Wanderlust
One of the FAQs I get is, "Don't youever get tired of the travel?" To which the answer is, mostly,no. In fact, I worry sometimes that I have the opposite emotion --that travelling is just a core part of my DNA. To wit -- 1) I got depressed yesterday when my body gave out after five cities andfive hotels in five days. After the LCTY event in Helsinki, I hadto go back to the hotel and sleep for two hours, and was upset that I missedthat time to go sightseeing. 2) I bought a copy of National Geographic Traveller magazine the othernight, featuring an article about 28 things to see and do in New Zealand. A momentary sadness and jealousy kicked in, as I realized that allI saw in my 16 hours in Wellington was an airport, a hotel, and a decentglass of white wine. So the travel continues. And having left Helsinki this morning, that's48 countries visited (I did the math wrong the last time I said so). Atleast one more on tap for next month. And for the most part, I findit still to be constantly fascinating, interesting, and thought-provoking. And am looking forward to more, both business and holidays (or both). A lot ahead this year. With all that as preface, here are some observations about my Nordics-in-five-daystour.... Things I liked: That everyone -- EVERYONE -- is at leastbi-lingual. And wasn't snobby about it. Wood floors in hotel roomsHeated floors in hotel bathrooms (Hilton,Helsinki)I love that brown goat's milk cheesein Oslo. Is there someplace in the US to get it?SAS,while handling the flight cancellation on Saturday very poorly, redeemedthemselves by a) accommodating me on early flights almost every day, b)having great lounges, c) having in-flight wifi access on this flight, andd) putting windows in the lavatories. The fast trains from both StockholmArlanda and Oslo Gardermoen airports That credit/debit cards are acceptedeverywhere, without hassle The incredible dinner on Monday at RestaurantRené in the Hotel Ritz in Århusin their private dining room. But not the cellar...next time.Traveler's tip:get there early. Iwas the first person to visit the Cathedralin Helsinki this morning --and had the place to myself at 9:01 AM. This has worked for me beforein places like the TajMahal and GreatWall of China -- but you haveto give up some sleep.ThingsI didn't like: Having to take taxis when I would haverather relied on public transport. That the airport in Århus is 25+ milesaway from the city, with a bus that runs infrequently as the only alternativeto taxis. I can understand Stockholm and Oslo airports being faroutside the city, but AAR? There's not exactly a dense urban areabetween the airport and city center. Speaking of AAR, weird a) landing ata commercial airport without a single other plane on the tarmac and b)that SAS's customer service people go home at 10 PM, while there is stilla flight that lands at 11:30 PM. At least I got to file my missingbaggage claim real-time..what happens for passengers on the late flight? Sorry, go home, call us tomorrow to see if we have your bags? Inmy case, it meant that my suitcase arrived at the airport at 11:30 PM butdidn't leave for the hotel until 9 AM the next morning.Why doesn't Copenhagen airport havean ATM inside the transit area? And have wifi only in the transitarea, not at the remote "A" domestic gates?The tiny little trashcans/recycle binsin Scandic hotels. I am all for recycling, but I just have stuffto throw out when I'm travelling...and the first Scandic I stayed in thisweek didn't have the bins labelled. That it was really freakin' cold inMarch. -14c in Helsinki upon arrival, and never more than -8.That the mobile phone network in Denmarkdropped my calls dozens of times. Not getting a chance to meet OlafBjorklund. Whateverhappened to him? SAS'sbranding strategy. Cansomeone explain to me why they have Blue1, and Estonian Air, and Air Baltic,and Braathens (still mostly in its old livery), and and and...yet operatethem all as essentially the same airline? I was even aboard two SASplanes that featured a "Snowflake"livery. Speaking of SAS, I'm embarrassed bythe insensitivity displayed by my fellow Americans on this flight. Hasn'ttheir visit to Europe taught them that the cheese course is eaten afterthe main course, even if it is served on a tray with the starterand salad? (Update note: This is tongue-in-cheek. Whiletrue, cheese is typically after dinner, I don't expect Americans to knowit. Heck, I didn't know it when I first started visiting Europe. But they sure have some great cheeses)Finally,thanks to all my hosts this week for making it as smooth as possible. Andthank you to all the customers and partners -- over 500 in all -- who turnedout for the Nordic Lotusphere Comes to You events this week. Seeyou again!
