The Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s Millennium thriller trilogy has become a huge success, and now you can tour the settings where the stories take place.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been made into films and TV series.

The Millennium trilogy revolves around the investigating journalist Mikael Blomkvist and computer-hacker Lisbeth Salander. The main characters live and work in the island of Södermalm.

Journalist Stieg Larsson (1954-2004) was the founder and editor-in-chief of antiracism magazine Expo. Larsson was an expert on anti-democracy, right-wing extremist and Nazi movements, and the income from the Millennium trilogy was intended to finance Expo. Larsson died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack in November 2004, just a short time after finishing the third Millennium book.

Experience Stockholm from the Millennium Characters’ Perspectives

Walk in the footsteps of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander while getting additional background information about the characters and the author. During the tour you also will learn about historical and contemporary Stockholm and its inhabitants.

There are two ways to do the tours: 1) Stockholm City museum arranges award-winning guided public tours and private tours for groups. 2) You can also guide yourself with Stockholm City museum’s Millennium map.

Either way, the walk starts at Bellmansgatan 1, where Mikael Blomkvist lives, then passes the Millennium editorial office, Lisbeth Salander’s luxury apartment and many other locations mentioned in the books and films.

Some of the locations mentioned in the books:

• Fiskargatan 9 – It is here at this upscale address with a view over Djurgården and Old Town where Lisbeth Salander buys a 21-room apartment. She only lives in three of the rooms. The name on the door is “V. Kulla,” in a nod to the children’s book character Pippi Longstocking’s house “Villa Villerkulla.”
• Bellmansgatan 1 – Mikael Blomkvist’s home address. The apartment is located on the hills of the historic Söder district – one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Stockholm. Several key scenes are set here, including the incident in the third book when several people, including ice-cold secret service agent Monica Figuerola, spy on Blomkvist.
• The corner of Götgatan and Hökens gata. In the midst of the crowded city street of Götgatan you will find Mikael’s Blomkvist’s workplace, the offices of the fictional Millennium magazine. In the books, it is located above the Greenpeace office.
• Mellqvists Kaffebar, Hornsgatan 78 – Mikael Blomkvist’s regular café – and Stieg Larsson’s in real life – is on Södermalm. This is where Stieg Larsson used to hang out when Expo, the magazine he worked for, had its offices on the floor above. Perhaps it was right here that he sat and came up with the plots of the novels?

Public Tours Spring/Summer 2010:

• Swedish: Saturdays, 2 pm and Thursdays, 6 pm
• English: Saturdays, 11 am and Wednesdays, 6 pm

Tickets can be bought at the Stockholm City Museum, at Stockholm Tourist Centre and at www.ticnet.se. Price: SEK 120

Group Tours

Booking for groups is available in Swedish, Finnish, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Danish.

To book a guided walk, please contact the booking office at Stockholm City Museum on telephone +46-(0)8-508 31 659 Monday-Friday at 9-12 am or e-mail bokning@stadsmuseum.stockholm.se. The tour takes approximately 1,5-2 hours.

Starting at 8 in the morning, we would spend the next eight hours on what is probably the most popular of Iceland’s shore excursions: The Golden Circle Tour. Cruise lines may call the tour something different, but no matter what it’s called, the tour makes a wide sweep to visit three significant attractions near Reykjavik. Geysir, which gave the world the word ‘geyser’; Gullfoss, a thundering double-decker waterfall; and Thingvellir, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, the only place in the world where you can see this phenomenon above water. See the full story, Running Through Reykjavik, Assessing Iceland’s Cruise Tours.

Situated on the southern coast of Finland, Helsinki is a gate between East and West. Finland’s capital city embodies much of the Finnish spirit and its progressive hi-tech push but also is unlike any other Finnish city, due in part to the combination of Swedish and Russian influences.

Popular tours and excursions visit Sibelius’ Home and Art Nouveau locations; the Old Wooden Town of Porvoo; Mustio Manor and Fiskars Ironworks; or the countryside. A day trip to the Arctic Circle can also be arranged.

Founded in 1550 by Sweden’s King Gustav, Helsinki was developed as a harbor town to compete for Baltic trade with Tallinn. The Finnish capital developed around the port.

Situated in the city center, South Harbor is the central cruise passenger traffic hub. Cruise ships dock at Katajanokka or other quays within walking distance of the city center and the Kauppatori Market Square, a colorful way to begin exploration of Helsinki.

The largest cruise ships dock at Hernesaari in West Harbor, from where shuttle buses take passengers in ten minutes to the city center

Markets

Cruise passengers can hardly miss Helsinki’s famous Kauppatori, the Market Square, selling almost everything from fresh fish to handicrafts. The Old Market Hall next to the Market Square is worth a visit as well. The Old Market Hall offers historic charm and a wide assortment of fresh fish and special foods, including canned bear meat!

Founded in the 10th century, Sigtuna is a pint-size town, so charming as to cause one visitor to remark to Camilla Zedendahl, managing director for Sigtuna Tourism, “When do you close for winter?” As if it were a Disney village. But Sigtuna is a real town, pedestrian friendly on the banks of Lake Mälaren, less than an hour outside of Stockholm. The town can be reached by train, bus, or boat from the center of Stockholm

Sigtuna boast a good selection of  stores, cafés, restaurants and if you plan to stay a few days before or after your cruise, hotels.

Of historical interest are runic stones, the ruins of stone churches, a museum with a Viking exhibit and more.

Nearby is Skokloster Castle, once the residence of one of Gustav II Adolf’s generals when Sweden was a superpower. The castle’s 17th-cntury interior has been kept completely intact. Also nearby, Steninge Palace, where I participated in glass-blowing, and Rosersberg Palace.

In Sigtuna, enjoy a traditional Fika at Tant Brun, a cafe named after a Swedish children's book character.

Aunt Brown´s Café (Tant Bruns kaffestuga) offers tea and coffee in a warm and charming 17th century setting.

Cozy fireplace at Tant Brun's cafe.

Sigtuna boasts more than 150 runic inscriptions, more than any other town in Sweden.

With my guide Camilla Zedendahl, managing director of Sigtuna Tourism.

Sigtuna was founded to be the first Christian town in Sweden – the center of the new religion.

Sigtuna municipality offers more restaurants per capita than Stockholm. One of my favorites: the uber-cozy Boat House restaurant on Lake Malaren.

For more information about Sigtuna, visit Sigtuna Tourism.

Lunch With A View: Geirangerfjord from Seabourn Sojourn, stateroom 720. | photo by Natalie Drake, stateroom stewardess, Seabourn Sojourn

Today, Seabourn Sojourn cruised Geirangerfjord, Norway’s best-known fjord.

Lush green farmlands edge up the rounded mountainsides and chiseled, cragged, steep peaks of the Jotunheimen mountains, Norway’s tallest. Sojourn sailed at a leisurely pace so that we spent a good part of the day in the 15-kilometer fjord.

Seven Sisters waterfall.

The fjord is branch of Storfjord (Great Fjord). Geirangerfjord, along with Norway’s Naerøyfjord, enjoys  UNESCO World Heritage status; however, there is talk of building power lines across Geirangerfjord, which could threaten the fjord’s UNESCO status.

The fjord is also under threat of the mountain Akerneset, which is in danger of collapse, an event that scientists say will create a tsunami as tall as 40 meters (more than 130 feet), posing danger to the towns of Geiranger at the end or the fjort and Hellsylt.

There are dozens of waterfalls throughout Geirangerfjord, the most notable being the “Seven Sisters” and the “Suitor.” The falls face one another across the fjord.

Cruise ships are no strangers to Geirangefjord. The first one sailed into Geiranger in 1869.

Another view of the Seven Sisters.

Picture Perfect view from Seabourn Sojourn's Colonnade Restaurant.

Umbrella overhead, today I toured misty Alesund, Norway.

Seabourn Sojourn docked within a stone's throw of the city center.

Norway's most beautiful city? A combination of fjords, mountains and a town center built in art nouveau-style are some of the factors that resulted in Ålesund pinching first place in a survey by the Norwegian daily newspaper Dagbladet. Larger cities like Bergen (second place) and Trondheim (fourth place) – perhaps more famous for their beauty – were not considered to be as scenic as Ålesund when the Norwegians themselves cast their votes. Situated at the westernmost point of mount Aksla, the Fjellstua offers a stunning view of Ålesund from 426 feet/130 meters above sea level.

Alesund's distinctive architecture. The wooden building that comprised the town were razed in 1904. During the next three years, Alesund was rebuilt in stone, brick and mortar in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau style).

Stone Faced. Alesund's architecture pays tribute to Nordic mythology and other elements.

A canal runs through Alesund's city center, imbuing the city with the charm of cities such as Amsterdam.

The water in the canal and in the surrounding seas is crystal clear.

Alesund's Molja Lighthouse houses Room 47 for the small boutique Hotel Brosundet on the canal.

One of the more popular shore excursions in Flam, Norway is to ride a bike. You can take the famous Flam Railway in one direction (preferably uphill) and cycle back (downhill into Flam). Or you can pick up a bike in Flam and ride through the valley for some gorgeous views. Note that the uphill journey can be strenuous.

To view more photos of the Flam Bike Ride on Flickr, click Flam, Norway Bike Ride.

Other Flam Shore Excursions

• Coach tours of the surrounding area are available, some of which will include, for example, Lærdal and the Wild Salmon Center mentioned above. Others will take you to Gudvangen and a close encounter with the Nærøyfjord and the many waterfalls that are to be found there. It’s possible to travel in one direction by motorcoach and return by boat through Nærøyfjord.
• The Nærøyfjord can also be experienced on a tour by local boat, starting in the Aurlandsfjord (where Flaam is situated) and continuing into the narrow and dramatic fjord arm known as the Nærøyfjord.
• Kayaking on the Aurlandsfjord is an excellent way to get close to the Norwegian nature.

Waiting to welcome cruise passengers in Finland. Picture is from the Kirsti Museum, illustrating how people lived in Old Rauma from the end of the 19th century until the 1970s.

Beyond The Baltic: Cruising Finland’s Gulf Of Bothnia

New cruise destinations along the Gulf of Bothnia allow cruise passengers to explore beyond the marquee ports that typically characterize Baltic cruises.

Earlier this summer, I visited three aspiring cruise destinations in Finland. All are members of the Bothnia Cruise Ports, along with four other destinations in Sweden, which I wrote about earlier this week in a post titled, “New Ports Of Call: Aspiring Cruise Destinations In Sweden’s North Have Much To Offer.”

The Gulf of Bothnia is the northern extension of the Baltic Sea. The region has been relatively unexplored by cruise ships, though Bothnia Cruise Ports is bringing more recognition to the destinations.

Since starting in 2005, more than a dozen cruise ships have visited the seven destinations belonging to Bothnia Cruise Ports.

I believe all of these destinations bring forth a breath of fresh air, particularly for those who have cruised the Baltic before and are seeking new ports of call.

All are relatively small cities and towns where cruise ships are still a spectacle.

The destinations also have put together a number of interesting experiences ashore, which are shown in the videos below.

Of the more interesting experiences for me were 1) pedaling through the “Copenhagen of the North,” which is how Oulu has been referred to due to its more than 500 kilometers of bicycle trails, and visiting the Kierikki Stone Age Center; 2) visiting not one, but two, UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Rauma and dinner at a Lighthouse Restaurant & Hotel; and 3) seeing the site of the Pori Jazz Festival and visiting the renown Villa Maria, a beautiful home with impressive original artwork.

Keep an eye out for cruises visiting these destinations. I’m sure they all have a bright future and a place on the cruising map.

Oulu

Kierikki Stone Age Center, Near Oulu

Rauma

Pori

New cruise destinations along the Gulf of Bothnia allow cruise passengers to explore beyond the marquee ports that typically characterize Baltic cruises.

When in 2007, Silver Shadow docked in Örnsköldsvik, practically the whole city and a band showed up to welcome passengers and to view the rare spectacle of a cruise ship docked within walking distance of the city center.

Earlier this summer, I visited three aspiring cruise destinations in Sweden. All are members of the Bothnia Cruise Ports, along with Luleå, which I visited last year and profiled in a series of video.

The Gulf of Bothnia is the northern extension of the Baltic Sea. In addition, Bothnia Cruise Ports represents three Finnish destinations that will be featured later this week on Avid Cruiser. The region has been relatively unexplored by cruise ships, though Bothnia Cruise Ports is bringing more recognition to the destinations. Since starting in 2005, more than a dozen cruise ships have visited the seven destinations belonging to Bothnia Cruise Ports.

I believe all of these destinations bring forth a breath of fresh air, particularly for those who have cruised the Baltic before and are seeking new ports of call.

All are relatively small cities and towns where cruise ships are still a spectacle. In fact, on the day that Silver Shadow showed up in Örnsköldsvik, practically the whole town showed up, along with a welcoming band.

The destinations also have put together a number of interesting experiences ashore, which are shown in the videos below. Of the more interesting experiences for me were 1) a visit to the Surstömming museum near Örnsköldsvik (for more on that experience, see Avid Cruiser’s port profile of Örnsköldsvik); 2) coffee and conversation in a Sami tent in Umeå (the Sami are Swedish Laplanders), and a visit to an elk (we call them moose in North America) farm; and 3) visiting the pleasant city and surroundings of the town affectionately known as “Happy Hudik.”

Umeå

Hudiksvall

Örnsköldsvik