Well, we threw the big "end of the year" party Friday night, then it was up and out Saturday morning.
Because of the trip length, it is again cheaper to rent a car and drop it a the Oakland Airport. I got a sub-compact from Budget for $39. Problem is, they had no small cars at the local Budget, so I ended up with a slight upgrade.
It was an easy drive down, and the drop off was efficient. The shuttle took us to the airport.
OAK is pretty small. It took us all of 20 minutes to print our boarding passes at the kiosk, go through security and walk "all the way" to our gate. We grabbed a seat at Vino Volo for a glass of wine and dinner; salad for Gail, and salmon rolls, fresh chicken sandwich and salad for me. Tasted good and pretty healthy considering.
We were about an hour late taking off from Oakland due to a paperwork error, but only a half hour late into Copenhagen.
This is our third year taking Norwegian Air, and if you are looking for low cost tickets to Europe I have to recommend them. This year's flight was less expensive than the past two years, in fact it is the best round trip bargain we have had in the past nine years. The tickets are "no frills" in the sense that you pay extra for a seat assignment (we did) and food, drinks, blankets and seating upgrades are all extra (we didn't). But with a little pre-planning it is no problem at all.
We ate the nice quiet dinner at Vino Volo, carried water on board, and bought one last bottle of wine to drink during the in-flight movie before falling asleep. I carried small instant coffee and creamer packs along with some biscotti to make our own breakfast (the cup of hot water was free). Once at CPH we ate again.
Sound like a hassle? Not really.
So why do I recommend Norwegian? Well, at $650 - $800 for a round trip ticket in high season, it is a real bargain. The seats are generous and well padded for sleeping, with good leg room. New aircraft means extra sized windows, individual monitors and chargers for the iPhone, a quieter ride, and that great "mood lighting" to put you to sleep and wake you up.
I read a John Grisham book at the airport and during the flight, watched a movie, and slept a couple hours.
We took the polar route, and northern Canada was all white mountains and braided-snake rivers. The sunset was beautiful, and the ice pack on Greenland glowed in the darkness.
You know the huge crack that is opening in Antarctica? It's been in the news a lot lately. Well, we didn't see it because that is the South Pole and we were flying near the North Pole!
It was an easy layover in cold, rainy Copenhagen, long enough to get a Danish and cappuccino (what else?) walk and window shop, and print out our next boarding pass. CPH is well thought out for transfers and comfortable layovers.
The Danish and cappuccino was great, but we sat across from a family with one fussy kid and another younger one who spilled her water on me.
Ugh.
But...
Later, we grabbed a glass of wine and tapas at Paté Paté. Gail had a white Santenay from France with a Manchego cheese sandwich, I had a red Tempranillo blend from Spain with a shrimp and crab toast.
So I am actually writing this part now at Paté Paté, glass of wine in hand, I feel surprisingly awake and rested as I text this; so relaxed in our first "café" of the summer, even if it is in an airport.
And it hits me: What is the difference? Why the relaxation just now?
No kids in the wine bar.
So we sit and watch the tall, buff Nordic women stride by, and every Lars, Häns and Erik looks like a cover model for GQ.
As a side note, if the whole concept of unisex bathrooms upsets you, you should not connect through Copenhagen. The toilets themselves are in little rooms, but they open up to a common area. I know this is a huge touchy area to certain groups in the US. and we watched some uncomfortable, but highly entertaining people as they encountered this.
Our SAS flight to Gdańsk took under an hour. Just enough time for the flight attendant to make a pass with strong kaffe and another with hot te before collecting the cups as we descended. The plane is a claustrophobic little tube called a Bombardier CRJ900, so small I had to load my carry on pack in sideways and we loaded the plane right off the tarmac because it is too short to reach the covered ramp.
Cute.
At 19:00, we landed in the gloom and rain of Gdańsk and walked into the terminal.