Sweden

Our Time in Älmhult, Sweden and High-Speed Train to Stockholm

Posted on December 1, 2024 by 2btravel

Introduction: Late Summer in Scandinavia
Flight Review: American Airlines B737-800 First Class, MEM-DFW
Flight Review: Finnair A350-900 Business Class, DFW-HEL
Flight Review: Finnair E190 Business Class, HEL-CPH
Lodging Review: Fairfield by Marriott Copenhagen Nordhavn
Our Time in Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Best Western Hotel Hebron, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Next House, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Story Hotel Studio Malmö
Our Time in Malmö and Ystad, Sweden
Lodging Review: IKEA Hotell, Älmhult, Sweden
Our Time in Älmhult, Sweden and High-Speed Train to Stockholm
Lodging Review: Motel L Älvsjö, Stockholm
Our Time in Stockholm
Flight Review: SAS A320neo Economy Class, ARN-OSL
Lodging Review: Comfort Hotel Grand Central, Oslo
Our Time in Oslo
Lounge Review: SAS Lounge, Oslo airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A320-200 Business Class, OSL-FRA
Flight Review: Lufthansa 787-9 Business Class, FRA-MSP
Flight Review: Delta B737-800 First Class, MSP-MEM

As I mentioned in my prior post, we had just one night at the Ikea Hotell and were also taking advantage of the free laundry facilities. As a result we did not do much in the way of exploring the small town of Älmhult at all.

Ikea Museum

As a guest at the hotel we were given free passes to the Ikea Museum, which is just across the parking lot from the hotel. Continue reading →

Categories: Attraction Review, Europe, Sweden, Trip Report | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: IKEA Hotell, Älmhult, Sweden

Posted on November 30, 2024 by 2btravel

Introduction: Late Summer in Scandinavia
Flight Review: American Airlines B737-800 First Class, MEM-DFW
Flight Review: Finnair A350-900 Business Class, DFW-HEL
Flight Review: Finnair E190 Business Class, HEL-CPH
Lodging Review: Fairfield by Marriott Copenhagen Nordhavn
Our Time in Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Best Western Hotel Hebron, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Next House, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Story Hotel Studio Malmö
Our Time in Malmö and Ystad, Sweden
Lodging Review: IKEA Hotell, Älmhult, Sweden
Our Time in Älmhult, Sweden and High-Speed Train to Stockholm
Lodging Review: Motel L Älvsjö, Stockholm
Our Time in Stockholm
Flight Review: SAS A320neo Economy Class, ARN-OSL
Lodging Review: Comfort Hotel Grand Central, Oslo
Our Time in Oslo
Lounge Review: SAS Lounge, Oslo airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A320-200 Business Class, OSL-FRA
Flight Review: Lufthansa 787-9 Business Class, FRA-MSP
Flight Review: Delta B737-800 First Class, MSP-MEM

Location

Älmhult is not a large town and the hotel is listed as a four-minute walk from the train station. It may be slightly more than that when wrangling luggage, but it’s a very easy walk and no cobblestones!

We arrived a couple of hours before the official check-in time but fortunately our room was ready. We seemed to be the only people around other than staff, at least for awhile.

How This Stay Was Booked

This hotel does not participate in any points programs I’m aware of and they only accept pre-paid reservations, as far as we could tell. Also, room reservations are not available more than 6 months in advance so we had to wait a few months after the rest of the trip was locked in to make this reservation. We booked a family room which had two sets of bunk beds for $127/night. Continue reading →

Categories: Europe, Hotel, Lodging Review, Other Hotels, Sweden, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time in Malmö and Ystad, Sweden

Posted on November 29, 2024 by 2btravel

Introduction: Late Summer in Scandinavia
Flight Review: American Airlines B737-800 First Class, MEM-DFW
Flight Review: Finnair A350-900 Business Class, DFW-HEL
Flight Review: Finnair E190 Business Class, HEL-CPH
Lodging Review: Fairfield by Marriott Copenhagen Nordhavn
Our Time in Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Best Western Hotel Hebron, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Next House, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Story Hotel Studio Malmö
Our Time in Malmö and Ystad, Sweden
Lodging Review: IKEA Hotell, Älmhult, Sweden
Our Time in Älmhult, Sweden and High-Speed Train to Stockholm
Lodging Review: Motel L Älvsjö, Stockholm
Our Time in Stockholm
Flight Review: SAS A320neo Economy Class, ARN-OSL
Lodging Review: Comfort Hotel Grand Central, Oslo
Our Time in Oslo
Lounge Review: SAS Lounge, Oslo airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A320-200 Business Class, OSL-FRA
Flight Review: Lufthansa 787-9 Business Class, FRA-MSP
Flight Review: Delta B737-800 First Class, MSP-MEM

Our next stop was the city of Malmö, Sweden, which is practically a suburb of Copenhagen. We actually didn’t spend all that much time in Malmö itself. After taking the train from Copenhagen (and there are dozens of trains per day) we dropped our bags at the hotel and began exploring the area. We had the rest of the day in town but the following morning we took the train out to Ystad for the day and did not return until late afternoon. We then had the remainder of that second day in Malmö as well.

Malmö

We spent most of our time in the old town (gamala staden) of Malmö. This is an area to the southwest of the train station. While there are streets threaded through the area, there are lots of pedestrian-only areas. There’s lots of shopping and places to eat in this area, both for tourists and locals.

Continue reading →

Categories: Europe, Sweden, Trip Report | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Story Hotel Studio Malmö

Posted on November 28, 2024 by 2btravel

Introduction: Late Summer in Scandinavia
Flight Review: American Airlines B737-800 First Class, MEM-DFW
Flight Review: Finnair A350-900 Business Class, DFW-HEL
Flight Review: Finnair E190 Business Class, HEL-CPH
Lodging Review: Fairfield by Marriott Copenhagen Nordhavn
Our Time in Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Best Western Hotel Hebron, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Next House, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Story Hotel Studio Malmö
Our Time in Malmö and Ystad, Sweden
Lodging Review: IKEA Hotell, Älmhult, Sweden
Our Time in Älmhult, Sweden and High-Speed Train to Stockholm
Lodging Review: Motel L Älvsjö, Stockholm
Our Time in Stockholm
Flight Review: SAS A320neo Economy Class, ARN-OSL
Lodging Review: Comfort Hotel Grand Central, Oslo
Our Time in Oslo
Lounge Review: SAS Lounge, Oslo airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A320-200 Business Class, OSL-FRA
Flight Review: Lufthansa 787-9 Business Class, FRA-MSP
Flight Review: Delta B737-800 First Class, MSP-MEM

Story Hotel Studio Malmö

Location

The hotel is super-convenient to the Malmö Train Station. If you come up through the main part of the train station and exit, keep the station behind you and you’ll be facing north. Turn left and walk across a bridge over a canal. Turn right and walk beside the canal (it’s a pedestrian area) and walk until you reach the next street. The Story Hotel is on your left! Once you’re familiar with the area, as you’re heading from the hotel back to the train station you can use the entrance that goes under the street that bridges the canal and enter that way.

How This Stay Was Booked

The Story Hotel is a category 1 Hyatt, which meant I was able to book one night using the free night certificate I get with the Chase World of Hyatt Visa. There were no rooms that allowed for three adults, but it was so cheap that I was fine spending 5000 points per night for two rooms. So total cost was 15K points + one free night certificate for two rooms where the refundable rate was $259/night though I could get a corporate discount for $233/night. If I value Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each, it means we got each of the rooms for $75 per night which is quite a bargain! Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Europe, Hotel, Hyatt, Lodging Review, Sweden, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday photo: “Non-violence” a.k.a “The Knotted Gun”

Posted on November 5, 2024 by 2btravel

“Non-violence”, also known as “The Knotted Gun”, a sculpture by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd. The original is outside the UN but there are several copies around the world, including this one in Malmö, Sweden.  The sculptor knew John Lennon and the gun is a .357 magnum, the same type that was used to end Lennon’s life.

Non-violence (The Knotted Gun)

Categories: Europe, Picture of the Week, Sweden | Tags: , | Leave a comment

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