Trip report introduction: Europe tour
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01. Trip report introduction
02. Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Stockholm Skavsta to Niš
03. Hotel Sole, Niš
04. Exploring Niš
05. Ryanair 737-800 economy class, Niš to Bratislava
06. Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel, Bratislava
07. Getting from Bratislava to Vienna Airport
08. Austrian Airlines E195 economy class, Vienna to Oslo
09. Ethiopian Airlines B787 Dreamliner economy class, Oslo to Stockholm
10. Trip summary
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Four countries (including two new-to-me), four flights, three airlines (including two new-to-me) and three types of aircraft (including two new-to-me). And all of this in three days. This will be quite a long series with ten posts. But let's start with how I came up with this trip...
As mentioned before on this blog, the Low Cost Carriers (LCC) of Europe often have extremely low prices where they practically give away tickets. This was the case with Niš, Serbia. But how to get back from Serbia? Ryanair only fly certain routes once or twice a week, and I didn't have the time to stay in Serbia for several days. So I started looking at different routings home. Niš to Bratislava turned out to be even cheaper than the first ticket. Isn't Bratislava very close to Vienna? Yes indeed... Are there convenient ways to get from Bratislava to Vienna Airport? Yes indeed...
Flights from Vienna to Stockholm were more expensive, obviously, but I still felt it was worth it. I might even try a new airline. Austrian was expensive, but LOT (via Warsaw) had decent prices. Or what if I fly home via Norway, to try out yet another airline that flies between Oslo and Stockholm..?
Sure thing - from Vienna I fly with Austrian Airlines to Oslo. I spend a few hours in the Norwegian capital (if it is as expensive as its rumour, a few hours will do...), and then the last leg home to Stockholm with an African airline. You read that right! Ethiopian Airlines operate fifth freedom flights between Oslo and Stockholm. What a way to end this European adventure! I get to try out an African airline and I get to fly the Dreamliner for the first time. Plus, how cool is it to fly a wide-body aircraft on such a short flight? It's super cool, I tell you!
The itinerary for this trip:
2018-04-05: FR1094, Boeing 737-800 economy class, Stockholm Skavsta to Niš
2018-04-06: FR2988, Boeing 737-800 economy class, Niš to Bratislava
2018-04-07: OS335, Embraer 195 economy class, Vienna to Oslo
2018-04-07: ET715, Boeing 787 Dreamliner economy class, Oslo to Stockholm
Can you tell that I'm excited about this trip? But before the first flight, I have to make the long trek down to Skavsta Airport (NYO), which isn't Stockholm at all. The shuttle bus takes almost as long as the flight itself. And the tickets are almost as expensive. But it has to be done in order to get to Serbia and start this adventure, so... let's get started!
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