What It Takes to Get to the Arctic

Thursday, June 30

Finally the long-awaited, but not necessarily looked-forward-to day is at hand. Long-awaited because we’re on our way to the embarkation port for our Arctic voyage; not necessarily looked-forward-to because ahead of us is 17 hours of flight and layover time in three segments — DC to Copenhagen, Denmark; Copenhagen to Oslo, Norway; and finally, Oslo to Tromsø, Norway. Too bad I can’t just wiggle my nose like Samantha in Bewitched and be whisked across the pond and up to the edge of the Arctic Ocean in the blink of an eye. I guess this is the price we have to pay for traveling to and exploring new places.

Follow the red dots for our 17-hour itinerary.

We are aboard SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) Flight SK926. As no exit row seats were available when we arrived at the airport, we’re squished into the seats we selected when we checked in online. The entertainment system keeps cutting out, so I’ve given up watching the available movies; I’d rather blog anyway. Three hours of the 7½-hour flight have passed quickly enough; fingers crossed for the rest of our travel day.

Having packed our bags last weekend, all we had to do today was add a few last minute items before we zipped them up and locked them with plastic ties. The cab we’d scheduled in advance picked us up at 1:30p and ½-hour later we were at Dulles International Airport. Dropping off our bags at the SAS counter was a cinch since we already had our boarding passes in hand.

Though modernized, the main terminal at Dulles has not changed much over the years.
[photo of a photograph on display in the terminal]

Once boarding started, it went quickly and smoothly. By 5:00p, we were in our seats — 25 A/B. Comfortable enough for a shorty like me; a tighter fit for Mui. The Airbus A340-300 pushed back on time, but it was closer to 5:45p than to 5:15p before we were in the air.

Happy to get going.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be in the pilot’s seat at take off? Well, we found out today. No; we didn’t get to sit in the cockpit, but we did have two camera feeds that gave us a glimpse into what it’s like. We tuned into the downward camera, which was actually showing the pilot’s eye view from the nose. Once we were wheels up, however, the angle changed to show what was below us … very interesting to watch as we quickly gained altitude.

Bumpity-bump we go down the runway.

The flight has been uneventful; the meatloaf, served with mashed potatoes and steamed carrots, was not bad at all, and the cheesecake dessert was actually quite yummy.

Surprisingly tasty.

Mui’s snoozing in the seat next to me; I so envy him this gift he has to sleep during a flight. He just goes into his “empty box,” and the next thing I know, he’s off in slumberland. Since I am all caught up, I’ll stop here and read my book. More later …

… Later — Friday, July 1 — somewhere between Oslo and Tromsø

We’re on our way to Tromsø now, but I’ll go back a bit first.

We landed in Copenhagen at 7:04a, thus completing the first segment of our travel day. Even though we were transit passengers, we had to clear immigration before we could go to the gate for our next flight. At least we didn’t have to collect our bags. We immediately made our way to the transfer counter on the off-chance they would put us on the 9:00a flight instead of the 10:30a departure on which we were booked. Fat chance; our tickets didn’t allow for changes unless we agreed to pay $200/person. No thank you.

Our flying chariot to Oslo is at the jetway.

An expensive snack consisting of a croissant, muffin, coke (I’m not a coffee drinker), and iced coffee (€16 in total [$23]) helped pass the time between flights. We boarded SAS Flight SK1454 at 10:00a and took the exit row seats (12 C/D) we had pre-selected during online check-in for a comfortable, hour-long flight to Oslo. I must have dozed off as I have no real recollection of the flight.

An early arrival of 11:10a meant a slightly longer wait in Oslo. We checked once again to see if they would put us on an earlier flight, but as luck would have it, our 4:30p SAS flight was the only one on the schedule.

Once we cleared customs and turned our bags in for the final leg of today’s flights, we went outside the terminal to get some fresh air — albeit jet fuel laced air. Regardless, the opportunity to stretch our legs was quite welcome.

Don’t care if it is overcast and dreary; it feels good to get some air.

The sculpture is called “Utkast” and the artist is Kåre Groven; it originally stood outside the former Oslo airport at Fornebu.

Later, a walk from one end of the concourse to the other took us to Monolitten, a cafeteria/food court style eatery with 4-star restaurant prices — a small bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, a slice of garlic bread, a fixed-price salad (that alone was 119 NOK; about $21), and two bottles of water … TOTAL 288 NOK or a hefty $52. Good thing we’re self-catering in Tromsø!

SAS Flight SK 4424 to Tromsø is being readied for departure.

With still two hours to go before departure, I was fast fading. No amount of walking after lunch was going to keep me awake, so we looked for a quiet corner where I could stretch out and catch a few zzzz’s. The Oslo airport is not what I would call nap-friendly. The sets of quadruple seats have arm rests on each chair. Interspersed throughout the terminal, however, is the occasional set with armrests only on either end. Finding one of these, I took an hour-long nap while Mui sat guard over our carry-on bags. That snooze kept me going for the flight we’re on right now.

We’ve been asked to put away all electronics in preparation for landing … we’ll be in Tromsø the next time I pull out the laptop to blog.