I felt so lucky to have an international phone. Being able to call my BFF from the cell without pushing a bunch of numbers is thrilling for me. I proceed through Customs and after the obligatory questions:
Why are you visiting Stockholm? How long is your stay? Business or pleasure?
I wheel my carry on as I search for the nearest toilet.
I take my first photo inside Stockholm. There are an abundance of Olympic rings represented all over the place. I don’t expect we will see a lot of that in Chicago…
I walk into the bathroom at Arlanda and I am just stunned!
This is one of the coolest airport toilets ever and marked the start of my noticing the little design elements that are all over this airport – down to the clothes hooks in the bathroom.
I’m telling you folks – Scandinavian design is crazy. There are touches of it everywhere in this airport. It is all about comfort and design. I regret that I did not photograph the groups of gorgeous seating sprinkled throughout this airport: round leather benches and funky upholstered chairs are everywhere! Clusters of visually pleasing internet stations pepper the joint. It looks like a giant Ikea – actually Ikea may be bigger than this airport but you get the idea right?
I am feeling very tired at this point. I am too tired to even bother taking photographs. And after wheeling into a few dead ends I finding myself near an exit I decide to go outside and contemplate whether to venture into Stockholm or not. It is freezing outside. I am fading fast and so I decide to stay at Arlanda.
Whilst on the Arlanda site I came across “Rest and Fly” which is a low cost alternative to the Radisson or Hotel Blu – all hotels that you can walk to within the airport. Rest & Fly is a hotel that offers small rooms with no unnecessary frills which can be rented in hourly blocks or for an overnight stay if you choose.
I came across the “Rest and Fly” sign and hobbled over to it. I am getting really beat by this time and all I want to do is lay down on a bed in the dark. I book a room for four and one half hours for less than thirty bucks and the entrance is about thirty feet from security and the airline gate entrance. It’s awesome.
I get my room card key and proceed down a quiet hallway of doors with funky light sconces marking the way.
I enter the room and it’s perfect! There is just space for the bed, a few cabinets, funky shelving and coat hooks.
I lock the door, get undressed and slide into the bed. I set my cell phone alarm – alarm clocks are available for a small fee – and turn off the light. Unfortunately, I mostly stared at the darkness as I fretted about my upcoming gigs and such, but I finally fell asleep for about two hours.
My alarm rang and I thought I was gonna jump outta my skin!
Where am I? What time is it?
I then got up and out.
I head toward airport security. I didn’t have to remove my shoes but I did set off the alarm as I was too tired to remove my watch and chunky jewelry. The broad who frisked me was a lot more thorough than I have ever experienced… I mean this bitch was seriously patting me down!
I finally get to the gate for my departure to Riga. I have been traveling for twenty two hours now with about two hours sleep and I am beat. Finally, I am near the end of my journey to Riga.
Next up: Arriving in Riga & meeting my host and the band…
Are you back yet? I hope you got as lucky on the return flight as you did on the outgoing. And I want to hear all about the gig – I just know they LOVED YOU!!!
Yep, I am back with more tales to share. I fell asleep last night before I could post them!