Answering a couple questions...

We have looked at Scandinavia because it seems to be a little less touristy, less crowded, and possibly less expensive than more popular areas (although now I read that Oslo might be the most expensive city in Europe). It's not necessarily our primary interest. I have some concerns about weather (maybe still too cool in June) and food (wife does not eat fish). And although I said we want our trip to be "less touristy," I wonder if this would be like visiting Canada on your first trip to North America: nothing wrong with that, but will you regret skipping places like NYC or the Grand Canyon? I don't know.

As far as our priorities, they go roughly in the order listed. Being in a nice, walkable city/village is definitely #1 (luckily most of Europe appears to qualify). Learning about an interesting history/culture/economy is a close #2. Everything else is less important. We don't need beaches AND mountains, but access to one or the other would be nice.