Managed to get all my stuff into my large suitcase, pack and purse – seems to be the most stuff I’ve packed yet for any trips, yet it is shorter than most others! Lots of bulk though for the winter trip – snow boots, heavy coat, sweaters, gloves, a balaclava and my tripod (for trying to get photos of the Northern Lights). Left the house around 5:45 in a taxi to the airport.
Check-in at the airport was quick; however, I was apparently randomly selected by Air Canada for additional security screening so instead of getting to keep my shoes on with my Nexus card, I was subjected to a more thorough than regular search and had to turn on all my electronic devices and have everything swabbed. The security people seemed horribly disorganized and unaware of what was going on so it was an additionally frustrating experience, particularly given the early hour and my lack of sleep. The US Customs area was a breeze; although, it didn’t look that busy so not sure if the Nexus did much there. Went to the lounge for a bit before the flight since I had extra time before boarding my flight to LA. On board, there was a bit of a delay taking off as we had to go for some de-icing before taking off. Not an overly great business class section – pretty cramped getting in and out of the seats and the bathroom is a closet. However, the seats are comfortable enough. Had an omelette an sausage for breakfast as I was starving by then since I didn’t eat too much for dinner last night.
Once I left the lounge and arrived at the gate, the SAS flight to Stockholm was ready to board so I walked right on. Night cabin – pods in the business class, which feel very private. The bathroom (in the business class section anyway) was one of the nicest airplane bathrooms I’ve seen so far – a window, spacious, and with a plant! Quite the difference from the flight to LA.
Had some champagne while “the others” were boarding. An interesting offering of items on the drink and dining menu. I had a Swedish beer with beets for my post-take off drink, which was not bad – kind of tart. The meal was pretty good too – halibut ceviche for an appetizer and slow cooker lamb with blue cheese polenta and brussel sprouts and leeks. Had a cheese plate and skipped the dessert.
Managed to get only a couple of hours of sleep on the flight as it was still pretty early in the day and there was a baby screaming half the flight 🙁 Tried to rest the rest of the flight and actually started feeling sleepy about an hour before we were landing. Felt a bit nauseous and skipped the breakfast. Landed at the Stockholm airport which is about 40 or 45 km north of the city.
There was a bit of snow around the airport area as well. Disembarked and went right through security; although they did actually ask me quite a few questions about my trip – guess I looked suspicious. The airport seemed pretty sleepy with not much going on. Got to the luggage belt and waited for a long time before they finally opened the door and turned on the belt. Then they put out one bag, which sparked a, “I’m the winner,” from the owner. Everyone waited and waited and then they closed the gate after the one bag! Not quite sure what was going on but I would think they would have more than one bag to put on the belt. After about another 10 minutes they opened the gate again and some more bags came out. The business class section was pretty big and was full but it didn’t seem like there were many people waiting for their bags so not sure how full the rest of the flight was. Watched all the bags come out and then the damn gate closed again, leaving me and a couple of others from the business class section wondering where our bags were. We headed over to the lost baggage counter and took numbers for the queue. Once a couple of us got up there to say what the problem was, they got on their walkie talkies. I asked one of the guys what they were saying as they were speaking in Swedish, which is totally foreign to me and the guy indicated they were checking the bags as they had some for the special baggage belt yet. Apparently, as we were connecting in LA they decided to group our bags and put them in the special baggage area without telling us. Was irritated with the wait but at least I got my bag so I was happy.
Headed out of the airport and jumped in a taxi (lots of taxis sitting there waiting for what seems like no one in the airport). The snow started disappearing as we got closer to the city. The taxi driver was friendly and could speak a lot of languages as he was originally from Eritrea in Africa before he moved to Holland and then to Sweden, when he met his wife. Got to my hotel around noon and was overjoyed at being able to check in! Had some coffee and cleaned up while I waited for Kim to arrive.
After Kim arrived we went for a walk around the hotel area and stopped for a snack at a bar near the opera. Had some French fries with a fishy tasting mayonnaise and some croquettes, which appeared to be made with some kind of ground meat or fish but were very tasty. We then did a bit more walking to the old town area, Gamla Stan. Was pretty chilly, particularly with the wind.
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topped at the hotel for a bit before dinner and fought myself to stay awake – it seemed to be okay as long as I kept moving. Went for dinner at a pub type place near the hotel and had a burger and a beer. Was good and then started feeling tired again after sitting. Went for another bit of a walk and stopped in the hotel bar for a drink to type and stay awake a bit more. Managed to kill time until 8 pm and them headed to our rooms, where I ended up falling asleep earlier than planned.
