{"id":3005,"date":"2025-11-12T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backeman.se\/?p=3005"},"modified":"2025-11-14T01:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T01:26:10","slug":"the-adventure-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backeman.se\/index.php\/2025\/11\/12\/the-adventure-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"The adventure begins!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I had prepared everything the night before, since the alarm would go off at 03:30. Passport, wallet, all luggage, clothes, everything was laid out to minimize the risk of forgetting anything in the middle of the night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prepared!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Early bird gets the worm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When the alarm went off, I got up right away, tired but excited! Took a shower, got dressed, and then hugged my cats before grabbing the bags and heading out. The cab arrived shortly after, and it was his first fare for the day. He lives just across Kista, so it was a nice start for him. Nice guy, and the ride was smooth, not that much traffic at four in the morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I was flying to the USA, I didn’t think I would be able to use the bag drop, but I went to the machine, got a boarding card and a luggage tag without any objections. I got held up at the bag drop because my bag weighed 22 kg and they needed to attach a “heavy” label to it. No queue to security, but they wanted to check my bag of cables in my backpack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found a Panini Internazionale and bought some breakfast, about 40 minutes after I left my apartment, having about two hours until boarding. Some might call me a time pessimist, but I choose to say I’m traveling with margins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Breakfast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Gate F69, at the far end of the F-pier<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I read the last chapters of Skolplattformen by Olle Lidbom<\/a>. Quite upsetting how our tax money has been wasted. Boarding the SAS flight SK525 to London was smooth, and I got to my emergency exit seat (11F), which didn’t have any more leg room, which was quite disappointing. I watched my bag get loaded and then slept through most of the three-hour flight listening to podcasts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The books brought on the trip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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My new eReader, Kobo Clara Colour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I had expected more leg room since it being an emergency row \ud83d\ude41<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We landed on time, and then I started to make my way to Terminal 2, where my next flight was leaving from. I read the instructions carefully so I wouldn’t repeat my mistake from 2017 when I ended up in the baggage claim area after passing a passport-control I shouldn’t have. (I had three hours then, so I just had to exit, get up one level, and go through security again, nemas problemas).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Bus ride from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2. A few interesting things to see on the way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The transfer involved some escalators, a bus ride, and a security checkpoint, which didn’t require my plastic bottles to be emptied, which was nice since I still had an unopened Coke from Sweden with me. This security also wanted to look at my cables and the power bank. He approved of the brand, Anker, and we had a discussion about Pluto missing from my t-shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Made my way through the terminal to find the Virgin Atlantic lounge called Clubhouse<\/a>. When I entered, the staff asked me if I was here earlier this morning. Apparently, some other guy had the exact same t-shirt as me. Later on, a second staffer asked the same question. T-shirt-bros!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Apparently, I’m not alone in the world with this t-shirt!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I found myself a seat and scanned the QR code on the table to order myself some (second) breakfast. This is clearly the way to spend hours between flights! It’s quite a large lounge with a bunch of different seating options, shower possibilities, and lots of staff bringing food and drinks, and clearing tables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Second breakfast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Small lunch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Decent place to wait for my next flight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When boarding was closing in, I took a lap around the terminal to see what it offered. I think I’ve only been flying to and from Terminal 2 (The Queens Terminal) before. This seemed smaller. I got to the gate and watched them unload and load cargo. Pretty cool with these large pallets, they are used to easily transport cargo in bulk. The bags, however, seemed to be loaded “loose”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We boarded the plane that would take us to Miami, and I found my seat 5A. This is when my Eurobonus points pay off, since I’m flying in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class. Now I can’t complain about the leg room \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spacious cabin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Leg room!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Plenty space to keep stuff at<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Comfy even for nine hours<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here is a video describing Upper Class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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