MacGougan at Large

Notes on A Trip to Norway - 17

Travel Tips

Here are a few practical suggestions based on our real-life experiences from our trip. Note that the pictures are random shots and not meant to illustrate any of the tips.

Travel Tip #1: Lock the Door When Using the Airplane Bathroom

This seems like it ought to be self-evident, but it wasn’t clear to one of our fellow travelers on the way over. This person apparently thought that pulling the door closed somehow locked it automatically.

When I made my way to the back of the plane, I saw a door with a reassuring green Vacant sign and pulled it open. What ensued was an excruciating nanosecond for both myself and the fellow traveller. (I immediately returned to my seat and applied for the Witness Protection Program.)

We all get tired and forgetful on long flights, but some things are important to remember. The door isn’t locked until you slide the knob over and the light comes on.

Travel Tip #2: Put an Air Tag in Your Luggage

One of the three sisters in our group was left waiting for a bag that didn’t appear on the appointed carousel. She showed her claim stub to the baggage claim person, who looked it up. The system said the bag had arrived and been delivered.

Fortunately, this sister had taken the precaution of putting a tracking device in her bag. She used an Apple Air Tag, but I believe there are also similar devices available from other companies. Following the signal on her phone, she was led to the confusing conclusion that the bag was somehow invisibly present at the carousel where she’d been waiting.

Given this helpful information, the airline sent a technician who found that the bag had become trapped just inside the chute that delivers the bags to the carousel.

I don’t know what would have happened without the tracking, but I can imagine that it might have taken days or longer before someone would have found the bag.

Travel Tip #3: Bring Antibiotics For Your Brother-In-Law

I came down with a throat infection midway through our two-week trip. Hiking in on-again/off-again rain may have been a factor, but also travel in general can wear a person out, and none of us is getting any younger.

This could easily have wiped out the whole second half of the trip for me and been a damper for the activities of the whole group. However, one of the sisters had taken the precaution of asking her doctor for a prescription of just-in-case antibiotics to bring with her on the trip. Upon hearing of my sickness, she very kindly donated them to me.

(It also would have been good to bring a germ-mask to protect others in case I got sick. Another fellow traveller kindly gave me one.)

I missed a day of hiking and took naps a couple of afternoons, but I’m sure my recovery was much faster and more complete than it would have been without the meds. I remain grateful - and might even consider asking for my own just-in-case prescription if I ever decide to take an international trip without my sisters-in-law.

Travel Tip #4: Don’t Buy a Ham Sandwich for the Return Flight

Back in the U.S., waiting for our bags to appear on the baggage claim carousel, a sweet-looking beagle sits down next to Linda. Then a woman from the Agriculture Department walks up, says Hello, and asks if we’re carrying any meat products. (I am conveniently absent at this point.)

Linda considers the question and remembers that we purchased a sandwich in the Oslo airport, thinking that the timing of our flight might leave us needing to provide a snack for ourselves. As it happened, the airline fed us pretty much the way a goose farmer would feed the potential producers of fois gras, so the sandwich remained untouched in my backpack.

Linda fishes the sandwich out of my backpack. We bought it without knowing what all was in it. She opens it up and finds that it includes a small piece of ham.

The woman tells Linda that bringing forbidden meat into the U.S. can result in a five hundred dollar fine and would probably cause us to lose our Global Entry eligibility. She tosses the offending sandwich into the garbage and walks away. I take this as an act of kindness, as I assume she could have busted us then and there.

So be careful what you bring back with you. If you buy food for the airplane, eat it on the airplane. But, really - for most international flights you probably don’t need to buy any food for the airplane.