know before you go: Stockholm (ARN)

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Stockholm is a huge Scandinavian hub for SAS and Norwegian, so it’s no surprise that it’s a pretty big airport.  I spent the good part of a 3 hour layover here looking for Swedish meatballs, finally finding one place that had them.  They need more Swedish meatballs.

Arlanda is the main airport in Stockholm, and is about 23 miles (37 km) north of city center.  Terminals 2 and 5 serve international flights, while 3 and 4 are domestic.  There are around ~72 gates (?) and this may be the only airport where they advertise wedding ceremonies to be held in the VIP lounges.  Would not be my first choice for a wedding venue (taking the plunge is not something I’d want to hear in an airport), but to each his/her own?

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There is a large shopping/restaurant facility called Sky City in between the terminals, and I’m sure there’s a way to get to it without having to re-enter security from Terminal 2 to 5, but I could not find it.  However, security is very fast so it wasn’t a huge deal.  The design is very aesthetically Swedish, simple, clean lines with lots of windows and modern light fixtures.  There are also Volvos on display throughout the concourses, can’t get more Swedish than that.  It was a great place to have a layover, lots to see and do, but installing a people mover would be helpful.

Remember: ✈️ =  S.O.S. to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = you can jive, having the time of your life (Dancing Queen)

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️ (far from city center, there are trains/buses that go directly to the airport, if you have a very long layover, probably doable)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️ (there has got to be a way to get to Sky City without exiting, so I’m taking a plane off for lack of directions to it)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️✈️  (it was very fast, even though the line was long)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️ (Scandinavian, Asian, Italian, pubs, McDonald’s, juice bars, Starbucks.  Taste of Scandinavia has Swedish Meatballs and it only took me walking around like five times to realize it was the only place that had it)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️  (clean, each stall has its own sink, but very long lines)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi available, fair amount of charging at the gates)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (decent shopping-longchamp, marc jacobs, victoria’s secret; two hotels, airline lounges, pharmacy, medical clinic, hair salon, dry cleaning, DHL.  And like I said you can get married here, so basically it’s its own city)

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finally

3 days in Copenhagen

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I can safely report that there is nothing rotten in the state of Denmark.  In fact, I can certify that Denmark is 100% fresh after spending a few days there (rotten tomatoes reference for us nerds).

Danes are known for their convivial spirit as embodied in the trendy term hygge (pronounced who-guh).  There’s no corresponding English word, but it is approximated to cosiness in life, i.e. drinking hot chocolate with your friends by an open fire with a wool blanket while wearing yoga pants.  Hygge is also personal responsibility: the Danish are have a great deal of respect and care for their homeland and fellow man.  They’re said to be one of the happiest peoples in the world and it’s probably because of this trust and friendliness.  People don’t lock their bikes up. This blew my mind.

I spent a culture, food, art, architectural jam packed three days here, and it left me wanting to go back and experience more of that hygge life.  Read my itinerary and tips after the jump.  Hygge down!

I wanna Dansk with somebody…

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