Getting to the airport this morning proved a classic example of why one gets on the move early and ahead of the day. We had the apartment checked out and key returned by 3:00 AM. Then a 10 minute walk to Oslo Central Station to catch the Flytoget service to airport. The train, however, had been replaced with a bus on a different gate, so some scramble to make sure we were in fact on the correct spot, with the correct information, using the correct ticket. With a growing line up I was also concerned we would not get on the bus. In the end that piece of business worked out, but very glad to have been early to figure it out!
The second piece of business was navigation of Oslo International Airport (OSL). We found moderate line-ups in security (probably a 10-15 minute trip from start to finish). We isolated our gate… G5, but unfortunately all G Gates require waiting in another line-up to queue for a bus shuttle. From getting in the bus (that replaced the train) to arrival at our gate was almost 1.5 hrs. However, glad to have arrived and made the most important 6:30 AM connection of the day! 👍
Getting a look at KLM Airlines today for the first time, on our hop from Oslo (OSL) to Amsterdam (AMS). It was a pretty standard flight ✈️ that was on time from start to finish. It was great to stretch the legs and get moving. We were in for quite a layover (08:25 – 13:30). Janie went to information to get a bit of advance notice on a gate designation and was successful so we settled in, had a little airport charcuterie, and managed a rest!
With the estimated trip time from Schiphol to Halifax Stanfield being 6.5 hrs at gate departure, I tried to position myself in a headspace that would look at it positively. Firstly, I’d get some blog work completed. It always helps me wind down from one of these bigger trips. Likewise, catching a movie can sometimes carry away an hour or two and (as all movies do) create a reality adjustment. Of course, best case scenario would include a little sleep to make that drive home a safe and shared activity. Scratched all these itches, but with hours to spare 😳. The accumulated 8 hrs of flying time was definitely going to leave us a little hurt!
We landed smoothly at about 4:30 PM AST and, having our ArriveCan Declaration completed and zero luggage, we sailed out the door, validated parking (ouch… that has gone up) and made for the ‘Nish! On the drive home we settled into the discussion of “best things” and “must do’s”, which is always the start of the Reflections page… we’ll give that a go over the next day or so and give the view at altitude! For now, it’s thanks so much for those that followed along and chimed in along the way. Always great to hear from family and friends from home! We were glad to see Cloverville this evening, and Pete & Emilie had supper / snacks waiting for us 🙏!