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Gay Stockholm, Helsinki, the Finnish Lapland, and St. Petersburg
Zoom Vacations' tour of Scandinavia transports our guests to an ethereal world, limited only by one's imagination. Some will instantly think of Santa Claus, as we take to Reindeer sledding. Others will enter Narnia as we dog sled through snow-covered forests. Still others will delight as some of their wildest, pampering spa fantasies come to life. This is the birthplace of the sauna, afterall.
The people of Scandinavia share common bonds wrought by their Nordic geography, culture and history. It sets their world apart – and is poised to inspire yours. Zoom Vacations' tour takes you to Stockholm, Helsinki, the Finnish Lapland, and even St. Petersburg!
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm is built across 14 islands and is often called the Venice of the North. With more foreign visitors than any other city in Scandinavia it is also considered to be the Capital of Scandinavia. Stockholm is situated at the point where the vast Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea and was built on this strategic spot in the mid 13th century, enabling the founder to tax merchant vessels going in and out of the lake. More importantly, Stockholm is one of the favorite cities in the world of Zoom Vacations Co-Owners, Bryan Herb and Joel Cabrera. And while in Stockholm, you must make a visit to the Ice Bar.
Helsinki and the Finnish Lapland, Finland
Helsinki is unique among Northern European cities. The lifestyle in the second-most northern capital city in the world is full of contrasts and activities in the form of hundreds of events and friendly people. Helsinki's identity has been formed by cultural influences from both the East and West.
Over 450 years of history, several architectural layers and the impact of different periods can be clearly seen in Helsinki. Finnish design has also made the country's capital city world famous. The beauty of the surrounding nature blends seamlessly together with high-tech achievements, while old traditions mix with the latest contemporary trends.
St. Petersburg, Russia
The city of St. Petersburg is relatively young if judged by Russian or European standards. Founded in 1703, St. Petersburg just celebrated its 300th anniversary. But despite being a young city it has a rich and exciting history. From the early days of Peter the Great's "Paradise" and "Northern Venice" to the modern events of 1991 coup d'etat this city has been full of life. St. Petersburg has always been a city of myth and mystery: you can hardly find a young city which is wrapped in legends and stories in such a unique way.
• Fully escorted with the services of a Zoom Vacations® Concierge throughout the trip.
• 9 nights Accommodations in finest hotels in each location, each offering a very different, unique experience.
• Buffet breakfast daily in Stockholm, the Finnish Lapland, and Helsinki.
 In Stockholm...
• Welcome cocktails and dinner at a beautiful, glass blowing and crystal shop in Stockholm, where you will have the chance to create your own blown glass.
• Enjoy cocktails at Stockholm's famous Ice Bar.
• A taste of Stockholm city tour where you will be introduced to the sites, sounds, and tastes that have made Stockholm one of the world's most beautiful cities in the world. We will of course visit the famous 17th centurey warship, the Vasa.
• Shop the streets of Stockholm, elaborately decorated for the holidays.
• Celebrate New Years Eve in one of the most beautiful cities in the world!
 In Finnish Lapland...
• Welcome to the Finnish Lapland sauna evening with complimentary cider, beer, and more, in an authentic, healing sauna.
• Welcome to Finnish Lapland dinner cooked over an open fire in our cabin.
• Snow-mobile ride through Nania-like wilderness.
• Strong possibility of seeing the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.
• Reindeer sleigh ride ending at an authentic Lapland home for dinner.
 In Helsinki...
• A taste of Helsinki city tour where you will learn about the history, architecture, and fashion of this stylish city.
• Learn firsthand how Scandinavian design and innovation reaches far past what you may have seen at IKEA!
• Overnight ferry accommodations from Helsinki to St. Petersburg.
 In St.Petersburg...
• A taste of St. Petersburg city tour where you see firsthand why it is known as Russia's greatest historical and cultural treasure.
• Visit the famous Summer Palace.
• Visit one of Russia's prior most famous historical prisons, the Peter and Paul Fortress.
• Visit the famous Hermitage Museum, which has one of the most beautifiul museum interiors in the world.
• Farewell cocktails and dinner at an exclusive, historic, location in St. Petersburg.
Plus, there is time during the trip to enjoy optional activities such as:
• Cruise to gorgeous Fjäderholmarna, where the archipelago begins, in Stockholm.
• Enjoy Lunch at the breathtaking Milles sculpture garden in Stockholm.
• Drive a team of dog sleds over fresh, powdery snow in the Finnish Lapland
Day 1 - Friday, December 30, 2011
Stockholm, Sweden
Late Evening: Welcome Dinner, Cocktails
Come at 7PM and mix and mingle with fellow Zoom travelers in a truly beautiful setting. Don't forget to bring your cameras.
Accommodations: The Hotel Skeppsholmen
Meals Included: Welcome dinner and cocktails
Day 2 - Saturday, December 31, 2011
Stockhom - New Years Eve!
7 AM to 11 AM: Included Buffet Breakfast is served in the Hotel Skeppsholmen Restaurant.
Late Morning: Taste of Stockholm City Tour
Today we see the incredible city of Stockholm. Highlights include Stockholm Palace (the official residence of the Swedish royal family) and Vasa, a 17th century war-ship that symbolizes the "great power period" of Swedish history. If you take your coffee like you take your Swedish men (strong), then you're in for a treat. We will sample the local Kaffebrod ("coffee-bread"), which you can pair with their traditional strong coffee.
Late Evening: New Years Eve Pub Crawl
Tonight we ring in the New Year in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, from the Old Town part of Stockholm, the Gamla Stan. Watch the fireworks over the water with locals and other visitors alike. After midnight, the night has just begun in Stockholm's gay nightclubs.
Accommodations: The Hotel Skeppsholmen
Meals Included: Buffet breakfast
Day 3 - Sunday, January 1, 2012
Stockholm, Sweden
7 AM - 11 PM: Included Buffet Breakfast is served in the Hotel Skeppsholmen Restaurant
Recovery:
Today you have all day to both recover from last night and see why Stockholm is world-famous for its fashions and styles. Tour the shops of the latest in Scandinavian design, of both its chic clothing and its innovative furniture and housewares.
Today's optional excursion includes enjoying Lunch at the breathtaking Milles sculpture garden.
Accommodations: The Hotel Skeppsholmen
Meals Included: Buffet breakfast
Day 4 - Monday, January 2, 2012
Stockholm and the Finnish Lapland
7 AM - 11 AM: Included Buffet Breakfast is served in the Hotel Skeppsholmen Restaurant
Noon: Fly from Stockholm, through Helsinki, to the Finnish Lapland.
Evening: Sauna Party and Dinner cooked over the open fire.
Tonight's welcome event to the Finnish Lapland will be one that you never forget.
Accommodations: The Hotel Kakslauttanen, Saariselka Fell
Meals Included: Buffet breakfast and dinner
Day 5 - Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Finnish Lapland
7 AM - 10 AM: Included Buffet Breakfast is served in the Hotel Kakslauttanen Restaurant
Morning: Snow Mobile Safari.
Ride through stunning Arctic Wilderness, accessing places where one couldn't by foot nor car. If you have never ridden a snow mobile, this is your chance, and in one of the most beautiful snow paradises on the planet!
Afternoon/Evening: Reindeer Safari and Authentic Lapland Dinner.
Today we embrace our inner-Santa as we ride through the Lapland in reindeer-pulled sleds. Semi-domesticated reindeer have been important to Arctic and Subarctic people for hundreds of years, before the legend of Santa Claus made them famous. After our sleigh ride, we will enjoy a grand, traditional dinner with a local Finnish Lapland family.
Accommodations: The Hotel Kakslauttanen, Saariselka Fell
Meals Included: Buffet breakfast and dinner
Day 6 - Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The Finnish Lapland and Helsinki
7 AM – 10 AM: Included Buffet Breakfast is served in the Hotel Kakslauttanen Restaurant
Morning: Optional Dog Sledding.
For those who wish to try their hand at dog sledding, there will be time this morning before our flight to Helsinki.
Early Afternoon: Fly to Helsinki.
Today we fly to Helsinki. After checking into the uber-fashionable Klaus K Hotel, you will have the evening free to explore the historical yet very modern city of Helsinki. Check out Helsinki's gay nightlife, where you will encounter friendly and unassuming yet very fashion-savvy locals.
Accommodations: The Hotel Klaus K, Helsinki
Meals Included: Buffet breakfast
Day 7 - Thursday, January 5, 2012
Helsinki and Overnight Ferry
7 AM – 10 AM: Included Buffet Breakfast is served in the Hotel KlausK Restaurant
Morning: A taste of Helsinki Tour.
Today we will learn about the history and cutting edge design that has made the Helsinki of today so vibrant. We will visit several neighborhoods famous for their architectural design and history. We will also get to know Finnish Design and its emerging talents in the Helsinki Design District.
Evening: Board Ferry to St. Petersburg.
Today we set sail for St. Petersburg.
Accommodations: Onboard the Ferry
Meals Included: Buffet breakfast
Day 8 - Friday, January 6, 2012
St. Petersburg, Russia
7 AM – 10 AM: Included Buffet Breakfast is served onboard
Morning: A taste of St. Petersburg Tour.
Today we will learn about the history and culture of St. Petersburg, including a visit to the world famous, Hermitage Museum. One of the largest and oldest museums in the world, the collection of the State Hermitage includes more than three million works of art and artefacts of the world culture. Among them are paintings, graphic works, sculptures and works of applied art, archaeological finds and numismatic material. The building complex includes the world-famous Winter Palace, as well as other architectural gems.
Accommodations: The Orient Express Grand Hotel Europe, St.Petersburg
Meals Included: Buffet breakfast
Day 9 - Saturday, January 7, 2012
St. Petersburg, Russia
7 AM – 10 AM: Included Buffet Breakfast is served in The Orient Express Grand Hotel Europe
Morning:Tour the Catherine (Summer) Palace.
Can one really go to St. Petersburg and not visit the Catherine Palace? Also known as the Summer Palace at Tsarskoe Selo, it is part of a gorgeous complex of parks, guest houses, and the blue-and-gold palace itself. You will likely be spellbound at how Russian royalty once lived. Every inch of the Catherine Palace speaks of luxury. This is one of St. Petersburg most amazing must-see sights.
Evening:Traditional Farewell Dinner.
Tonight we visit a lively traditional Russian restaurant for authentic old world cuisine, and say goodbye to good friends we have met on our journey.
Accommodations: The Orient Express Grand Hotel Europe, St.Petersburg
Meals Included: Buffet breakfast, Farewell Dinner
Day 10 - Sunday, January 8, 2012
St. Petersburg, Russia
7 AM – 10 AM: Included Buffet Breakfast is served in The Orient Express Grand Hotel Europe
Morning: Hotel Checkout and Departure.
Today we end our incredible tour of Scandinavia, with new memories, new friends, and new destinations to list among our favorites in the world.
Meals Included: Buffet breakfast
Stockholm's New Urban Oasis
 The Hotel Skeppsholmen, Stockholm
In the very heart of the city center, in a building from 1699 with an exciting historic background and modern decore by Stockholm based architects Claesson Koivisto Rune a new lifestyle hotel has been opened. Situated on the waterfront and surrounded by beautiful nature and captivating culture, Hotel Skeppsholmen is a place to reload your batteries, at a quiet, yet central location. The hotel combines the Swedish historic landmark with the very best of contemporary Swedish cuisine, art, design, fashion and music. Local icon brand partners such as ACNE dress the staff and Byredo Parfums created a signature scent for the hotel.
 Hotel Skeppsholmen is the perfect choice for everyone looking for that little extra when visiting Stockholm. It's the perfect place to charge your batteries after a full day of exploring the capital's many tourist attractions.
Discover an urban oasis with a genuine feeling of casual luxury and a charming, warm and caring personality. Hotel Skeppsholmen offers an inspirational mix of a unique 1700's historic building with stylish modern design signed by Claesson Koivisto Rune. A placid and beautiful location in the middle of vibrant Stockholm city, in its stimulating artistic centre with celebrated neighbours such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Swedish Museum of Architecture.
 Services & Amenities
24 hour room service;
Valet Parking;
24 hour concierge service;
Same day laundry, dry cleaning and complimentary shoe shine service;
Complimentary entrance to Mini Gym;
Complimentary Glossy Magazines;
Free Wireless Internet;
Toiletries from Byredo;
Well stocked minibars;
Fine European linens;
Business center;
Multilingual staff
Hotel Kakslauttanen, Finnish Lapland
 The "hotel's" log cabins and glass and snow igloos are located in the Saariselkä fell area amidst beautiful Lapland scenery in the vicinity if Urho Kekkonen National Park.
The Kakslauttanen Hotel cabins are located sufficiently far apart and each cabin enjoys its own peaceful garden area. The hotel has the world's largest smoke sauna, equipped with its own restaurant, the main building log house restaurant, two exotic Lapishtent restaurants and a charming snow restaurant. Guests will also have the possibility to stay overnight in a traditional snow igloo or a unique futuristic glass igloo, where you can admire the northern lights in a normal room temperature under the glass ceiling. Igloo Village is also home to snow chapel and an ice bar both built every winter.
 Hotel Klaus K, Helsinki
The former Klaus Kurki hotel underwent a massive 15 million euros renovation in 2005 and it has transformed into a modern, upscale lifestyle oasis. Inspired by Finland's national epic, The Kalevala, the interiors of Klaus K express the emotional themes of mysticism, passion, desire and envy. Four different guest room motifs feature cutting edge design and comfort customized for today's traveler. Thoroughly individual and decidedly contemporary, design hotel Klaus K is a hotel with a soul and a story, waiting for you discover it and all of its riches.
 Services & Amenities
High speed internet both wired and wireless;
23" LCD TV;
DVD/CD;
Custom made beds by Unikulma;
Laptop size safe;
Oversized plush bathrobes and towels;
Mini Bar;
Black out shades;
Magazines
The Orient Express Grand Hotel Europe, St. Petersburg
 This 5 star hotel is situated in the heart of St Petersburg within walking distance of the Winter Palace Square and Hermitage Museum. It is also conveniently located next to the Russian Museum, the Philharmonic Society and the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
The Grand Hotel Europe provides luxurious living in rooms that are gracefully designed rooms and equipped with all modern facilities you require.
After a day's exploration, return to Grand Hotel and select one of the 8 restaurants and/or cafés for delightful cuisines and refreshing drinks.
The friendly and helpful staff provides 24-hour assistance, making sure your stay is as hassle-free and as pleasant as possible.
 Services & Amenities
International direct-dial telephones with voice mail;
Satellite TV and radio;
In-room and public space Wi-Fi Internet access;
Mini-bar;
Personal safe;
Writing desks and armchairs;
Air Conditioning;
Hairdryers;
Robes
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