For locals, and people who have done previous Baltic cruises...

After a year of planning, our cruise date is approaching. So now, I'm thinking of the smaller things. Our ports are: Copenhagen, Oslo, Berlin, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and Stockholm. In each of these ports, what would you recommend:

1--as a food that you must try?

2--as a food that must be brought home?

3--as a must get souvenir?

Thanks. I'm looking forwards to all of the responses.

For Copenhagen then its my suggestions.

1) I would go for Smørrebrød

2) Probably some Anthon Berg chokolade.

3) I don't know, probably some Lego.

Our private guide (TJ Travel) in St Petersburg took us to lunch at "Stolle" wonderful meat pie as well as a desert fruit pie....just delicious !!

For Tallinn, we got a herring platter for lunch. There are any number of stands with local crafts - we came home with a trivet for 5 euros. Since we were flying, anything we bought was fairly compact.

In St. Petersburg, forget Stolle - try Pelmeni. They are a Russian dumpling and every single one of my friends LOVE them (as do I). The Stolle savory pies (meat/fish/veggie) are quite bland in comparison.

Smørrebrød in Copenhagen is awesome!

Thanks you for these suggestions. I'm adding them to my notes. Please keep them coming.

Helsinki--The food to eat is their large, delicious cinnamon buns called "koravpuustit". Get them at the Esplanad Café at Pohjoisesplanadi 37. If possible, sit outside and people-watch as you eat.

Tallinn--An easily-packable and useful souvenir is the trivet made of juniper wood. It's attractive and very fragrant. They can be found in all of the souvenir shops, but we found the cheapest ones to be in a stall at the Sweater Wall market -- about 10 euros each.

Berlin--The best food to bring home is Ritter Sport chocolate. Yes, you can get some varieties of Ritter Sport in the U.S., but there are so MANY more varieties available in Berlin (and better choices than you can get in the U.S.) and the prices are less than half of what you'd pay in the U.S.

My opinions for Oslo:

a food that you must try - brunost (brown cheese)

This isn't really particular to Oslo, but that's your only port in Norway, and the rest of Scandinavia and the Nordic countries aren't as keen on this phenomenon.

a food that must be brought home - Freia chocolate

The original Freia factory was the inspiration for Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, and Norway is proud of its milk chocolate. Or you could take home a block of brown cheese if you find that you like it.

a must-get souvenir - a cheese slicer

No joke. Norway is proud to have invented the cheese slicer, and you can use it to serve up your block of brown cheese. A popular alternative choice would be wool knitted goods (but they cost a small fortune if they're actually made in Norway).

For Stockholm

Stekt strömming with mashed potatoes or

Moose meat or reindeer meat.

OK, I'm so hungry now. I love to try new things, and I love all of these suggestions!

Did anyone price caviar or premium vodka from SPG to take home?

Or perhaps a tunnbrödsrulle in Stockholm?

http://www.umgasmagazine.com/tunnbrodsrulle-swedish-hot-dog/

https://eatyourworld.com/destinations/europe/sweden/photos/tunnbrdsrulle

http://www.sibylla.se/sibyllas-lokala-favoriter/tunnbrodsrulle/

Did anyone price caviar or premium vodka from SPG to take home?

Didn't take any caviar home but did take some Vodka for a neighbor on my last visit - there are so many selections & some of the bottles are very elaborate.

The bottle I bought for my neighbor had a picture of Peter the Great & the bottle was really cool (IMO). I actually bought it duty free at Pulkovo so that I would have no problems taking it on the plane. My neighbor swears that it is the finest vodka he has ever had. Sorry that I can't remember the name but think it was in the neighborhood of 38 euros.

We've purchased caviar at Eliseyev Emporium a few times - a tin of the Sterlet pasteurized caviar starts at around 3900 rubles as does the Royal Black Sturgeon. Beluga starts at about 17000 rubles. There are lots of choices - but price range is approximately 1800 - 53000 rubles.

Did anyone price caviar or premium vodka from SPG to take home?

Our tour guide took us to a large grocery store (one of our extra requests) it was here we got our Russian vodka that they helped us choose and for a great price compared to everywhere else we saw it.

In St. Petersburg, forget Stolle - try Pelmeni. They are a Russian dumpling and every single one of my friends LOVE them (as do I). The Stolle savory pies (meat/fish/veggie) are quite bland in comparison.

Smørrebrød in Copenhagen is awesome!

Just a matter of personal taste I guess...We tried Pelmeni and much preferred the meat pie we had at Stolle. If the OP is there for two days I would suggest they try both.

You can purchase really strong Vodka not sold in US from Russia. We picked it up at Copenhagen Airport.

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Didn't take any caviar home but did take some Vodka for a neighbor on my last visit - there are so many selections & some of the bottles are very elaborate.

All food items but I would try Lakrids Chocolates from Denmark, Geiranger Sjokolade Chocolates available in Oslo, Freida Kvikk Lunsj or Smash, some Salty Liquorice and of course some brown cheese which is one of my favourite things.

Expanding a bit on my post and the one above for logistics:

There is a dedicated Freia chocolate shop in Oslo on Karl Johans gate by the Grand Hotel. There is also a mixed-brand chocolate shop called Dropsen in Østbanehallen, the historic part of the central rail station (now a small food hall). You can also find a selection of Freia chocolate (including Kvikk Lunsj*) and Nidar’s Smash** at any grocery or convenience store. Brown cheese is available in the refrigerated cheese section at any grocery. Here are some examples:

https://kolonial.no/sok/?q=brunost

And if you pop by a grocery, I also recommend sampling the lefse with butter and cinnamon (“kanel”). It’s a great little sweet snack, and the small individual packs are an easy thing to take home to share:

https://nettbutikk.spar.no/varer/brod-og-bakervarer/pasmurte-lefser/lefsegodt-7037421025582

*Kvikk Lunsj is a chocolate covered biscuit, very similar to a Kit-Kat. It is Norway’s semi-official “hiking chocolate” and often features famous Norwegian hikers, explorers, or trails on the inside of the wrapper. It was originally marketed for cross-county ski trips, because the cookie inside means that you can bite into it even in sub-freezing temperatures when solid chocolate would be too hard.

**Smash is a chocolate-covered corn chip (very much like a Bugle chip in the US). It’s one of the older examples of Norway’s salty-sweet trend, blending a salty corn chip with sweet milk chocolate. I’ve found that it’s a very love-it-or-hate-it thing, and the love-it base frequently asks me to bring some along when I visit. They’re also somewhat known for some of their humorous past commercials:

After a year of planning, our cruise date is approaching. So now, I'm thinking of the smaller things. Our ports are: Copenhagen, Oslo, Berlin, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and Stockholm. In each of these ports, what would you recommend:

 

1--as a food that you must try?

 

2--as a food that must be brought home?

 

3--as a must get souvenir?

 

Thanks. I'm looking forwards to all of the responses.

I know people have suggest some great foods to try, but let me move onto dessert. I do not remember the name of the place in Copenhagen, but it was a bakery and we had the BEST chocolate éclair we have ever eaten. So many wonderful things to chose from, and we picked that and still can taste it if I close my eyes and dream.

Souvenirs are more of what interests you. As people have said, some good Russian Vodka is always good. Ourselves, we always try for something different, so my DW bought a wonderful linen wall calendar in some small shop in Stockholm. We did buy the nesting dolls as most people do, but we also bought a wonderful little music box from St Petersburg, that we got for about 1/4 of the price they were selling something equivalent on the ship. We know people who bought those Russian military hats, (winter version). Souvenirs are just so subjective.

Cheers

Len

Two weeks and counting till we leave for our trip. So I'm bumping this up to see if there are any other ideas from people who are just back from their cruises this year or may have missed the post the first time.

Thanks again for all of the great suggestions!

As a local in Helsinki, here is my two cents (a list of things that are local to either Finland or Scandinavian countries in general):

What to eat/try, many alternatives:

1. Our versions of cinnamon buns. We have our fair share of different varieties, with different toppings and variations. Someone already mentioned "korvapuusti" (plural: korvapuustit) which is quite traditional, but there are many others also. They are generally called "pulla" in Finnish and are served in all bakeries and cafes.

2. Baltic herring. If you love fish, you might want to taste same locally caught fish e.g. in the market hall. There are also pickled versions of this that the locals are eating with new potatoes, these are called "silli".

3. Local berries, especially cloudberries ("hilla" or "lakka") from Northern Finland. If you can't get them fresh (they are quite seasonal), you can buy them as a jam.

4. Salted licorice ("salmiakki"). You can find these in all supermarkets and even in ice creams.

5. Reindeer meat. If you like to eat Rudolph. I have noticed in some cultures they can't stand the idea of eating Santa's little helpers.

6. Blini. Actually originally from Russia, Finns have their own spin on this one.

7. Cabbage rolls ("kaalikääryleet"), usually eaten with lingonberry jam.

8. Makaronilaatikko - The Finnish version of "mac and cheese", usually done with beef and pork meat and eaten everywhere in the country.

9. Chocolates (especially milk chocolates). Like most other countries, we have our own trusted brand: Fazer. You can't miss the dark blue chocolate bars. They come in all sorts and sizes.

10. Blood sausages, e.g. "mustamakkara" from Tampere region. Doesn't actually taste like blood, so if the dark looks don't scare you off, you might catch one of these from e.g. "Tapola" stands that are usually near every market. Locals eat them with lingonberry jam and milk on the side.

Then there are a million more, all across Finland, but I decided to stick with ten only.

What to take home:

1. Coffee. Sounds weird right? But the Finnish brand "Paulig" is doing exceptionally good coffees at every price point and roast level. Finns are also drinking the most coffee per capita in the world. We have also a lot of small roasteries.

2. Chocolate. If you didn't want to just stick to tasting.

3. Jams. E.g. cloudberry.

4. Salmiakki.

5. Salmiakkivodka (salmari). Vodka that is flavored with salmiakki.

6. Finnish design: e.g. visit Stockmann in central Helsinki and you might find something interesting, e.g. Moomin dishes, glassware, Marimekko prints, ceramics, Fiskars-products (e.g. scissors), Kalevala-jewelry (inspired by Nordic mythology). Or one of the markets to find e.g. "Kuksa", a handcrafted traditional drinking cup made from wood.

I agree with CH_ in regards to cludberries. We have them in Sweden too and we call them hjortron.

They grow all over northern Europe and northern Asia and northern North America.

As a local in Helsinki, here is my two cents (a list of things that are local to either Finland or Scandinavian countries in general):

 

What to eat/try, many alternatives:

1. Our versions of cinnamon buns. We have our fair share of different varieties, with different toppings and variations. Someone already mentioned "korvapuusti" (plural: korvapuustit) which is quite traditional, but there are many others also. They are generally called "pulla" in Finnish and are served in all bakeries and cafes.

2. Baltic herring. If you love fish, you might want to taste same locally caught fish e.g. in the market hall. There are also pickled versions of this that the locals are eating with new potatoes, these are called "silli".

3. Local berries, especially cloudberries ("hilla" or "lakka") from Northern Finland. If you can't get them fresh (they are quite seasonal), you can buy them as a jam.

4. Salted licorice ("salmiakki"). You can find these in all supermarkets and even in ice creams.

5. Reindeer meat. If you like to eat Rudolph. I have noticed in some cultures they can't stand the idea of eating Santa's little helpers.

6. Blini. Actually originally from Russia, Finns have their own spin on this one.

7. Cabbage rolls ("kaalikääryleet"), usually eaten with lingonberry jam.

8. Makaronilaatikko - The Finnish version of "mac and cheese", usually done with beef and pork meat and eaten everywhere in the country.

9. Chocolates (especially milk chocolates). Like most other countries, we have our own trusted brand: Fazer. You can't miss the dark blue chocolate bars. They come in all sorts and sizes.

10. Blood sausages, e.g. "mustamakkara" from Tampere region. Doesn't actually taste like blood, so if the dark looks don't scare you off, you might catch one of these from e.g. "Tapola" stands that are usually near every market. Locals eat them with lingonberry jam and milk on the side.

 

Then there are a million more, all across Finland, but I decided to stick with ten only.

 

What to take home:

1. Coffee. Sounds weird right? But the Finnish brand "Paulig" is doing exceptionally good coffees at every price point and roast level. Finns are also drinking the most coffee per capita in the world. We have also a lot of small roasteries.

2. Chocolate. If you didn't want to just stick to tasting.

3. Jams. E.g. cloudberry.

4. Salmiakki.

5. Salmiakkivodka (salmari). Vodka that is flavored with salmiakki.

6. Finnish design: e.g. visit Stockmann in central Helsinki and you might find something interesting, e.g. Moomin dishes, glassware, Marimekko prints, ceramics, Fiskars-products (e.g. scissors), Kalevala-jewelry (inspired by Nordic mythology). Or one of the markets to find e.g. "Kuksa", a handcrafted traditional drinking cup made from wood.

Thank you. Definitely some new things to try.

We have tried blood sausages in Argentina (we were not fans) and reindeer in Alaska (which was actually pretty good.)

I doubt you will find this in any of the cities you will visit but Palt and Spettekaka are two traditional foods in Sweden.

Spettekaka might be possible to find in Copenhagen (due to closeness to Skåne)?

Swedish cheesecake.

Kladdkaka

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spettekaka

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheesecake#Europe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kladdkaka