I'm surprised that you were able to find a low level award ticket in BE. I tried to do this a couple of months ago and there was nothing open to ARD. Like you, I haven't been to Scandavia so I booked a flight to HEL instead on KL. (OK, I know Finland is not a part of Scandinavia but it's close enough.)
I agree with you about the BE seat. When they first came out I thought they were great. Having since flown in the flat-bed seats I try to avoid them at all costs. That said, both my trans-Atlantic flights will be in the cradle seats, KL going over and DL (via CDG) coming back

.