Stockholm, Sweden I was in Stockholm to attend the
TBEX (Travel Bloggers Exchange) conference and to try to figure out what the heck
that Volvo commercial is all about. You have to love going to Scandinavia in the summer since the weather is typically ideal, the people are happy and the days are long. The sun sets around 11 pm and rises again around 3:30 am, so if/when you go, bring an eye mask just in case your hotel doesn’t have decent blackout curtains. Also, be sure to wear excellent walking shoes since it’s easy to get around on foot. I walked around 20,000 steps a day.
SAS’ new business class The organizers booked me on
SAS, which I hadn’t flown for several years (
since 2010, actually). Now that I'm back on the ground,
I've written a full trip report on the experience that includes how I figured out the cheapest way to get upgraded into their new business class. If you want to make your trip across the pond as easy as can be, you should seriously consider the options I list.
The post also has my thoughts on the new Haymarket Hotel, which contributor Bruce Northam recently stayed in, too; his story is below in the contributor section.
Natalie’s SPGAmex commercial Natalie wasn’t with me this trip since it was last-minute and because she was in Toronto for a baby shower her friends and family threw (she’s due in early October!). And in more exciting Natalie news: The commercial she filmed for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express just dropped.
You can watch it here. I know I’m biased but I think she did an amazing job. You?
Turkey, Nice and America As we were reminded this past week, the world is a crazy place. I don’t know if it’s always been this insane or if things have been amplified with the rise of smartphones and social media, but it seems like every day, there’s more horrible news. First, it was the horrific incident in Nice, France, and then it was the attempted coup in Turkey.
If you get my
Daily Travel Tip newsletter, you know I just wrote a post titled “
What To Do If You Have a Turkish Airlines Ticket." Now that the FAA has lifted the ban on flights from Istanbul into the US, you won’t get a refund on any Turkey-US flights, but if you have travel insurance (ahem, I work with
Allianz) and bought a “cancel for any reason” policy, you can still cancel your ticket if you’re afraid to travel to or via Istanbul. I probably wouldn’t go to the touristy spots in Turkey for a while, but I would go to France. If you’re really worried about terrorism, go to Iceland as they have to be the safest of all. Plus they have amazing deals
like this one.
I really hope you don’t let the bad guys scare you. In fact, the reason my trip to Sweden was so last-minute was that after the recent uptick in terrorism, I had many friends express their fears about going across the pond—and so I decided to travel more to Europe. I think the people of the (particularly western) world need to continue on with their daily lives, because the moment we stop doing what we normally do, they win.
Speaking of terrorism: My colleague Joe Brancatelli
wrote an excellent article about how other governments view the United States. Did you know the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs warns their citizens traveling to the USA: "Mass shootings continue to occur in public places." The Bahamian government notes that we are plagued by "racial tensions" and "shootings of young black males by police officers." The French and German governments urge their citizens not to fight back if terrorized by someone with a firearm. Bahrain tells its travelers to avoid protests and crowded areas while the United Arab Emirates cautions its travelers to avoid traditional dress because one of its citizens was hospitalized when a hotel clerk accused him of terrorism and armed cops later roughed him up.
So while many Americans are scared to leave American soil, many foreigners are afraid of traveling to the US. Something to think about.
