Nordic Winter ’19 Chapter 1

Airports. They always hold the promise of new adventures and beginnings, depending on the reason that you’re in one. This is a good reason.

I’m in the Denver international airport, which is ironically not in Denver at all. I’m on the way to Norway and Sweden. As a result of a quick decision six months earlier, I booked a flight and had to commit from there. I really don’t have much of a plan. I have a flight in, flight out and places to stay in between. I also have a friend that I want to visit in Uppsala Sweden, North of Stockholm.

I might be able to get out a few greetings in Norwegian, but from what I hear staying in the major cities shouldn’t be a problem. Really I thought about studying more. I didn’t get to it, so it goes.

For most of my life, airports have had a certain appeal and mystery for me. Funny thing is that I never even took a flight until I was about 27 years old. I think that most people would think that is odd since it seems that I have traveled a lot.

I never have traveled as much as I wanted to. Maybe this is why I’m trying to make up for it later in life.

But even before finally flying, I would go to airports. It was a strange obsession. Watching people coming and going. Where are they off to? Where did they come from? It was always an episode in people-watching.
Back then you could walk right into the airport and up to the gate. Heck, if you wanted you could stand by the concourse counter and see if you could get a cheap standby flight.

I’m not even sure if they do standby flights anymore. The airline companies have been putting a lot fewer empty planes in the air. Go figure they don’t want people hanging out in airports.

Airports give the promise of adventure or a change of life for some. They can be a perfect vehicle for meditating on change or to visualize your future self. I think it has been the promise of uncertainty that has drawn me toward them.

Now if you go to an airport you know you are going somewhere. Since you can’t just walk in, you have to commit. And now I’m committed.

A few weeks before I was having second thoughts. This is going to be the longest time that I have been traveling out of the country by myself. Committed to 11 days.

I always get to the airport early. Probably part of the mentioned curiosity about them. There is nothing really special about Denver’s airport at all. Maybe I was a little too spoiled that my main airport for so many years was Chicago O’Hare.

Like a lot of airports, it has seen some better days and a lot of wear and tear. I don’t recommend sitting on any of the carpets, don’t think they really get clean anymore. Most of the seating is a beat-up faux leather stadium chair with silver metal frames. Try to find a working outlet, let alone a USB charger. Good luck. Better to bring a portable battery pack with you anyways.

Icelandair is one of the better airlines that I have flown with over the years. My flight was cheap since I booked 6 months out. They did make a slight change on the flight back, making the return a little longer.

I travel light, carryon only, so sometimes the hardest part is finding an overhead bin that is within a reasonable distance from your seat. Scored on that part.

Put on the headphones and enjoyed the overnight flight, I even got some sleep on it. The first part of the flight was to Reykjavik Iceland. Keflavik airport is awesome. The design is amazing. But it is small. Certainly not intended for the sheer number of travelers that show up there now. Please stop with all the Instagram photos, and give them a break.

An awesome part was loading the flight to Oslo on the tarmac. We all dutifully waited in line to get on a bus to take us out to the plane. It was 4 am, 15 degrees, and wind blowing at 30 mph. Quite a few folks were complaining, but I saw it as a sign from the travel gods that interesting things starting to happen.

The flight to Oslo was an interesting cast of people. Some loud student travelers, others seemed to be business travelers that didn’t sleep a wink the night before. But it was a short flight, so wasn’t too much time to rest or do much of anything.

Gardermoen airport is also well-designed. Like Iceland, wood floors are almost everywhere, open, airy, and light. I got my first taste of overseas food in 18 years at the airport. Most amazing ‘pulled pork’ veggie sandwich ever!

I felt that it was going to be the start of a great day. But first I had to find a way into the city. Remember that thing about not having a real plan?

Facing two choices, local train or an express train. After some fumbling with the digital kiosk, I got a ticket for the express. I really want to get into the city center.