Arlanda is indeed Magic
Usually, I try to avoid the main roads and travel mostly by detours, guided by the habits of the Robin Hood gang at the dawn of its heyday. But the ticket alignment led me to clear water, as well as to the Arlanda air harbor in Stockholm through the no less eminent Moscow colleague Sheremetyevo. So further, applauding the Swedish base, you will have to unwittingly compare it with the Moscow counterpart.
The Europhilism syndrome often prevents us from adequately evaluating our native fields and gardens, admiring European rationalism and contemptuously spitting on our own unkemptness. So here, the Swedish mastodon will shine in the rays of glory, while the Moscow bourgeois involuntarily huddle in the shadows. But, believe me, it's not just that.
This time I approached Stockholm from a slightly different angle. Now I was on top.
Usually, mooring at its harbors, bypassing the cordons and border posts, with the help of a bicycle or trained tendons, I found myself in a fairy tale city in a matter of minutes. Now it was necessary to enter the native land of the pot-bellied fidget Carlson through the official air gates.
Watching the approach of the target through the window is one of the most entertaining things in flight. Belts fastened, flight attendants stretched out at the seams and with a broom drove the last onlookers out of the toilet corridors, with a no-smoking badge sizzling with a hateful look. Everyone is ready to make contact with Swedish soil.
Skillfully maneuvering in the airspace, the pilot moved the wing flaps, forcing our celestial swallow to aim his pointed plumage straight at the target. The fog began to envelop us, starting from the very moment of the descent.
Prior to that, a slightly winking light bulb of heavenly light at the tip of the wing, which did not attract any attention, began to periodically flash powerfully with its candelas, snatching a huge luminous cloud from the not translucent darkness. It was terribly exciting to follow the precise movements of the aircraft under the strict guidance of the pilot. What computer game was the pilot playing this time? Outside the window it was not visible even 20 meters ahead!
But a little later, a couple of minutes before the descent, the suburbs of Stockholm suddenly appeared below us. What immediately caught my eye was the orderly, brightly outlined road markings and the cars rushing through the darkness, which did not pay due attention to our arrival.
The Aeroflot pilot introduced the chassis to the road surface so gently and accurately that people even got confused, hovering in the void with their clapping.
And only when the guide called prudently (as it seemed to her) to stay where they were, everyone realized belatedly that we were on the ground.
Stockholm has always impressed me with its distinctive weather. Sharing the geographic location of other Baltic states, it was the only one that managed to remain the least snotty and the sunniest at all times of the year, and in late spring and summer, turning into a wonderful and warm oasis. Winter here is truly mild and good-natured, that even the locals manage to do without hats.
But I was waiting for the Arlanda airport, which, as I said, I arrived for the first time. At first, it seemed a bit confusing to me. Until you go through passport control and go out to the main hall, the airport resembles younger budget counterparts, and not from the top ten. Incomprehensible ascents and descents and significant turns evoke melancholy and melancholy.
But everything changes after the reunion with the main highway. The airport falls on you with all its authority, consisting of 5 spacious terminals and the Sky City shopping area.
Those who are not very interested can immediately leave the airport using the services of a high-speed train or bus. Particularly arrogant, of course, can saddle a 4-wheeled friend under the control of a fearless taxi driver. Remembering the lines of the guidebook, I will just add that its Swedish author recommends checking the prices to Stockholm indicated on the glass stickers. Prices are fixed everywhere, but may vary from company to company.
The more sensible can use the train, which leaves every 15 minutes and costs 260 crowns per nose, 380 for 2 noses at once, or 490 for one round trip. It will take you to the city in 20 minutes. And only the most rational will, of course, take a bus ticket, which costs only 99 crowns.
The journey will take half an hour.
Tickets for both train and bus can be purchased at almost any corner, guided by signs. Also everywhere will be indicated the time of departure of the next bus or train. It usually ranges from 15 to 20 minutes.
But I decided to hang out at the airport itself, as the hunger was sold in earnest and, in all seriousness, took me hostage.
After serving my prescribed 4 hours at Sheremetyevo, I had a tolerable dinner there and thought that this would be quite enough. But since they heated my lunch in the microwave, it was not even a kilocalorie in nutrition. I think so. After all, how else to explain my evening pangs of fasting?
Sheremetyevo Airport cannot please with a large selection of culinary items.
Restricted to cold salads and sandwiches mercilessly wrapped to a suffocating state with packaging film, only a couple of places will offer you hot dishes, in addition to such as tea and coffee.
Running through terminal F, I saw this meager selection at major prices. Sandwiches and cold salads, as well as a couple of hot dishes, were almost the same price tag of 10 euros. The cheapest coffee was in vending machines for 1.5 euros, and in cafes without 2.5 the simplest coffee will not be given to you. For cappuccino already demanded 4.
In the cheapest cafe Mama Rasha, I managed to keep within 15 euros, having lunch without a main course. But do not forget that it was a little like a restaurant delights. Rather a very civilized dining room. Whether business Stockholm.
Despite the high cost of food in the Scandinavian region, at Alfred's Cafe I managed to dine on a good portion of spaghetti with chicken and mushroom sauce, diversifying the meal with a light salad, sauces and bread and butter, which came in a free supplement. Plus free access to the table with coffee and water. And all this for 10 euros against the Sheremetyevo canteen!
But that's not all! Here at the airport, along with more civilized restaurants, McDonald's peacefully functions, which for 50 crowns will offer you painfully native combo menus with all the bells and whistles. And having reported 34 crowns, you will become the honorary owner of a mug of fragrant beer!
By the way, I was surprised by the policy of the Swedes regarding dinner. In addition to pasta, pizza and potatoes with meat sauce were available for the same price of 89 crowns. For 159 crowns they offered a huge plate with some delicacies and the same invariable travel card to a table with salads, bread and drinks.
I took the pasta because of the more comfortable size, although the Swedes without any hesitation thrashed huge portions of meat, washing it all down with beer or wine.
When I had already dealt with the portion, a middle-aged lady sat down next to me. Having said something along the lines of “Hey Boyar, you will be! She sipped a good half glass of wine. And then, without stopping, in 5 minutes she swallowed a plate of potatoes with large pieces of meat, only a couple of times soiling her fork in a salad.
Against the background of such a feast, the groans of our ladies about the 6 o'clock mark, and kefir diets look childishly frivolous.
The airport itself pleasantly surprises with its beauty and practicality. Plenty of outlets, chic Duty Free and free guides to the airport's gastronomic departments turn waiting for a flight into an exciting pastime. There are also internet stands for 29 kr per hour and some Wi-Fi deals that I haven't checked.
And add to this children's corners with a pirate ship and a toy forest and you have the perfect airport in Scandinavian conditions!
