denmark

I've just noticed on the Scanrail website that their railpass, which covered rail travel in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, is no longer available; sales of this pass ceased on December 31st, 2007.

This is a shame, because it was possible to purchase the Scanrail pass even after a traveller had arrived in Europe, although with a few restrictions. The only remaining equivalent is the Eurail Scandinavia Pass, which is not available to European residents, and cannot be purchased by travellers already in Europe.

There have been a gaggle of travel articles on the nordic countries, in recent weeks. The Independent visits southern Finland, and finds a considerable number of saunas. They also have an article on the five best Nordic summer retreats.

The Guardian takes a yacht around Norway's Lofoten islands and the New York Times looks at Skane, southern Sweden. The Age also travels to Sweden, but goes a a little further north.

Finally, the Shanghai Daily looks at design in Denmark and Sweden.

Many visitors to Denmark spend much of their time in the capital, Copenhagen, but see little or nothing of Zealand, the island on which it resides.

The Irish Independent travels through Soro, Slagelse and Korsor as it investigates what the island has to offer. Surprisingly, however, they didn't mention the highlight of a visit to Slagelse: the nearby remnants of a Viking fortress, Trelleborg (reconstructed Viking-era building, pictured left).

To get to Trelleborg, from Slagelse, catch bus 312 from the railway station.