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It is now quite a few years since we visited Oslo, but it was attractive to walk around, and is a pleasant introduction to the feel of the Scandinavian countries with its Viking Museum and Stave Churches.
The train trip across to the coastal city of Bergen is very scenic (take the spur line down to Flam if it is still operating), and Bergen itself, despite being burned to the ground numerous times, still has some wonderful old buildings, especially down near the port area. Take the funicular up the side of the mountain to get a good view of the town below, and then walk down through the gardens.
If you take the ferry trip from Bergen up the coast, make sure you take the opportunity to get off the boat and walk around Trondheim and Tromso - and all the other stops too.
Copenhagen is bigger and livelier in feel that Oslo. The old town area features cobbled streets, palaces, lively canals, and lots of public statuary (they seem to have a particular thing about naked women ...). If you are going to be there for a few days (yes, make some time), the Copenhagen Card is great value for getting around on local public transport. We used it for the train trip out to Koge (be sure to visit the Museum there for fantastic Middle Ages stuff), and also to Fredericksborg Castle (you get to go past Helsingor on the way!).
Tip: At the end of a long flight you don't want any hassles. Apart from all the other good things about it, Copenhagen has a great airport - ranked in the top 3 in Europe. We found friendly, helpful staff on duty at 5.30am and they were even able to understand our Aussie accents! There's a train which leaves from inside the terminal and takes you straight to the city - and unlike the airport train in Sydney, with this one, you can easily fit your luggage with you in the carriage!.
If you want to have a quick taste of Sweden, it is only a few hours by train from Copenhagen to Malmo - you'll get to cross the new bridge, but sadly, you won't get to see the beautiful structure, because the train runs along under the road deck. Malmo has a wonderful Old Town area.
We arrived in Stockholm by train, having come up from Hamburg, through Copenhagen,and then Malmo in southern Sweden - but we stayed at the airport hotel and then left the city by boat! Probably not a common game plan, but we'd left our accommodation booking too late to find an affordable bed in the city, and the Radisson SAS at the airport in Arlanda turned out to be extra nice, with a fun - and free on our Eurail pass - quick trip to the city each day on the Arlanda Express.
Stockholm is the largest of the Scaninavian cities and there is a lot to see, including some great museums. As well as wandering around the Gamla Stan (old town) area and some of the "new town" bits, we took in the Vasa Museum (a huge, centuries- old wooden ship dredged up from the bottom of the harbour), the Historical Museum (especially well presented and don't miss the Gold room), the Armory (one of the museums in the Palace, with Royal clothes, both ceremonial and every-day, trinkets and decorated coaches preserved over centuries), The Nordic Museum (exhibits from every day life over the centuries) and the Toy and Transport Museum (they are combined in one building).
Finland is Nordic rather than Scandinavian. Helsinki, its capital, is a relatively modern European city. It was founded in the mid 1700s to supply a nearby fortress (at a time when Finland was part of Sweden) - so it has no medieval past and so no "old town". In 1809, Sweden lost Finland to Russia, but it won its independence in 1917, while being forced to cede portions back during the 1900s.
This has made for an interesting mix of architecture in the city - Russian, Neoclassical and Art Nouveau. Don't miss the three main churches - the Greek Othorox one, Uspenski, with its gold domes, the Lutheran one - all white, nearby, and on the other side of the city, a strikingly modern and quite beautiful C of E church literally built into a rock. The glass and copper ceiling is stunning and throws amazing light onto the copper-faced choir stalls and organ, as well as onto the scarlet seats!
Helsinki also has some lovely parks, lakes and outdoor markets all within easy walking distance of city hotels. We walked to the Sibelius monument via the Cemetary. This was not a deliberate plan, we just got a bit lost - but what a wonderful place that was, peaceful, beautiful, with lots of tiny birds flitting to and fro, and squirrels so tame they would nibble your shoes!
Tip: If you are thinking of visiting Helsinki, one interesting way to get there is by boat from Stockholm. It travels overnight - you leave late in the afternoon and arrive around 10am the next day. Two lines ply this route, Viking and Silja - we took the Silja line but we understand they are pretty similar. They leave and arrive around similar times, and in fact, you can oftem spot one from the other during the daylight hours. They are mostly filled with locals, who take advantage of the huge duty free shops on board to stock up on alcohol and cigarettes.
Tip: An interesting day trip from Helsinki is to take a hydrofoil across the Baltic to Tallin, in Estonia. You can take a ferry but that is slower (about 3 hours in comparison with an hour 40 minutes) and limits your time in Tallin. While there is a "new town", the attraction in Tallin is definitely the Old Town area, up the hill above the ferry terminal. Make sure you walk right up to the top - through the fortress wall - there is a lovely Russian Church up there, pink with gold domes. On the day we went, we saw two weddings going on there.
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