TR: A quick trip to Stockholm on Norwegian Air Shuttle (+ a jumbo stay)

[Heleigh]

Enjoyed your TR. Yes, not a lot of people know of Liechtenstein I was there in 1984 on one of those see Europe in 21 days.

 

[RooFlyer]

cool! Stockholm is a great city !

Must be a wee bit nippy at the moment in the Nordic countries.

Any favourites? For me it's the Vasa ( The Viking ship Museum) ..... Unreal, especially reading how it sunk!

I had a day in Stockholm last (northern) winter and took a chilly walk around the waterfront to stretch legs. Came across the Vasa completely by accident (Gee, that looks like a big building with a mast sticking out the top. I wonder what it is?). Wow! Yeah, story on how it sunk. "Whoops".

Stockholm was also where I discovered "Glug" (warm mulled wine) in a street stall. Never forgotten!

 

[Mattg]

After an enjoyable, but freezing cold few days in Stockholm it was back to the airport for my flight to Amsterdam.

There are numerous options for getting from Stockholm city centre to Arlanda Airport. The Arlanda express train is the quickest but most probably expensive option, taking 20 minutes but costing SEK260 (or 130 for students/children). Express busses tend to cost around SEK100. You can take a commuter train, but in addition to the regular ticket price you need to pay a SEK75 airport surcharge. There are also taxis, of course.

But there is another way, which costs even less and since I had plenty of time I tried it out. I caught the J36 commuter train to Märsta, from where I transferred to the 583 local bus. I had a 3 day pass which covered all of this. Otherwise it would just cost the regular price for a bus and train ticket without having to pay the airport surcharge. It did take a little over an hour though.

Terminal 5 was very quiet. I checked in using the self-service machine and just had to queue for a couple of minutes to drop off my suitcase.

The check-in area:


Flight: DY4257 Stockholm (Arlanda) - Amsterdam
Boeing 737-800 LN-DYK
Departure time: 18:30
Arrival time: 20:30

Row 1 was available for selection at check-in but I wanted to try out another seat so chose row 19. The flight was around 60% full. I was pleasantly surprised with the legroom which I found more than adequate. Here you can see that my legs don't even touch the seat in front:


It was around -9 degrees in Stockholm so this de-icing machine thingy came along before departure and sprayed something all over the wings. I got a photo of the machine in action but it didn't come out too well unfortunately.

Ice on the wings:


The ice is removed:


The flight departed on time and was another pleasant and uneventful flight. The plane had free wifi again. We arrived in Amsterdam ahead of schedule but must have landed on the furthest runway from the terminal so spent forever taxiing in. We arrived at what must have been the low cost carrier pier at Schipol as the terminal had no airbridges, resembled a shed and the gates were full of easyjet planes.



After collecting my luggage I was approached by an undercover customs officer who took me aside to question me and search my luggage. He was looking for drugs. It's an inconvenience but I have nothing to hide so just let them do their job. All up it took around 5 - 10 minutes and I was on my way.

For a major international airport like Schipol I was surprised how difficult it was to find the correct train to catch to the city. For someone like me who had never been to Amsterdam, the lack of clear signposting made it very confusing. A lady told me "platform 3" but not every train from there actually goes to central station. I had to log onto the NS website and use the trip planner to work out which train to catch.

I was satisfied with my flights on Norwegian Air Shuttle. They seem like a good low cost carrier and if the price was right I would fly with them again.

That concludes this trip report; I hope you enjoyed it and perhaps found it useful. The next few weeks will take me through The Netherlands, Belgium, France and the U.K. You'll hear from me again sometime in the next month, hopefully on another exciting adventure.

 

[trentusjuventus]

Great report, thanks for sharing! Just a question about the Jumbo hotel, any issues with noise from aircraft at the airport nearby?

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

Thanks for your Fantastic Trip report. I really enjoyed reading it, as you ventured slightly off the regular "well-worn" tourists roads of Europe.

I for one love getting off the beaten track sometimes & hearing how others enjoyed themselves.

You may know this already, but Norwegian Air Shuttle are doing something that Ryanair said they were going to do years ago, but didn't.

That is, Norwegian Air Shuttle are going to begin Trans-atlantic flights to the USA, with London Gatwick used as a hub.

If successful, no doubt other Long-haul destinations may be on the cards also, perhaps in Asia (Bangkok already touted).

If not, on Long-haul, will become a bit of a flop like AirAsia X into London Stansted/Gatwick & Paris Orly.

Time will tell.... but one things for sure even BA are keeping a watchful eye on procedings.

Anyway..... cant wait to read more of your adventures when ever you get the chance.

Amsterdam is be a bit of an eye-opener in more way's than one!

 

[RooFlyer]

Excellent. Thanks for the TR.

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

I had a day in Stockholm last (northern) winter and took a chilly walk around the waterfront to stretch legs. Came across the Vasa completely by accident (Gee, that looks like a big building with a mast sticking out the top. I wonder what it is?). Wow! Yeah, story on how it sunk. "Whoops".

Stockholm was also where I discovered "Glug" (warm mulled wine) in a street stall. Never forgotten!

Glug....... i've had a bit too much of that of previous occasions with embarrasing consequences.

As for the Vasa..... maybe the vikings had a bit too much of that "Glug" also..... well it was stated that Vikings were Drunk at the time of loading the ballast!

Skansen is another great museum in Stockholm, not sure if it would be open in winter ..... im lead to believe the first of its kind in the world.

Stockholm is also very under-rated as a tourist destination in Europe IMHO.

 

[Mattg]

Great report, thanks for sharing! Just a question about the Jumbo hotel, any issues with noise from aircraft at the airport nearby?

Noise was barely an issue - the walls are so well soundproofed I could barely hear the room next door, let alone any planes. From the outside of the hotel you might hear them in the distance but the location is not under the flight path/s anyway.

 

[Austman]

Skansen is another great museum in Stockholm, not sure if it would be open in winter ..... im lead to believe the first of its kind in the world.

Stockholm is also very under-rated as a tourist destination in Europe IMHO.

Skansen is open all year. Stockholm is a fantastic city (all year but especially in Summer) - and a big surprise to many of my friends who visited me when I lived there for >10 years. It's expensive but! And that's probably the biggest minus.

 

[Mattg]

If anyone is interested, you can follow my next trip report here: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....rip-report-usa-tale-two-57804.html#post987036