Arrived in Stockholm

July 22, 2008

Every time I change planes at Oslo Gardemoen I seem to run into a delay with the transfer that sees me sprinting from one end of the airport to the other, and in the 15 years of doing this I’ve learnt that even if the airline thinks that you can get through the transfer in just an hour, it rarely works out like that. This time I knew it was going to be extra tight because the flight from Bodø was very late in leaving for its trip to the capital with me onboard.

What I didn’t want to hear from the staff at the transfer desk in Oslo was what they said to me this afternoon when I arrived:

“Don’t worry, just run when you get into the departure hall and make sure you get your connection - we’ll send your luggage on to your hotel! Just file a missing baggage complaint when you get into Stockholm…”.

I only have a laptop and a camera with me. I don´t have a room booked. I don’t have any maps or guides to the city, I was going to buy one in the Duty Free area of Oslo airport.

Anyway, I run, and I run a good long way all the way to Gate 48 on arrival in Oslo.

I reach the gate just as it is closing, I’m the last passenger on board.

And then a miracle occurs - the captain decides to delay departure until the missing bags from Bodø are safely on board, and my bike is rammed into the remaining slot under the wing.

So arrival in Stockholm was fine, and all my bags were reunited with me within a few minutes. I took the excellent Arlanda Express train into the main city railway terminus twenty minutes later, calling the Zinkensdamm Hostel on the way as a last resort because they come at the end of the listing, so may get fewer calls. It’s a pleasant, very organised hostel with 450 beds and individual lockers for food inside the fridges. It’s on the island called Södermalm, about twenty minutes or less by bike from all the sites.

But best of all, the city is a fantastic place on a bike! Separate cycle lanes with proper signs for routes and their own traffic lights, few cars, and an extraordinary number of waterways, gorgeous buildings, and tree-shaded squares to gawp at.