Travel To or Through Scandinavia and Beyond

This post is about a trip I took to visit my cousins in Norway. It was a great trip and we had no trouble getting there, however getting back was a different story.

The problem lies in how easy we have it in the USA. We get to bring a checked bag and carry-on for free on many domestic flights and add another checked bag for most flights abroad. So I took a carry-on, a checked bag, and a backpack. I didn't even take the extra free checked bag! As I said, no problem getting from US through Minneapolis and Amsterdam to Kristiansand, Norway.

 After 2 weeks of bliss in my "Ancestral Homeland", I had unloaded my US loot and was reloaded with Norge loot, still with only 1 checked, 1 carry on and 1 backpack. 

In the US, we are only limited by the weight of our checked bag(s) and the number of checked and carry-on bags. Not so in Norway (and most definitely other Scandinavian and European countries). In Norway with KLM, they not only weigh your checked bag, but also your carry-on and personal item "as a whole"! So, checked bag was easily under the 50lb limit, but when you add the carry on and backpack I had, boom, you get a giggling ticket taker motioning to the "over the limit" window (not really what it was called, but basically what it was). Since we were early and the first ones there, we had to wait for someone to open, then to get ahold of someone to get their credit card machine to work. Thank God we were early.

With my wallet $100 lighter, and an hour dealing with  Ms "It's for passenger safety" for over an hour, we were released to the outer waiting area. They load somewhat like most airlines in the US, but you are required to stand in your "zone" line as soon as you are released to the final waiting area. This is right after your passport and ticket are checked for the last time, and depending where you are, could be an hour or longer.

So be warned, just because your two 50 lb checked bags, carry-on, and your backpack or purse or whatever get a free ride out of the good ole USA, doesn't mean they'll come back for free.

One more note: if you saved up all of your receipts for items over the minimum purchase amount from stores and were planning on getting a refund for the value added taxes at the airport, consider that the hours of the office that processes said taxes are most likely regular government hours (no early mornings, late evenings or weekends). All is not lost though. Look for my next post on applying for VAT refund from home.