Sweden

Daniele Somenzi's Sweden posted by iviaggididaniele [11/06/2009 10:20] Sweden

At last, for the first time in my life, I'm in Sweden. Yes, I say "I am", because I'm writing right from Arlanda airport in Stockholm. I set off yesterday from Pisa, around 13:00, late, on an Air Dolomiti ATR 72 bound for Munich, where the delay made me miss the connection to Stockholm; so I was rebooked onto the next flight, two hours of waiting in the ultra-modern airport, 1 km long. To my surprise I happily discover that the flight is a Lufthansa code-share, on a SAS Boeing 737. I've flown happily with SAS before, to Bangkok and to Svalbard.

On board they seated me in business class, and the hostess chatted with me a bit - evidently she likes Italians. On this trip I'd like to pull off a rather unusual feat, a challenge I've never tried before: spending 24 hours travelling without taking out a single euro.

And so far I'm managing it.

For transport I've brought my usual Graziella folding bike, folded and dismantled; for sleeping I've brought a rolled-up foam mattress, as I often do, and I slept on the floor here at Arlanda airport. Now that it's June, here in Scandinavia, near the Arctic Circle, the light goes away for only 3 hours a night. In fact yesterday evening, until midnight, there was light, and it came back at 3.

In my backpack a few sandwiches, which kept me fed, while now, as I write, I'm in the umpteenth VIP lounge where the computer and the food are free. The Lufthansa flight to Munich is a few hours away, but I'm sure even now that I'll pull off this record, since the ticket was free, paid for with miles.

This morning, even though here in Sweden it's foggy and 15 degrees, I assembled the bike and pedalled 5 km around here. I visited the only youth hostel inside a Boeing 747, photographing it endlessly; it's the second one I've visited from below, this close up, after the Qantas 747-300 at Longreach in Australia.

Then I got a puncture at the rear, and I got rid of the mattress and the bike, and took the free shuttle bus back to the airport.

This evening, if all goes well, I'll land in Pisa around 22:00; if it goes badly, besides being my last post, I'll also be dead. Bye