Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam : Our trip and how we did it
I just got back from my two-week trip across most of Northern Europe. This is my third trip back to Europe. (My first was a summer abroad in Italy nearly 8 years ago and my second was another two-week trip in 2014 where we explored Dublin, London, Amsterdam, and Paris.) I daresay this was the best so far! Thom and I visited Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, and again, Amsterdam this time around. In order to share our experience and to create a living record of its details, I’ve decided to write across a few posts on each city and its adventures. This first post serves to detail our overall travel plans, information on flights/places to stay, tips on light packing, and general advice for good travel. I should mention that I’m not an expert on any other these things but it’s worth sharing the little knowledge that I gained before, during, and after this trip.
To begin with, here are a few starting facts about our trip:
- We flew budget flights to, from, and between each destination.
- Besides bike rentals and 2 Uber calls, we took public transit the entire time.
- We stayed at Airbnb’s for 90% of the trip. (For the remaining 10%, we stayed at 2 different hotels: Once on the day we arrived for our trip and once on the day before we left our vacation.)
- We backpacked the entire time.
Let’s begin by discussing budget flights. Nine months before this vacation even happened I found some non-stop flights from Oakland to Stockholm for $600 a person. These flights kicked off the entire trip and made everything possible. I recall the very first time I ever flew to Europe. (Which was 8 years this summer!) It was to Genoa, Italy from Buffalo, NY. That flight had three stops (Buffalo to NYC, NYC to Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Milan) and one train (Milan to Genoa) in order to get to my destination with a total of over 20+ hours at a hefty price of $1500. (Thanks Aer Lingus! 🖕) So to come across a flight that was only 10 hours and non-stop to my choice destination, it felt like fate...
Doesn’t that last sentence feel so inspiring? Statements and facts like those are the gold and shiny wrapper on the cheap bar of travel chocolate. Here’s the nitty-gritty of budget flying:
- We had to pay in order to pick our seats. For our longest flight from Oakland to/from Stockholm we chose to pick our seats. This was fairly important to us since it was such a long flight and we did want to sit together for it. We ended up paying the $42 price per seat assignment. For all other flights between cities, we didn’t pay the seat charge because the flights were all fairly short (around an hour) and we didn’t mind if we were seated in the back or away from each other. (Though in the end, I will say that for each of our between-city flights, we were seated in the middle of the plane and always next to each other. 🙌)
- We had to pay for our meals. This was the most upsetting to me. Especially for a 10 hour flight. (Why isn’t this included??? 😡) I didn’t bother taking any photographs of the meals since they were literal crap. 👋 Heads up: If you fly on Norwegian, bring your own food or don’t purchase their $42 meal plan. The food really is subpar and does not include an alcoholic beverage. On my way to Stockholm, my curried beef tasted like the heated up cardboard container it was held in. On my way back to Oakland, I only had the preference between chicken or fish. (Why not neither?)
- You get the promotion, marketing, selling spiel…a lot. I’m not sure about you, but when I’m halfway through the new Star Wars movie watching Rey figure out her Jedi mind powers against the evil Kylo Ren, nothing is more jarring than some voice interrupting and telling me about the rock bottom discounts of some 12-year old Glenlivet.
With some of the add-ons and extra taxes, our $600 tickets actually came to $711.30 a person. Our in-between flights from city to city were around $50 a person. (As compared to a train from Berlin to Amsterdam which was $120 a ticket.) In the end, you have to deal with the minor annoyances for that 💰deal.
Let’s move on to transportation.
Thom and I took public transit for the most part. (I’ll discuss the bicycling and Uber rides a bit later in some of my city posts.) For us, it’s a fun challenge learning a new city’s public transit. And unlike American public transportation, European public transportation is fast, convenient, and very, VERY reliable. Upon arriving at the Arlanda Airport, which is located just outside of Stockholm, we took the Arlanda Express Train that runs directly to the city center in just 20 minutes. (As compared to my 1.5 hour MUNI and BART trip to Oakland International Airport. 😑) Out of the four cities we visited, Berlin boasted the fastest and most reliable transportation (dat German innovation) with Amsterdam coming in at a close second. (Trams, trams everywhere!) All the trams, trains, and buses that we took were clean and clearly marked. My only complaint was the summer heat which was especially felt in the enclosed and non-air conditioned trains.
I plan to discuss each Airbnb in detail for each city post but in general our decision to use this service came from a few points:
- We wanted to live locally. Some of the cities are on our radar for possible next moves and so we wanted to gain a better sense of the neighborhood and local life. This meant experiencing the mornings and nights in some truly amazing areas throughout each city. We wanted to see how people lived daily and how close/far away were needed things like parks, transit, grocery stores, and banks were. This meant that we made the decision to rent entire homes rather than private rooms.
- We (thought) that we would cook. This revelation has only come after the trip, but initially, we thought that we would be cooking a bit more than we did. (Which was zilch 🙈) However, it was convenient to be able to use the stovetops, hot pots for tea, microwaves to warm things up, and refrigerators to store some breakfast items.
- We needed a washer/dryer. I’ll explain more about packing below this section but in general, we each packed enough clothes for just 3–4 days. (I could probably get 5–6 outfits with variations.) Having easy access to at least a washer was crucial for our backpacking style.
Finally, let’s talk about packing. Much like my last Europe trip, I took a single backpack and personal bag with me. That was it! Now that this trip is over, I can say, quite proudly, that it was the best decision that I made for packing. After each city we visited, Thom and I both got a little better at packing our bags. It was a very efficient way to travel, IMO.
Here are some pros:
- Easy to travel with. This was especially true when having to move between cities and transportation. If you’ve ever seen those old and picturesque cobbled streets, you know that dragging around a suitcase is quite the challenge. There are also a lot of stairs and lack of escalators everywhere. Backpacking just made it easy to walk around. Again, we flew between each city and the flights were budget flights. Some airlines like to charge for a carryon suitcase. Backpacks are considered small enough to be personal items. Therefore no extra charge!
- Take what you need, carry what you need, NO MORE. This was crucial for someone like me. I tend to see things and want to buy them pronto (have you seen my dress collection?!) Carrying a backpack forced me to rethink a lot of unnecessary purchases that literally would not fit in my bag.
- Versatility. Once we arrived in a city for a few days, it was easy to unpack and use our backpacks for daily activities. Thom and I often took a backpack around within the city during our daily site-seeing adventures. We rented bikes and picnicked in the city parks. Having a backpack was a great way to carry around small amounts of groceries, etc.
I admit that there are some cons involved with this kind of packing. While I can pack a mean bag, it doesn’t exclude the fact that the weight gets to you…no matter how light. If you’ve ever landed at an airport and took public transit into a city, the transfers mean a lot of walking between terminals and stations. The weight of the bag can cause a lot of stress on your neck and shoulders. Even this year, I packed a bag that weighed about 8 lbs total and after a while, say 20 minutes of walking, it can really push down on you. I should mention that my bag isn’t meant for hiking or true backpacking and therefore isn’t super ergonomic. I’m sure if I had chosen a small hiking backpack, my experience would be different. The bag that I took is just an everyday backpack for commuting which is why long walks with a lot of weight can easily become a small burden.
Backpacking can also force you to make some crucial decisions as to what you pack. One small error (should I bring a bathing suit?) and you’ll be forced to carry that item throughout the entire trip with much resentment. The last time we were in Europe, it rained for most of the trip. Thom brought an umbrella this year. He never needed it! 😂 🙃 Lessons learned.
A few surprising things that we did bring this year are:
- My camera. I hemmed and hawed about this for quite a while prior to the trip. But literally the few days before, I bit the bullet, rented a 24–70mm lens and took my Canon 5D Mark II camera with me. I had initially feared that I wouldn’t use it since I used my iPhone for the entirety of my last Europe trip. But I’m so relieved that I did! I captured so many great shots and small videos that I’ll share with you throughout my next posts. BTW, the 24–70mm f/2.8 lens was an excellent choice! 👌 It really gave me the range and versatility that I needed when shooting on the fly. I can’t recommend a lens like this enough when travel shooting.
- A computer. Yes! If you can believe it, we did take a small 11" Mac Book Air with us. Thom and I didn’t have too much time set aside to research and find some things to do in each city. It was great having the small laptop with us to recharge and look up some site seeing activities. I also utilized the laptop for photo and video editing. On a few nights, we were able to watch a movie as well since most of the available TV was spoken in non-English languages.
I’ve only really traveled internationally in the summer months so packing has always been dictated by the warmer weather. I took mainly dresses with a single pair of jeans and shorts. A few shirts to mix it up and a hoodie with a jean jacket for cooler evenings/days. I took a pair of black flats since they’re so versatile and my Keds for comfort as I walked/biked everywhere. I kept toiletries to small sizes and bought anything else that might have run out.
Thom and I failed to exchange any currency prior to the trip. But I would recommend making that order with your bank if possible since ATMs abroad will charge you a fee for any withdrawals. Also, make the obligatory call to your bank letting them know that you are traveling abroad so that they don’t lock your card and account.
A kind co-worker provided us an extra SIM card and we had another already from past trips, so this year we both had data/service for our phones. Thankfully our SIM cards were both purchased in the Netherlands with Vodaphone. These cards worked in all the other countries we visited and we didn’t need to purchase new cards along the way.
Finally, I’ll add that we obtained Global Entry prior to the trip. It made entering the US very easy and fast when going through customs. If you are a frequent international flyer, consider getting Global Entry. Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck. So if you fly around the country frequently (which I do), it’s very convenient and handy for jumping those long security lines.
This post is a part of a series based on my recent two-week trip to Europe.
To read this in order:
- Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam : Our trip and how we did it
- Our Trip : Stockholm
- Our Trip : Copenhagen
- Our Trip: Noma
- Our Trip: Berlin
- Our Trip: Amsterdam
