Norway
Blog post on Denmark, Sweden, and Norway
- My Complete Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Germany Spending Breakdown
- Svendborg Denmark – Living in a Farm and Adventuring in the Gorilla Park
Denmark
After I finished visiting all the tiny countries in Europe, my next destination was Denmark. Starting from Nice, France, I made my way to Denmark, my first Scandinavian country. My only overnight stopover along the way was in Berlin before finally arriving in Denmark. There, my friend Signi picked me up from the train station and we went to her family’s house.
Svendborg
I met Signi while travelling in Medellin, Colombia and promised her that I would visit her in her home country. She lived in a small town called Svendborg and her house is actually a farm.
When we arrived, she showed me where I would be staying which was this trailer they constructed for their guest just outside their house.
It was super interesting to stay in a trailer while I was in Denmark, I’ve never done that before. She also showed me their barn where their horses lived.
Finally, I met her family who I promised to cook some Asian food for during my stay at their place.
Gorilla Park adventures
The next day, Signi took me to her workplace which is a treetop adventure park. Because she worked there, she was allowed to bring a friend in for free.
The treetop adventure was freaking scary. There was a lot of stuff I wasn’t accustomed to doing. I also felt deconditioned since I haven’t worked out in awhile and my upper body was relatively weak. I even got stuck at one of the areas that required a lot of upper body strength and balance.
The scariest part was the Tarzan swing that made you jump from a high platform across to a net. I was stuck there for awhile because I was freaking scared. When I finally jumped, I let out a huge scream of terror which resulted in the Danish people watching me to laugh their ass off. They started clapping after I made it across which was pretty funny.
After a fun day at the treetop adventure place, I cooked some Asian food for Signi’s family for my last night stay in their country.
Copenhagen to Stockholm
The next day, Signi’s dad took me to the train station and we took it together to go to Copenhagan where he works. I said my goodbye to him and took a connecting train going to Stockholm.
Stockholm, Sweden
Before long, I arrived in Stockholm and got ready to protect my belongings. Apparently, after their migration crisis, Stockholm is no longer as safe as it once was. I was paranoid and kept my gears close to me at all times. Although to be honest, it didn’t feel dangerous at all when I was there.
I made my way towards the HI Hostel which is the accommodation I was staying at for the night.
I didn’t feel happy when I was checking in the hostel. The German girl working on the front desk was rather unfriendly. Regardless, I just ignored her and got settled in my dorm room.
Discrimination of the Chinese backpacker
While I was getting settled in, a Norwegian guy in the hostel started complaining to me about the Chinese traveller from China who was also staying in the same dorm as us. According to him, the Chinese guy is rude and never purchased a bed sheet and being gross by sleeping on a sheet-less bed.
I had to tell the Norwegian guy that the Chinese guy probably doesn’t know better and it’s not best to make assumptions. When the Chinese guy came back in the hostel, I told him in English that he needs to get a sheet. He was surprised and quickly bought one. This stunned the Norwegian guy who was quick to discriminate against him.
I told him that people in China just don’t know better but if you explain the situation to them, they have no problem complying.
Cooking massive amounts of pasta
Because Scandinavian countries are expensive to travel to for backpackers, I decided to buy a batch of pasta, sauce, and ground beef from a local Swedish grocery store. I then slaved away in the hostel kitchen batch prepping my pasta until I had a massive pot full of them. Afterwards, I went to the bar in the hostel and asked if I can have some take out containers. They were happy to give me a bunch for free.
I then loaded up all the containers which was going to feed me for the 3 days.
The awesome train ride from Stockholm to Oslo
The next day, it was time to leave Sweden as I continued my journey towards Norway.
In the train, I sat beside this guy who looks like he can kill you. He was jacked and full of tattoos and looked like a drug dealer. However, after speaking with him, we got along really well! Turns out he is a maximum security prison guard in Norway and also draws adult themed cartoons when he lived in Japan. He’s originally from Ecuador but grew up in Norway and can speak Spanish, Norwegian, English, and Japanese fluently.
The guy had a massive headache but couldn’t take Advil because his organs can’t handle it. Luckily, I had some paracetamol in my first aid kit and gave him some. He was ecstatic that it fixed his massive headache.
The guy sitting in front of us said that we talk too much and we both looked at him and said, what’s wrong with making friends and having a good time talking?
Oslo
Before long, I made it to Oslo and bid my new friend goodbye. I decided to stay in a Best Western hotel and used some of my hotel points to get a free night stay. Normally, I stay in hostels but because Scandinavia is expensive, I decided to use my points there to stay the night.
I had a goodnight stay in Oslo and did some city walking the next day.
My goal in Sweden and Norway was just to tick off both countries. And so, later in the afternoon, I caught a flight going to Finland which would help me complete all the countries in the Scandinavia region.
Conclusion
Denmark is probably one of the friendliest European countries I’ve ever visited in Europe. I didn’t find Sweden to be very welcoming but I understand their point of view after the migration crisis. However, my trip to Sweden at that time is probably once in a lifetime and I don’t care to go back there again.
Norway is neat and I’d love to go back again one day to see the Fjords and to go to Svalbard and check out polar bears.
My next destination from here is Finland and I’d say that I was pleasantly surprised by my travel experience there.
Subscribe to Travel and Live Free’s email list to get the latest blog post, updates, and to follow my journey as I work towards visiting all 193 UN recognized countries in the world!
Like me on Facebook to get the latest updates on my journey around the world. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the latest video on my travels and travel tips.
