We woke up in our respective homes and headed to Arlanda Airport. I made a miscalculation last night when I set the alarm so I arrived about an hour earlier than planned. I spent the extra time in the SAS lounge while waiting for Martin and Håkans’ arrival and having a second breakfast.
We went on to the gate where an American guy asked us if we were going to the game and we started talking. Seems like there are going to be a bunch of Americans flying over and not just European fans. He complained a bit that the stadium only takes about 62 000 in attendance. Wembley for example can host 90 000.
Well on the plane I and Martin sat on the 6th row in SAS Plus, while Håkan spent his time further back in “economy”. The SAS Plus ticket gave us a chicken salad for lunch and free access to the wifi.
About three hours after we boarded the plane we stepped off just to find us in another line, the passport control. The line for the non-UK/EU/US/some other countries was empty but we were directed to the other one. Didn’t take as long as entering the USA but quite boring just walking in line.
We all got let into the country, grabbed our bags, and headed for the underground (subway). We asked one of the staff what was the easiest way to pay for public transport if we were here for just four days. He suggested we just use our contactless payment cards. It works rather well and it’s nice not to have a keep a separate card for this.
The ride to our Airbnb took just over an hour and included two transfers. I realize that the subway in Stockholm is newer and probably has been modernized later than the one in London. The noise is quite loud, the AC works on every other train and the comfort isn’t that good. However, it seems to run rather often and we have hardly had to wait for it at any time so far.
When we arrived at the townhouse we are staying at the maintenance and cleaning crew were still there. We had to wait for just a couple of minutes and they apologized several times. We were in no hurry and said it was fine 🙂
Unpack, do some short resting, and then off for the first adventure! We had thought of going to the HMS Belfast but it would close relatively soon so we skipped that and went to the store Hamleys, a toy shop consuming seven floors. The goal was to find something for Håkans kids but it was hard to find that one thing that felt like “this is it”. While walking around we hear a bunch of Swedish and a bunch of other languages, it’s easy to realize that London is a multinational city. We also see a lot of Packers logos. Both hats and t-shirts/hoodies. At one time we got a Go Pack Go which we of course returned. Looking forward to Sunday!
We went on to find something to eat because Håkans lunch was like three protein bars and that chicken salad didn’t satisfy my stomach anymore. We realized that we were in a shopping district and tried to steer away a couple of blocks to avoid the worst tourist traps and most expensive restaurants. After a first dismissal, we went into Masala Zone Soho and had some delicious Indian food. I tried to pay with my American Express card but it was declined. A bit surprised I switched to Master Card and it worked. Later in the evening chat with Amex support and they assured me there wasn’t a hold on the card, just try the chip and PIN code next time.
When we left the restaurant the plan was to go to Buckingham palace and be a bit touristy. However, it soon started to rain and only Martin actually had brought a jacket. We took shelter in a doorway but after a while, the rain eased up a bit and we went for the closest subway to get “home”. Stopped by a convenience store on the way to get some snacks for the evening and we are currently slacking, writing Facebook, Instagram, or blog posts. Probably a relatively early evening since we all are a bit tired.
