Some Random Thoughts on a Winter Trip to Northern Europe

Sitting on the plane home from Iceland and reflecting back on the past week. As happens to me just about everytime that I travel, time becomes more liquid somehow. Taken out of my normal routine, the shape of the day sort of ebbs and flows according to what basic needs are in front of me – food, sleep, entertainment, relaxation?

It’s sort of hard to believe I’ve only been gone for one week with as much as I crammed into the past seven days. I walked exactly 58 miles, visited 6 museums, did four audio tours, and bought so much candy that I don’t think I could put anything else in my luggage if I tried. I added two cities to my “been there” list (Berlin & Reykjavik) and one new country (Iceland). I also got to check a few things off my bucket list: seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland, taking afternoon tea in a fancy tea salon in London, visiting London at Christmas time, and going to a Christmas market in Germany.

Thoughts on Berlin

Berlin is the type of city that sort of stays with you for a while. It has few iconic sites, although it has plenty to see. It’s not quaint or charming, construction is going on all over town, the city sprawls and feels huge. The scars and ugliness of 20th century Berlin are on display for everyone to see. And yet, the city feels real – a place people live, and work, and raise families and go about their lives. It is a city that is finding a way to reckon with its past rather than sweep it under the rug, and a place that seems centered around the lives of its residents rather than its visitors. One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to simply observe how people LIVE in their cities: where do they shop, what do they do for fun, how do they interact with each other. For such a big city, Berlin felt eminently livable.

Additionally, I found the history of Berlin to be fascinating. I’ve taken a lot of history classes (I majored in the subject in college!) and I am now realizing how little I learned about the last half of the twentieth century. I knew next-to-nothing about the Berlin wall. I didn’t realize that Berlin, despite being the seat of government for the regime, was never as pro-Nazi as other parts of Germany. I never stopped to think about how difficult it must be to knit a city back together after fifty years of turmoil, destruction, and division. I found the whole thing to be absolutely fascinating.

This is, after all, history that occurred during my lifetime. I have vivid memories of watching the coverage of the night the Berlin Wall fell on the nightly news as a kid. But it took a visit to the city for me to really feel the true impact of this history and to think about what it must have been like for those who lived through it. Since returning home, I’ve read a couple of books on 20th century Berlin (including the fascinating Stasiland by Anna Funder) and want to learn even more. I will definitely return to Berlin at some point in the future.

Thoughts on Winter in Northern Europe & Quick Trips Across the Pond

I forgot how cold winter can be. I’ve been a bit spoiled, living in Florida where anything below 55 degrees is considered cold. Scarf, hat, gloves, and warm winter shoes are absolutely necessary for winter touring; if planning a trek into the countryside of Iceland in search of the northern lights, bring long underwear and warmer socks than you think you’ll need (I don’t remember ever being so cold).

I also forgot how early it gets dark in the evening, and how late it stays dark in the mornings. In Berlin, it was full dark by 4:30 pm, and full dark in Iceland before 4 pm. Sunrise in early December was between 8 am and 11 am in the three locations I visited. This wasn’t a terrible hardship, but it certainly did make me want to curl up in bed and read or sleep more than I am used to at this time of year. I found myself returning to the hotel relatively early in the evening because it felt so much later and where I wanted to be was snug in bed with a mug of hot cocoa rather than out sightseeing.

Despite (or because of) all that, I wouldn’t hesitate to visit in winter again. Cities have people in them year-round and nothing that I wanted to do was closed down due to it being the off-season. Additionally, 5-6 days to one destination in Europe would be a totally do-able vacation from the East Coast. I used to think that if you were going to fly all the way to Europe, you should plan to stay more than a week because of the time and expense of getting there. I have revised my opinion now; if cheap airfare can be found, getting to Europe from Florida doesn’t take any more time than flying to California or Seattle.

I especially enjoyed connecting in Reykjavik. The flights were fairly short, and it was nice to stop and get out and stretch my legs a bit partway through the journey. I didn’t get nearly as restless this way as I do on an 8 or 10 hour flight to Europe.

I would fly Icelandair again if the price was right. They don’t offer a lot of frills, but if you just want simple transportation from Point A to Point B, they did just fine. The planes were new and clean, and I didn’t have noticeably less legroom or space than on any other airline. I liked that I could use the points I earned on the first leg of the journey to pay for Wifi on board the second leg, and the wifi worked great while flying over the continent.

Two quibbles, however:

First, it seemed like it took FOREVER for people to load the plane. I have no idea why. The other passengers didn’t appear to have any more luggage than any other plane I’ve ever been on, and the aircraft itself was smaller than some that fly the transatlantic routes. But the crew started allowing passengers on the plane almost a full hour before departure, and it took nearly the full hour to get everyone seated and ready to go. I have absolutely no idea why.

Second, and this is only applicable in the times of Covid, Icelandair did allow me to check-in online and upload my covid-related documents to their portal, which I thought was great. I was issued a mobile boarding pass and was able to bypass the check-in counter at the airport since I was flying only with a carryon. However, when I tried to board the plane, I was pulled to the side and made to show my documents again. Not a huge deal, as I had them with me and was prepared to show them, but it slowed the boarding process (maybe this is part of the reason why it took an hour to load the plane….) and made me feel a little foolish. I don’t quite understand the point of being allowed to submit documents in advance if you’re just going to have to show them at the airport anyway. Nonetheless, neither of these items would prevent me from flying on Icelandair in the future.

Up Next

My next trip is also to an off-season destination: New York City at the end of January. I’m going to attend a travel show, but also haven’t been to the city since 2004!

After that: some cruises TBD.