January is a time for reflection as well as looking forward and reading through 12 months of articles I realised that there was one major first in last year’s travel.  I discovered Scandinavia.  Until March the nearest I’d ever been was the IKEA store in Warrington!  So here are my top three trips to Finland, Norway and Sweden with links to the WE articles.

Iso-Syöte, Finland

Imagine a pristine, snow-covered wilderness with all the comforts of home and adventure galore.  That was what the Hotel Iso-Syöte offered on my first blog trip of 2011 – and what fun it was.  The hotel is the only one in Finland at the TOP of a fjell which means the views are superb and if you fancy skiing you are already at the top of the slopes.  I was there for a week of winter adventure which included an exhilarating snowmobile day, a more sedate reindeer sleigh ride, a noisy and magical husky sledge safari and some quite hilarious and exhausting snowshoe walks.  The food was excellent, though I could have done without the minced reindeer and lingonberries!  I fell in love with the snowy landscape, the shimmering pine forests and the charming people.  Hopefully I will return one day – there is a little igloo I fancy spending the night in.

Cruising the Norwegian Fjords

In May I was incredibly fortunate to be invited to join Cunard’s newest liner, the Queen Elizabeth, on her maiden voyage to Norway.  Never having been on a cruise before, I had no idea what to expect and was probably rather a sceptic.  As you can read in the article, I discovered a leisurely and most definitely more luxurious way of travel that has made me a cruising fan forever.  The voyage took us from Southampton across the North Sea to Stavanger, Flam, Geiranger and Bergen.  Geiranger Fjord is a World Heritage site and sailing slowly along its craggy length was an absolute joy.  Pancakes with berries (yes, the Scandinavians have 101 ways with berries!) and fresh yoghurt  was a simple but delicious treat that contrasted nicely with the superb cuisine in the Princess Grill on board ship.

Skäne region, Sweden

In the middle of summer I joined a group of bloggers and journalists on a trip to the fascinating Skäne region of southern Sweden.  If you have seen the detective series ‘Wallender’ you may be familiar with some of the scenery, especially in and around the quaint, medieval town of Ystad.  Our trip combined culture with gourmet food and was a real eye-opener.  We ate a lot of delicious food, including herring burger and organic sausage in Malmö, exquisitely simple prawns and lemon garlic mayonnaise at Vendel’s by the sea and a 3 course meal we cooked ourselves under the tuition of a master chef at one of Sweden’s oldest and best hotels, the Ystad på Saltsjöbad .  The trip ended at magical Sofiero Palace outside the ancient city of Helsingborg, by which time we were all converts to this fascinating part of Europe.

Zoë Dawes, ‘Britain’s Best Travel Blogger’ in 2011, is a travel writer based in NW England. Read more in her blog The Quirky Traveller

Feature photo: QE in Geiranger Fjord

All photos courtesy and copyright Zoe Dawes