While travelling, I usually walk a lot (to save money and to prevent myself from lack of exercise), but it does not mean that I don’t use public transports at all. Especially in Stockholm, three out of four times of the visits were for the purpose of concerts, I always used the public transports after the concerts.
In addition, this time I took a ferry just because I was interested in it.
The story here is nothing special, but maybe for some people the information is useful.
First of all, I’m gonna introduce a transport app called “SL” that you can use in Stockholm. It is just like the Västtrafik app in Gothenburg.
Here is how to use the SL app. Once you download the SL app, open “Travel”. Then you will see your current location in the SL app. (I had turned on the location access on the phone, so the map in the SL shows even Estonia.) From that page, you can check any routes.
Here I set the gig venue as a destination and the hostel’s address as an origin.
Then the SL app shows the route.
On the top right corner, there is “Journey settings’” from which you can set which transport type you wish to use. In default, I think everything is turned on. Also, when you go back to the previous page, you can set the date and time.
Once you select the route, the SL app shows the route in detail. In this case, from the hostel to the gig venue I just needed to take only one underground.
b. Buy tickets in the SL app
In order to purchase tickets in the SL app, open the SL app, and tap “Tickets” in the middle at the button. Then a blue bottom is shown, so tap that button.
Then you can see the page where the ticket types are shown.
If you tap “Other app tickets”, you will see some other tickets like the ticket valid for 24 hours, so select one that suits your trip. There is also a transport card called SLcard in Stockholm, but I never needed it, hence I just purchased a single travel ticket every time I needed.
Once you select the ticket, the SL app shows the price in the blue button again, so tap it and go to the payment page.
There are two payment options: Swish or card payment. I reckon almost all of the non-Swedish residents/travellers would have no choice but the card payment. This is because Swish seems to require you to connect your Swish account with your bank account.
Here the SL app shows my card as I have purchased tickets before, but for new users, or those who wish to use another card, you can simply add a new card from “Add card”. Enter the necessary information, and Confirm it. Then the payment is done.
Once you purchase a ticket, the SL app shows it to you. Before taking a transport, you need to scan the ticket at the machine, but unlike Västtrafik in Gothenburg, the ticket won’t be activated on purchasing it. I personally prefer the system in the SL app so that I don’t have to pay attention to the time, and can purchase tickets at any time beforehand.
2. How to take a ferry within Stockholm
While travelling in Stockholm, I suddenly wondered:
“Stockholm basically consists of several islands, so maybe there are ferries as a regular public transport option?”
So I searched, and I found there are!
If you look at one of the screenshots above, you may notice, and yet the SL app includes ferries as a transport option.
However, in reality, it was a bit cumbersome when travelling from Djurgården by ferry.
The ticket counters were closed, and there was some information about ferries, but it wasn’t well-explained… (It didn’t mention the ticket price for a ferry either.)
So I decided to ask a staff member when a ferry comes, and asked her, and she said
“You have a card!!??”
Um, yes…?
“Here!!!”
??????
“Here!!!!”
I realised she was not able to speak English that well… Anyway I just followed what she said, and scanned my debit card at the machine, and then immediately the payment was executed. I looked at the price shown in the machine and it cost only 1 SEK. It’s like 10 cents in EUR.
I’m not sure if this is because the distance is pretty short, or whatever, but still it was cheap even if it were not Stockholm. I would recommend using a ferry in Stockholm just as an activity there. To me a ferry as a regular public transport option in a city is extraordinary.
View from the ferry
The travelling time in the ferry was short as described, but I enjoyed myself from the perspective of a different type of public transports within a single city.
★Summary
In my opinion, Stockholm has many activities and museums in the main areas, so maybe you don’t need to take public transports that often, but it can be too far to walk depending on the destinations and where you are. Hence probably it’s good just to know they have the SL app for that in Stockholm
Also, as repeatedly mentioned, I really recommend the ferry travelling within Stockholm. If you love seas and ships, or have kids, you can probably enjoy it too.
Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm, is more urban than Tallinn, and has lots of museums. Among tourists the old town in Stockholm (called Gamla stan) is very popular. (People call it “Gamla stan” specifically, but “Gamla stan” actually means “old town” in Swedish. I often wonder why then the old town in Tallinn is not called “Vanalinn” among the tourists.)
Also, as written in the related articles repeatedly, my solo trip is basically a budget trip. However, I found a way to enjoy this expensive city as a frugal traveller, so you could refer to this article if you feel “I want to visit Stockholm, but I’m worried about my budget…”.
In the first place, this trip to Sweden was planned for a gig by Louis Tomlinson from One Direction, which I had been waiting for three years since I bought a ticket (due to COVID). Unless you go to such an event, you may not visit a gig venue like Fryshuset, and yet I decided to include this place in this article.
As I already mentioned in some articles, this is my fourth time to visit Sweden, and three times were for concerts, but it was my first time to go to Fryshuset. I went there to queue with a relaxing plan as I took a nap because I couldn’t sleep well at the previous night although I arrived in Stockholm in the morning. Also, I thought “Meh, I don’t have to keep the front row”.
The closest station to Fryshuset is Gullmarsplan, and you would think:
Freaking hard to get out!
I walked everywhere in the Gullmarsplan station, and then finally was able to get out. (I could see the outside just over there from the Gullmarsplan station, but the exit was hard to find.) Once you get out of this station, it’s not complicated to reach the venue, Fryshuset.
Fryshuset is a regular gig venue. If you search on the map by its name, it might be difficult to find, but if you use Fryshuset’s physical address, maybe it’s easier. However, in reality, the area isn’t complex, so you can reach there more easily than you imagine.
At the cloak check in Fryshuset, there was no payment option such as by card or in cash available, but only by Swish. Swish seems to be a payment app by connecting a Swish account with one’s bank account in Sweden. I found out that at least a girl who appeared to come to Stockholm from outside of Sweden and I were not able to ask them to keep our bags at the cloak check, so we had to bring our bags and coats while watching the show. (She’s not my friend. I found she’s not Swedish as she was queuing in front of me speaking English to other people.) It was still March, so I wore a coat, but I went there with a backpack, so I could put everything in the backpack and hold it in the front, enjoying the show.
If it had been a small shoulder bag or something, I would have had no choice at all.
2. Djurgården
Have you heard of Djurgården? Me? I hadn’t.
I don’t know why, but suddenly I thought “I could take a ferry like an underground or a city bus because Stockholm consists of multiple small islands, couldn’t I?”
So I googled, and found out there was a ferry from Djurgården to the island next to Djurgården. I thought I wanted to try, so I decided to go to Djurgården.
For your information, ABBA The Museum is located in Djurgården.
a. Blå porten
Djurgården had more interesting things than I thought. For example, there is blå porten. Given that you go to Djurgården from the mainland (?), you will see a gate in super blue, and that is blå porten. To me a blue gate is atypical, hence I wanted to see it.
b. Villa Lusthusporten
Villa Lusthusporten is said to be a merchant’s house built in the 19th century. When looking at pictures online, the house looked nice in terms of its design, so I wanted to see it with my own eyes.
I’m not sure if you can go inside.
c. Skansen city quarters
I also saw Skansen city quarters in pictures, and looked nice, so I wanted to visit, and yet I found that it is in Skansen which is like a theme park and zoo, so I needed a ticket. One ticket costs around 20 EUR even for a student.
Strictly speaking, I didn’t go inside of Skansen’s area, but I saw something a bit from the outside, therefore I included this in the article. I’m still interested in this are. I might want to visit Stockholm for the fifth time…
It was a moment that I found Stockholm was more interesting if I searched about it more.
3. Skeppsholmen
Skeppsholmen is an island that I went to from Djurgården. I will talk about a ferry connecting these islands in a different article regarding public transports in Stockholm, so please check that one.
a. Moderna Museet
In Skeppsholmen, there is a museum called Moderna Museet. Partially it costs, but there are areas where you can go free of charge, and even only there you can see lots of art works, so I believe even a poor student can visit.
However, you cannot bring your backpack or a plastic water bottle. (A staff member ran to me telling me not to do it.) There are lockers behind Moderna Museet’s reception and the shop, and you can use them. There is a cloak check, but they told me to use the lockers for some reasons. (Then what’s the point of a cloak check…) It doesn’t cost to use those lockers by the way.
As a museum I enjoyed the Moderna Museet since there are Soviet-related works too. (I felt strange but interested as for me Sweden does not seem to be as much relevant as the Baltic countries to the Soviet.
b. Gilded Crown on Skeppsholmsbron
The Gilded Crown on Skeppsholmsbron is in the centre of the bridge that connects Skeppsholmen and the mainland.
There was nothing special, but I thought it sounded so Swedish just because of the crowns. If you walk to Skeppsholmen from the mainland, or vice versa, you can see them. The Gilded Crown on Skeppsholmsbron is decorated on both sides of the bridge, so you can choose whichever side you want.
★Summary
This article reveals how stingily I was travelling in Stockholm I believe, but I honestly think I should give myself a bit more reward after this trip. (But I’m so frugal, which prevents me from doing that.) On the other hand, my experiences might be useful for those who think their travels may be a budget trip, so it’s not in vain.
If you can spend more money, you can experience more, such as at ABBA The Museum, the Vasa museum, etc. Therefore I rethought and changed my thought; Stockholm is not boring as long as you have money.
😂
I realised I used to think “Stokcholm is boring, Gothenburg is more fun” because I “don’t have money”.
When it comes to travelling to the city centre or somewhere from an airport, in my opinion an aircoach is very useful at many airports. On the other hand you don’t need to take an aircoach when using an airport such as Tallinn airport or Dublin airport because those are not too far from the city centre. (As for Kansai International airport, depending on the origin, I sometimes use an aircoach, sometimes a train.) At airports in Sweden (at least at Arlanda airport in Stockholm as well as Landvetter airport in Gothenburg), an aircoach is more useful. In Sweden they have an aircoach called Flygbussarna. In this article I’ll talk about Flygbussarna.
Flygbussarna has both a website and a mobile app. The way to use either platform is almost the same as one another, so in the next chapter, I will talk about the procedure on only the mobile app (although I personally prefer using Flygbussarna’s website when purchasing a ticket 😅).
Unlike booking an accommodation on Booking.com or Hostelworld, Flygbussarna does not discount just because you use the mobile app. The ticket prices are the same on both the website and the mobile app.
2. How to buy Flygbussarna’s tickets
Here is a procedure of purchasing a ticket on Flygbussarna’s mobile app.
1) Once you open Flygbussarna’s mobile app, select an airport and Flygbussarna’s bus stop that you will or want to use. Here I selected Ladvetter airport and Flygbussarna’s bus stop in the city of Gothenburg called Korsvägen that I used when travelling there.
2) As you select the airport and the Flygbussarna bus stop, tap “BUY TICKET”.
3) Then the app shows you only the one-way ticket price first. On Flygbussarna, Youth is for those who are from 8 to 17 years old. Unless you know the return flight or a flight to a next destination, you can buy only one-way tickets of course, but if you know you will use the same airport, then it’s better to buy a round-trip ticket as the price is 20% cheaper. (This description can be seen only on the Flygbussarna website, and yet the price is still the same even if you use the Flygbussarna mobile app.)
4) Here’s a payment page. A traveller would use a card or PayPal payment. Here I choose a card payment.
5) Once you purchase tickets, your tickets will be shown in the “Tickets” section accessible at the bottom of the Flygbussarna mobile app. Moreover, you will receive an email with the tickets in PDF from Flygbussarna after purchasing, so you don’t need to worry if you cannot download and/or access the Flygbussarna mobile app.
Also, since the Flygbussarna tickets are valid for three months after purchasing, as long as the valid period covers your travel period, you can purchase Flygbussarna tickets earlier.
3. Flygbussarna’s mobile app is convenient when travelling
On iOS whilst you can save a PDF file in the “Apple Books” app, I personally prefer having the Flygbussarna app because it is faster for me to show the ticket (QR code) in the Flygbussarna app as described above, and I just need to scan it with the scanner in the Flygbussarna bus next to the driver. This way I don’t have to open the Apple Books app and look for the PDF file (as I sometimes have other documents that I need for my trip).
Of course, I don’t have the Flygbussarna app on my phone all the time. When I want to use apps specifically for the country or city that I travel to, then I download them temporarily, and use them only while travelling.
4. Can you buy Flygbussarna’s tickets on site?
Of course you can purchase tickets with the ticketing machine at each Flygbussarna stop. In the case of use of Landvetter airport, if you purchase an Adult one-way ticket at the machine, it costs 139 SEK, and tickets for a round trip costs 249 SEK, which are a bit more expensive than purchasing online beforehand. (This logic is not applied for only the use of Landvtter but in general when using Flygbussarna.) Also, the prices can be different depending on which direction you go.
You can check the Flygbussarna ticket prices on this page.
On the top of the screen, under the header, there is “Show prices for”, where you can select the airport.
★Summary
It’s easy to purchase a ticket on the Flygbussarna platform, isn’t it? You may use a train or a taxi if a Flybussarna bus does not arrive at the airport by the time you should be, or it’s too early to leave for the airport. If not, I would recommend you to try Flybussarna. (In the Flygbussarna bus, you can get Wifi and a USB charging port too!)
When it comes to apps for public transports, some are very convenient, others are user-unfriendly and for which Google maps works better. In Japan, I liked Yahoo Japan’s public transport app, but because almost all of Yahoo-related services have been inaccessible in EEA and the UK since April, 2022, I have not been able to use that app or even its web service from Estonia. From 2022, when I want to visit Japan, it seems Google maps is the only option for me… (Maybe I can access the webpage if I am in Japan, but it’s still inconvenient anyways. Besides, I have changed my iOS app store from Japan to Estonia, so I can’t have the app either or it’s not even in the search results.)
In Tallinn, there is also a similar service and app called pilet.ee, and yet I don’t like it. Occasionally Google maps shows detours, and on such an occasion, I use this app (pilet.ee) to look for faster and easier options. Additionally, maybe this is not only about Tallinn’s transport app – pilet.ee, but I personally want a function to add the travel plan from such an app to the Google calendar app.
Anyway, in Sweden there are also similar services. This time I’m going to talk about only the service in Gothenburg. In Gothenburg, there is a public transport app called Västtrafik in sky blue.
In my opinion, Västtrafik is relatively more user-friendly.
You can buy tickets on the Västtrafik app, and of course on site too. (In trams you can purchase tickets unless the machine is broken. In terms of buses in Gothenburg, unfortunately I cannot say anything specific or make any comments as I didn’t use it.) However, in real life, I experienced both in-app purchase and on-site purchase (in a tram).
I personally recommend you to purchase a ticket in the Västtrafik app as it’s faster and easier. When you open the Västtrafik app, there is a page named “Travel Planning”. Tap there and enter an origin and a destination. In the Västtrafik app, of course you can check stops in the map. Air coaches like Flygbussarna stop in the city centre of Gothenburg, it might be better to check the nearest Västtrafik stop to Flygbussarna’s stop in Gothenburg beforehand.
Once you decide the origin and the destination, the Västtrafik app shows routes. You can also filter the departure or the arrival time, etc in the app. You may see multiple different routes in the screen, but the zone should be more or less the same, so tap one of them, and then you will see the ticket type at the bottom of the screen.
In Västtrafik, “Adult” means those who are 20 years and over, and “Youth” is for those who are 7 to 19 years old. This sort of age difference (like “Adult” or “Youth”) may differ depending on a country or a facility or service, so especially people in their 20’s should check every time. Sometimes, “Adult” is for those who are 26 years old and over, and “Youth” is for under 26, or something like that.
I recommend bearing in mind to use this Travel Planning page while travelling Gothenburg. This is because when I went tog Gothenburg in May, 2023, there were partial construction, and using Google map, I was so late to meet my friend. What was worse, I went somewhere unknown. Using the Västtrafik app, you can arrive at your destination without any problems as Västtrafik shows the real-time information even if the public transports get affected by traffic accidents or constructions.
Once you check the ticket type and set the number of tickets, go next. The Västtrafik app will show the payment method. You can purchase it with an app called Swish there, and yet Swish seems to need to be connected with a bank in Sweden, so most likely travellers cannot use this option.
Paying for the tickets, the purchased tickets become valid immediately. Hence, I would and did purchase one just before the transport came.
However, if you wish to do this, you should register your card in the app, and have a secret note of or remember your card’s security code (CVV, CVC, etc) in advance. In general, it’s quite dangerous to take out your card, and enter private information in public such as at a bus stop, I would say.
After purchasing the tickets, you will see a QR code in the Västtrafik app, but honestly, I don’t still know how to use that QR code. I assume it’s for inspection (only)? I tried scanning it at the machine in the tram, but it didn’t seem to be working. Therefore, I didn’t actually use the QR code.
★On-site purchase (Trams)
For sure you can purchase tickets in a transport unless the ticket machine is broken. (I saw it once in Gothenburg.)
I wanted to obtain a paper ticket, so I bought one in the tram, and found out that it costs 4 SEK (0.40 EUR) more expensive than buying the same ticket in the Västtrafik app. If you care about your travel budget, I would recommend in-app purchase.
In my case, I bought a ticket in the tram at 5 am, so there were few people and it felt relatively safe, but I think it’s a bit dangerous to purchase a ticket in the transport when it’s packed.
Moreover, the machine didn’t have a function to pay by touching a card, but was an old type where you needed to insert your card. After purchasing there, I was like
Jesus, my card doesn’t come out!!
This is the same pattern as ATMs in foreign countries that “absorb” travellers’ cards!!!
But I was wrong. 😂
I just needed to take the card out by hand by myself. 😂 (Thanks to this, I feel my life time got shortened.)
By the way, truth to be told, in Gothenburg, I tried a free ride. 😂 In the tram from Gothenburg Central station to the hostel, I thought “I don’t think anyone notices even if I don’t buy a ticket, don’t they?”, so I did. And it worked 😂
However, particularly in a foreign country, you never know when you will encounter a ticket inspection.
I wrote ~End~ but the treatment has been ongoing as of July 2021, and I had something at work, so I’ll write them as blog articles separately. My life is so busy…
Here I will talk about five restaurants and cafes that I went to in Gothenburg. My trip tends to be a budget trip, so those restaurants and cafes are not too expensive to go to. While I was writing this article, I kind of missed gelato in Gothenburg as in Estonia the temperature finally marked over 30 degrees and it was the end of June, 2022.
I wandered around Gothenburg only for two days, hence this article introduces only five restaurants and cafes. However, of course you can find more international or Swedish and/or fancy restaurants and cafes if you look in Gothenburg.
Bönor & Bagels is apparently a bagel cafe. In Estonia, you can hardly get bagels, so quite often when I travel to some other countries, I eat bagels. When I visited Ireland in March 2019, I had a bagel there too. However, I still think the one in Riga was the most amazing ever.
b. Gelaterian Göteborg
When I travelled in Gothenburg, it was quite warm, and the weather was pretty nice, so I felt like having something sweet and cold, so I headed to a gelato shop called Gelaterian Göteborg by walking for 20 minutes (as an exercise).
This is extra information, but while walking there, I was simultaneously looking for an ATM, but there was nothing on the way. Then I found a 7-Eleven in front of the gelato shop, so silk or swim, I looked for an ATM there. I found one there, and withdrew 500 SEK, paying 40 SEK + around 2 EUR. (This means that there were two transaction fees.) I actually brough 80 SEK (approx. 8 EUR), but the bagel shop wasn’t able to accept a card payment, plus for some reason I couldn’t pay by touching a card at a supermarket near the hostel, I withdrew around 50 EUR.
At Gelaterian Göteborg, I couldn’t find what I wanted to try, so I chose alternatives, and yet the alternative options were tasty enough. I chose brynt (something like caramel or toffee), and strawberry with lime. Thank god, I could pay by card touch. It was the middle of the weekdays, but there was a queue in front of the gelato shop. I also found a small hill near the shop, so I would recommend you to go there to have gelato when the weather is nice. (I did this too.)
c. Ramen-Ya
Ramen-Ya is a Japanese noodle (ramen) restaurant, and it literally means “a ramen restaurant” in Japanese. I’m not a huge fan of ramen, but as I searched there online, I found that they had Tantanmen which I cannot eat in Estonia, and is probably quite extraordinary even in other bigger european countries. For this menu, I chose Ramen-Ya. I could get one seat as I was travelling by myself, but if you go there with a group of more than 2 people, it seems to be better to book a table in advance.
I selected Tantanmen as I had originally thought, and yet the spicy soup went to my trachea, so I had a physical agony for a while.
I don’t usually eat all the soup in ramen, but since this restaurant’s soup was not too salty, I could finish it all. If you wish, you can add garlic as they serve a bowl of garlic and a masher too, but I didn’t add any. (By the way, if you are a ramen lover, and always/often eat all the soup in ramen, this action may actually make your body unable to eat ramen itself eventually, so it’s not good. The source is in Japanese.)
d. Manniny
Since I realised I had not had coffee at all while staying in Sweden, and I got physically so tired due to walking too much, I went to a cafe called Manniny to sit and relax.
It’s a really small cafe, but there are around three seats outside. When I went there, all of them were taken, and thought maybe the noise of trams would bother me, so I took one seat inside.
When I went to Sweden this time, it was relatively warm although it was still March, I felt like having something refreshing like veggies. However, all the sandwiches available here were quite big, and I didn’t want that a lot. Hence, I decided to have a piece of a daily cake (which does not sound refreshing) and a cup of coffee called lungo. (Lungo is said to be espresso coffee but with double the amount of water.)
Also, although at that time I didn’t know the name, I found a small sweet that is often found in Gothenburg and Malmö. I wanted to have tried though. (Later I googled, and found the name was dammsugare which is a Swedish sweet. I didn’t know how it looked.)
I didn’t plan to go to this cafe, but it was pretty cosy, and a nice place.
e. The Elephant
For the last supper in Gothenburg, I went to an Indian restaurant called The Elephant. Later I found it seemed to be a local chain restaurant.
Initially I thought “Eastern African cuisine sounds tasty.” → “But it’s far from the hostel by walk, I don’t want to walk anymore.” → “I want to try Lebanon cuisine.” → “It feels awkward to enter there.” → “Oh, there is an Indian restaurant (The Elephant), I’m going there.”
This is how I decided to go there.
Of course you can have Indian cuisine in Tallinn, but since quite often it’s almost impossible or pretty expensive to eat lamb there, I enjoyed it in Gothenburg.
Estonia has lots of global businesses, and more immigrants have come, but in terms of international foods, it is unsatisfactory yet, and you can barely get anything amazing unless you go to some other big international cities in other countries in my opinon.
f. Café Linné
Café Linné is a cafe in Gothenburg, and they open at 8.30 am. I went to Café Linné to have some breakfast (I went there in 2023).
They have breakfast menus, but they also accept other general orders. Iin my opinion, a Swedish shrimp sandwich is a must-eat when going to the seaside in Sweden. I have eaten it once in Malmö in 2022, and it was as small as a palm so I expected the similar one in Café Linné, and yet they gave me a huge shrimp sandwich! 😂
According to my friend in Sweden, that’s the normal size. 😂
They have the English menu somewhere so ask them if you need it. In my case, I could read the Swedish menu, but I couldn’t understand what the staff member was talking about to me in Swedish. So when she asked me if I needed the English menu, in English, I naturally responded in English. I’m not confident enough to speak Swedish yet.
As for the shrimp sandwich, there are lots of shrimps on the plate, so I recommend having it. The price might be normal in Sweden though it cost 170 SEK (14 EUR).
g. Café Husaren
Cinnamon buns are pretty famous in northern Europe including Sweden. If you go to Gothenburg, I recommend Café Husaren and trying their cinnamon buns!
This is because their cinnamon buns are giant!!!!!
The size is three or four times bigger than a regular-sized cinnamon bun.
I recommend having one cinnamon bun in Café Husaren with more than one person as you cannot eat it all by yourself unless you have a very sweet tooth. However, should you go there by yourself and not be able to eat all the cinnamon bun alone, no worries, you can get a bag for that if you ask a waiter there.
I tried to eat their cinnamon bun, dividing it into two times, but it was still too sweet to finish it all…. It tasted good though.
In Café Husaren, there are also some Swedish sweets such as dammsugare or princess cake, but they don’t look traditional. It’s fun to see them so that could be your purpose too.
Café Husaren is located in the Haga district which is just like a regular old town in Europe. (Well, at least for me who has lived in Tallinn…)
And here’s one tip when travelling in Sweden.
When ordering a normal black coffee at a cafe in Sweden, you may see the word “påtår”. It means another cup of coffee, and in the countryside, sometimes påtår is free. I guess they have this because of their coffee break culture called “fika”.
h. Botaniska Paviljongen
If you get physically tired of walking in the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, let’s take a break. There’s a cafe called Botaniska Paviljongen.
Their menu is nothing special and they don’t have a lot of options, but in Botaniska Paviljongen in summer, you can have some iced coffee. What is better, if the weather is nice, you can relax, surrounded by plants and flowers.
They accepted only card payments.
2. Malmö
a. Smörrebröd By Freda
Smörrebröd By Freda is a sandwich cafe/restaurant in Malmö. Their sandwiches are not like ones you can get at a supermarket or somewhere but open sandwiches. You can choose either take away or eat at Smörrebröd By Freda. If you choose to eat in, there are some seats (with charging sockets!) around Smörrebröd By Freda, so you can eat there.
Smörrebröd By Freda has several options of sandwiches, and everything costs the same except a shrimp sandwich which was 10 SEK more expensive than others. (But I believe shrimps are relatively expensive everywhere in general.) It seems in Malmö shrimp sandwiches are quite well-known, and when I googled Malmö foods online, I saw shrimp sandwiches multiple times in search results. Therefore, I could not help but to choose the shrimp sandwich. At Smörrebröd By Freda one sandwich cost 30 SEK, and the shrimp sandwich cost 40 SEK, but if I bought a set of three, it cost 89. However, I chose the shrimp sandwich, it (a set of three sandwiches) was 99 SEK (as of March 2022). When I looked up Smörrebröd By Freda’s website now, one sandwich is now 48 SEK, one shrimp sandwich costs 65 SEK. The prices have been drastically increasing everywhere….
In addition to the shrimp sandwich, I selected a sandwich with Prosciutto ham as I like it, and a sandwich with chicken curry which I usually don’t choose. The one with chicken curry didn’t taste like curry that much. Although it cost around 10EUR for only three sandwiches, it was Malmö in Sweden where basically everything is expensive, and actually the sandwiches were pretty tasty, it’s all good.
I went to only Smörrebröd By Freda for eating as I went to Malmö for a day trip, so I have no idea about other restaurants or cafes, but I would recommend you to try Smörrebröd By Freda’s sandwiches when you go to Malmö.
When it comes to travelling, one of the (personal) fun is flights! I love the excitement when getting on a plane, and being at an airport. As a student, I often had rough sleep at airports (mostly in Europe) but I didn’t do that this time.
The airlines that I used this time were Ryanair, the king of European LCC, and SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) that seems to be frequently used for travels in Northern Europe.
Also, since I travelled during the pandemic time, and there were some unusual processes and rules at the airports/airlines due to COVID, I will explain them (although I hope it won’t happen ever again).
When it comes to an airport in Stockholm, it should be Arlanda airport! It’s an international airport, where planes to many cities in foreign countries depart and arrive. It’s a pretty big airport, but not complicated.
When arriving at Arlanda airport and heading to the centre of Stockholm, basically you just need to follow the instructions displayed in the airport, but those are not shown for every step. At some point there was no guidance. I have used Arlanda a couple of times before, and yet I couldn’t remember the way to the bus stop. (I remember the way to the station.) So here’s how to find an aircoach to the centre of Stockholm.
In Terminal 5 at Arlanda airport, there is a yellow convenience store called Pressbyrån, and around there the display on the ceiling and on the floor is gone. However, I just decided to go forward and passed Pressbyrån. Then it was connected to Sky City and other Terminals. From somewhere there you can see the display guidance to the bus stop again, so just walk ahead.
At that time, I missed an aircoach to Stockholm just in front of me, but it is a capital city, so after only 15 minutes, another one came. So I didn’t wait that much. When going to the centre of Stockholm, it was bus stop 7, but I believe you should check before getting on it because there are buses to other directions from Arlanda airport. (The aircoach that I used is called Flygbussarna, and I will talk about this later separately.)
b. Landvetter airport
At Landvetter airport in Gothenburg, there is a digital display that shows the next three departures of Flygbussarna at the baggage reclaim area. So you don’t have to check your phone in how many minutes the bus will come, or remember the timetable (particularly for those who often make detailed plans).
Additionally, Landvetter airport didn’t look so big from the bus, but when you go inside, you may feel how big it actually is. When entering the inside of the airport, you will immediately see lots of check-n counters, and on the right facing the check-in counters, there are escalators to the security check and gates.
In the area of the security check, there is a bin box for an excess amount of liquidy stuff, and free 1L bags for a bunch of small liquid stuff. (At Tallinn airport it costs.) It was a super early morning, and there were not so many people, so the security check didn’t take time.
I reckon there were not so outstanding characteristics for this airport, and I’m not sure if you can have a rough sleep there.
2. Ryanair
Next, this is about the airlines that I used for this Sweden trip. The first one is Ryanair. When it comes to travelling in Europe, many people choose Ryanair. However, as a warning, some airports are specifically for Ryanair (or possibly for LCC), which are located somewhere unbelievable, so be careful when booking. Regarding Sweden, for sure Stockholm has. However, there shouldn’t be any problems between Tallinn and Stockholm because it should be connected (mainly) with Arlanda airport. Once, not from Tallinn, but I have used Stockholm Skavsta airport. It was ridiculously far from the centre, and the flight time was weird, so I had no choice but to stay at a nearby hostel/hotel as at Skavsta airport as you can’t have a rough sleep at Skavsta airport.
i. From a Schengen country (Estonia) to an EU but not Schengen country (Ireland) (Updated: July, 2022)
For the trip to Ireland in June, 2022, I used Ryanair again!
Ireland is registered as an EU country, but not as a Schengen country. When I lived in Ireland as an exchange student (from 2015 to 2016), I needed to print out a boarding pass, and get a visa check at a Ryanair check in counter at Dublin airport whenever I used Ryanair. This time I bought tickets for two people together, I also talk about checking in in such a case. (I added “Updated: July 2022” for the additional sections so you can find the updates easily.)
a. Do I need a visa check to fly from Estonia to Sweden?
When I was an exchange student in Ireland, I always needed a visa check, but where I currently live is a country in the Schengen area. In addition, it was the first time to travel abroad since 2019, so I completely forgot what kind of procedure I needed, and I had to check it.
There is an article on my website in Japanese, in which I wrote about my trip to Scotland in 2019, but since Brexit has been over, the situation is different. It cannot be any reference, and I felt like a travel beginner.
So, I contacted Ryanair.
If you need a visa check, you are required to get a stamp at a visa check counter at an airport, and for this it’s essential to print out the boarding pass. If not needed, I wanted to use Ryanair’s app (or the PDF file), so I contacted them. The descriptions below are replies from Ryanair.
1st contact: I recommend you to print it out just in case! → I’m not asking what to do for “just in case”. 2nd contact: If you see a QR code, you don’t need to print it out! → I see the barcode too. 3rd contact: No need to print it out! → I want to know the reason.
Yes, I asked the same question three times because this Ryanair’s page sounds like I would need it everywhere I use Ryanair.
So, I eventually asked a Ryanair crew at Tallinn airport, and she said I didn’t need it because my travels are within the Schengen area. Yes, that’s what I wanted to know! What I wanted to know was “if the travel is within the Schengen area”! In other words, if the travel is not within the Schengen area, I need a visa check!
You may be wondering why I didn’t print out the ticket just in case. This is because Ryanair’s free check in opens 24 hours prior to the flight departure, and I had to arrive at the airport before the printing shop opened.
Anyways, if you are a non EU/EEA passenger, but travel within the Schengen area, you don’t need a visa check!!!
Let’s keep this in mind. We may travel more often like before as almost no COVID restrictions are there these days as of June 2022 (although monkeypox is concerning us…)
i. Ryanair’s visa check in (Updated: July 2022)
In the trip to Ireland in June, 2022, one PDF included information for both of us with one boarding pass. My page didn’t have any barcode or QR code, instead there was “VISA CHECK”.
When I saw it I was like “Huh?” Not because of “VISA CHECK” description. When I lived in Ireland, after checking in online, the PDF file had a barcode. That’s why I needed to print it out, go to the check in counter at airports, and get a stamp on the printed boarding pass.
Then, when I went to Ryanair’s check in counter at Tallinn airport for the first time to go to Ireland since 2019, I showed the printed paper without any barcode as well as my passport, and they issued that wide boarding pass!!
Also later I found that I didn’t have to show the printed paper. It actually makes sense because at online check in I need to register my passport number, and there is no point to print the file out as they don’t put a stamp on it and even if they do, I still can’t use it as long as I don’t have any barcode or QR code. (I tested this without showing the paper, and it worked.)
When going to Dublin from Tallinn, the flight departure was at 3 in the afternoon. Only I went to the airport by myself to get the visa check done. And when I met my boyfriend at the security check gate, he saw my classic wide boarding pass, and asked me “Why do you have that boarding pass and I have only the file??”, having a little sad/disappointing face. 😂
My boyfriend’s boarding pass. Since he’s an EU citizen, he already had a barcode.
When leaving Ireland, we went to the airport together. I’m not sure whether it was because he was behind me, and yet the check in staff member issued two boarding passes.
The boarding pass issued at Tallinn airport had not Ryanair’s logo but Tallinn iarport’s logo.
He looked happy. 😂
I’m happy for you.
After this experience, I thought Ryanir’s service was partially improved.
For non-EU citizens! Don’t forget to get a visa check when travelling between a Schengen country and a non-Schngen but EU country. You can know if you need it in the PDF file you will get after online check in.
b. Mask
When I travelled to Sweden this time, throughout Europe each country had gradually lifted COVID restrictions, and yet some airlines had different regulations about COVID.
In case of Ryanair, wearing a mask was required, but any mask was basically fine. I used UNIQLO’s cloth mask that my mum sent me during the pandemic, and it was acceptable in Ryanair.
c. How to check in online in Ryanair when having purchased tickets for more than one person (Updated: July, 2022)
This time I bought the tickets for two with my Ryanair account, but I found that I could not check in first, send the online check in link to my boyfriend, and let him check individually. (I contacted the Ryanair support and asked.)
So I asked him to send me necessary information by showing the screenshot of the check in page on Ryanair’s website. Then I completed checking in for both of us, and got a boarding pass.
Again, be careful, you cannot check in online separately when buying tickets with someone together.
3. SAS
In this trip, I had four flights, and three of them were run by Ryanair, but when I went back to Estonia, I used SAS. I have also used SAS before, and I think it was also a trip to Sweden…
a. Name display
This time I booked a seat in SAS on an online travel agency called Mytrip (because they offered the cheapest price), but the name display was strange, and I contacted SAS as I didn’t want to get rejected for the flight.
Then, they said I needed to contact the travel agency as my booking was done through them, so I contacted Mytrip. They said the name display was fine (that the title and my first name had no space between them).
However, I was still concerned, so I contacted SAS again. I explained the whole process of this, and they said there was no need to change as it was shown like that due to the system. I thought about why I was worried a lot, and at the same time, these ping-pong contacts were pretty annoying. I wished they had written such information somewhere on their website.
b. Mask
SAS also required us to wear a mask.
On the second day in Stockholm, which was Saturday, a wonder popped up in my mind in the afternoon; do I need a mask? So I googled, and found that SAS did not accept a cloth mask! You may wonder why I didn’t research before travelling, and yet I didn’t have such “capacity” to do in my head.
I quickly searched if there was any pharmacy around the hostel. Even in Estonia I had never bought paper or surgical masks, so I was worried if the supermarket that I found had paper masks, but it turned out that there was a pharmacy in the same building.
Just in case, I went to both the supermarket and the pharmacy, and yet the price was the same, so I decided to buy at the pharmacy as they sold black masks that looked better (more fashionable) than the blue ordinary surgical masks.
This is an extra story and it’s about a case of LOT Polish airline, but at Landvetter airport in Gothenburg, I was waiting for my flight in front of a gate which was open for passengers to LOT Polish’s flight. When the gate was about to close, two people who looked like a couple were running towards the gate, but since they didn’t have paper masks, they were rejected to onboard.
However, they were lucky.
Coincidentally a man who went through the gate one step earlier had a bunch of paper masks, and noticed them, and gave them a few.
I learnt we had to be careful when the situation in the whole world is remarkably different than usual.
c. Check-in
Lastly, this is also related COVID. I kind of remembered how to check in for SAS. I like rectangular classic shaped boarding passes which I could get from the self-check-in machine at an airport, but this time SAS required passengers to submit some COVID-related documents beforehand.
Some people seemed to be able to upload documents in advance, but this method was not applied for those who have lived in Estonia, and I had to go to a check-in counter in the airport.
In fact, when I went to Arlanda airport, all SAS’s check-in counters were for check-in luggages by themselves, and no staff were there.
So I asked an SAS lady who was guiding business-class passengers, and explained, but she also looked like “what is that?”, so she let me go to the lane for the business passengers.
Then, at a business counter, I explained what the SAS support told me before coming to the airport, and showed my COVID certificate. Then the staff issued me a boarding pass, and I could go forward.
I was so concerned….
★Summary
To conclude, this article was about a compilation of the information on the airports and airlines that I used for this Sweden trip.
I guess maybe some day this article will be in vain because of the time with COVID. In 2022, since I’m using Dublin airport, Frankfurt airport, Tokyo Haneda airport as well as Kansai airport (as of June 2022), I might write some articles about those airports too. But as for the airports in Japan (or even Frankfurt airport), the article/s might be published in 2023.
zooks.ee 