Travel Resources
Program and Travel Dates
Update: Final July 8-23 Schedule for Stockholm 2017 Cohort: This program requires attendance at four Saturday classes held in NC State's College of Education in advance of travel. Pre-travel class dates for the summer 2017 cohort are: Dec 10, 2016; April 22; May 20; and June 17. Three additional full-day classes will be held on-site in Stockholm: July 15, July 18, and July 21. Sweden travel dates are July 9-23. Participants in the 2017 program should plan to fly out of the United States on Saturday, July 8th, arriving in Stockholm on Sunday, July 9th. Participants will check into their hotel rooms on the 9th, and everyone will check out of the hotel on the morning of Sunday, July 23rd (14 nights lodging). There are no formal activities scheduled for arrival day, July 9th, giving teachers time to rest and buy groceries/supplies. Thus, teachers can arrive at any time on July 9th, morning, afternoon, or evening. Hotel check-in may be delayed until the afternoon or check-in time. The formal program in Stockholm begins on July 10th. We will distribute Stockholm Passes and SL Access Travel Cards to everyone on the morning of the 10th in the lobby. |
Accommodations
As Swedish universities do not have dormitory accommodations, we have secured reservations at one of TripAdvisor's top-rated hotels in Stockholm, the Best Western Plus Time. The hotel is located just north of the city center with access to several bus and metro stops within three blocks. Each teacher will stay in a private studio apartment that comes with a fully-furnished kitchenette to help save on the cost of eating out (rather pricey in Sweden). Conveniently, a full grocery store is found on the bottom level of the hotel, as well as other food coop's within a few blocks. Studios also have tv's and free WiFi. The hotel has a fee-based laundry service, and we have built time into our program to allow for teachers to visit a launderette approximately half-way through the program. The hotel does have a restaurant and serves breakfast, but teachers' rooms do not come with breakfast included. This cost will be extra if teachers decide to eat in the hotel restaurant. We will hold our Stockholm classes in one of the hotel's meeting rooms. The hotel does not have exercise facilities on site, but guests have access to a Planet Fitness within a five-minute walk. Guests can also reserve free of charge the hotel's sauna for blocks of time up to 45 minutes. |
Attractions to be Visited in Sweden
Participants will receive a five-day Stockholm Pass through the grant, allowing them to visit dozens of museums and attractions in the Stockholm area, as well as a 14-day SL Access Travel Card providing access to all transit options in Stockholm (buses, trams, metro, commuter ferries). Participants are generally free to plan their own days out with the Stockholm Pass, but we are planning for the whole group to take several tours together when our Stockholm Passes are active, including an Under the Bridges of Stockholm evening cruise, an evening meet up at the Grona Lund amusement park, a half-day cruise to the UNESCO listed Drottningholm Palace, and a whole-day cruise to the UNESCO listed Birka Viking settlement. When participants are not on the Stockholm Pass, we are also arranging other organized tours of public schools near our hotel, and will be taking the half-day "Vain Vikings" coach tour north of Stockholm. We are chartering coaches on two days to attractions north and west of Stockholm. On our first excursion, we will visit Roserberg Palace, the village of Sigtuna, and Skokloster Castle. On our second excursion, we will visit Tullgarn Palace, the village of Mariefred, and Gripsholm Castle. Teachers will have two free days to plan their own travel alone or in small groups, with the option of an overnight stay. Low-cost flights are available to nearby cities such as Copenhagen, Helsinki, or Tallinn. For teachers who prefer to kick back a bit and stay in Stockholm on their free days, the grant will cover other tours such as Scandinavian design or the Segway tour of Stockholm islands. |
Airfare Planning, Airport Transfers
As airfare to Sweden is not covered by the grant, participants can use any means at their disposal to arrange air travel (e.g., frequent flyer miles, professional development scholarship from their school, personal credit card). Several routes are available with one stop (RDU-CDG-ARN on Air France, RDU-LON-ARN on American, RDU-EWR-ARN on United/SAS). Also for consideration, several participants in 2016 opted to fly to Finland on Iceland Air and took advantage of Iceland Air's stopover program to spend a few days in Iceland on the way home (two airlines that fly this route - WOW and Iceland Air). This route requires two stops (RDU-BOS-KEF-ARN), but allows you to break up your return flights into two legs and spend some time in beautiful Iceland. At our first class meeting in December, we will discuss travel arrangements and how participants want to fly. Participants should be able to find others to travel with and make reservations early enough to sit together and receive advance purchase discounts. Information on transiting to and from Arlanda airport by express train, commuter rail, bus, and taxi, is available online. We recommend reserving and purchasing in advance a SuperShuttle fare directly to and from the hotel. A few resources that might be helpful: Please record your flight information on this spreadsheet to help us keep track of participants in case they are any travel delays or issues. |
Passports and Visas
American citizens do not need a visa to enter Sweden, but they do need a valid passport. You must have a valid passport to participate in this program and travel to Sweden. If students plan to travel before or after our study abroad trip to other locations in Europe, they should check what is required to enter those countries. Russia, for example, has rather strict visa requirements in addition to needing a passport, and these must be acquired months in advance.
American citizens do not need a visa to enter Sweden, but they do need a valid passport. You must have a valid passport to participate in this program and travel to Sweden. If students plan to travel before or after our study abroad trip to other locations in Europe, they should check what is required to enter those countries. Russia, for example, has rather strict visa requirements in addition to needing a passport, and these must be acquired months in advance.
Traveling with Family Members
Given our heavily-scheduled program, teachers should not bring family members or children on this trip, as you will have limited time to spend with them anyway. While we realize family can be a comfort when traveling abroad, it can also be a distraction and take away from your immersion experience and your time to bond with other teachers. Participants are expected to stay with the group during the formal two-week immersion in Sweden, rather than traveling separately with family. Participants can travel with family in Sweden before or after our formal program if they would like to make those separate arrangements.
Given our heavily-scheduled program, teachers should not bring family members or children on this trip, as you will have limited time to spend with them anyway. While we realize family can be a comfort when traveling abroad, it can also be a distraction and take away from your immersion experience and your time to bond with other teachers. Participants are expected to stay with the group during the formal two-week immersion in Sweden, rather than traveling separately with family. Participants can travel with family in Sweden before or after our formal program if they would like to make those separate arrangements.
Cellular Services, or Calling Home via WiFi
It is possible to use your cell phone in Sweden using one of the following methods. 1) You can pay your American provider for an international cellular/data plan which tends to be quite expensive. 2) You can turn off your cellular roaming and data, and just use your cell phone in establishments with WiFi. With the Skype app and an account with some money loaded, you can call home via WiFi. 3) If your phone is "unlocked" and your American provider allows it to be connected to other international providers, you can purchase a Swedish cellular chip, put it in your phone, and get low-cost access. Note, most American phones are not "unlocked," so this will probably not work for most of you. Check with your individual provider.
It is possible to use your cell phone in Sweden using one of the following methods. 1) You can pay your American provider for an international cellular/data plan which tends to be quite expensive. 2) You can turn off your cellular roaming and data, and just use your cell phone in establishments with WiFi. With the Skype app and an account with some money loaded, you can call home via WiFi. 3) If your phone is "unlocked" and your American provider allows it to be connected to other international providers, you can purchase a Swedish cellular chip, put it in your phone, and get low-cost access. Note, most American phones are not "unlocked," so this will probably not work for most of you. Check with your individual provider.
Using Maps Offline to Assist with Travel in Stockholm
If you don't plan on having international cellular service while in Sweden, use the download feature of Google Maps before your leave for Stockholm to capture different regions of the city. Then you can use the downloaded maps when you are offline. This may be helpful to navigate the center city until you find your way around. Another option to download offline maps is the maps.me app available for most mobile devices, allowing you to download city and country region maps to use offline while you are in a foreign location. |
Another recommended strategy for offline mapping includes the Ulmon CityMaps2Go app. With this app you can set up lists in advance of places you want to visit in Stockholm (e.g., museums associated with the Stockholm Pass we will distribute). Then you can easily find these places on an offline map when you are walking around town. This is also convenient for bookmarking restaurants, transit stops, shops, grocery stores, etc.
|
Emergency Contact Number in Sweden
If anyone needs to reach you from the United States for an emergency, their best option is to call the hotel directly at +46 8 545 473 00. They should also send you an email, since it may be quicker to reach you by email. If you plan to call home from the United States regularly, you should set up a Skype account in advance of travel, add some money to it, add the Skype software or app to your laptop/cellphone, connect your laptop/cell phone to WiFi, and this will allow you to call international phone numbers for pennies a minute.
If anyone needs to reach you from the United States for an emergency, their best option is to call the hotel directly at +46 8 545 473 00. They should also send you an email, since it may be quicker to reach you by email. If you plan to call home from the United States regularly, you should set up a Skype account in advance of travel, add some money to it, add the Skype software or app to your laptop/cellphone, connect your laptop/cell phone to WiFi, and this will allow you to call international phone numbers for pennies a minute.
International Health Insurance
If anyone is interested in purchasing an international health insurance plan for your travels to Sweden and other countries, NC State uses this group with policies underwritten by Blue Cross GeoBlue... https://www.hthstudents.com/
You can get short-term coverage for the Sweden trip (two weeks) for about $28 up to $50, with varying deductibles of $500 to $0, and varying coverages from $50k to $1 million. You can check to see if your U.S. health insurance covers you for international travel, but if not, this is a pretty low-cost option to cover your bases (office visits, prescriptions, surgeries, ambulance, medical evacuation back to U.S., etc.). Note, the university would not cover these expenses were something to happen. The trip is grant-sponsored, but medical costs are an individual responsibility.
If anyone is interested in purchasing an international health insurance plan for your travels to Sweden and other countries, NC State uses this group with policies underwritten by Blue Cross GeoBlue... https://www.hthstudents.com/
You can get short-term coverage for the Sweden trip (two weeks) for about $28 up to $50, with varying deductibles of $500 to $0, and varying coverages from $50k to $1 million. You can check to see if your U.S. health insurance covers you for international travel, but if not, this is a pretty low-cost option to cover your bases (office visits, prescriptions, surgeries, ambulance, medical evacuation back to U.S., etc.). Note, the university would not cover these expenses were something to happen. The trip is grant-sponsored, but medical costs are an individual responsibility.
Packing Tips and Reminders
- Participants should bring a laptop to Sweden, as we will be working on a variety of multimodal projects in our classes. Participants should also bring a digital camera or smart phone with camera, and have this available throughout the trip, as we will be creating curated collections that require digital imagery.
- As noted above, we suggest adding the Skype app to your laptop and/or cell phone, and using WiFi (free in hotel) to dial-out to local or international phone numbers. Calling phone numbers via Skype is possible, and very cheap at only pennies per minute.
- Participants are welcome to travel casually. Jeans/shorts and t-shirts are perfectly acceptable for all excursions and class meetings. Pack comfortable shoes, as there will be a considerable amount of walking around the city and on some excursions (e.g., Vain Vikings). You might bring a light jacket, as Stockholm is 15 degrees further north than Portland, Maine, so it's possible there might be a light chill late at night. Conversely, you might also bring a small fan, as the hotel is not air-conditioned. We do suggest participants pack a rain jacket or small umbrella, in case it rains on the day of one of our excursions. Excursions are scheduled in advance and can't be changed due to inclement weather.
- Hotel rooms are furnished with the usual amenities--television, phone, complimentary WiFi, desk for working, hair dryer. The hotel indicates some fans may be available upon request, since the hotel is not air-conditioned. Teachers' studio rooms do have furnished kitchenettes with pots/pans, plates/silverware, glasses, etc. The hotel has no laundry facilities but will launder your clothing for a fee that is rather pricey. A launderette is within a few blocks of the hotel, and we have arranged a morning off mid-way through our program for participants to wash clothes. Hence, participants may want to bring some travel-sized detergent cubes and dryer sheets to use at the launderette. The Swedish norm we have experienced is for bedding to consist of a pad and a wrapped comforter. If a comforter is too heavy for you in summer, you might want to pack a twin/double sheet for your bed, or you can buy one in Stockholm if this proves problematic.
- At its northern latitude, Stockholm's sunset in mid-July is 9:50pm at night and its sunrise is 4:00am in the morning. Participants may wish to pack a sleep mask to cover their eyes if bright light affects their sleep, as Sweden has considerably less night time compared to North Carolina in the summer.
- Participants should purchase and pack one or more European adapters to use their electronics in Sweden. The adapter that will work in Sweden has a rounded end with two long round prongs (type F). This will allow you to plug your devices into the wall for charging. Note, Sweden uses a higher 230 voltage compared to the U.S. 120 voltage. Most laptops, tablets, and cell phones are dual-voltage, meaning you can just plug them straight into an adapter and they will charge with the 230 voltage the same as with the 120 voltage. Make sure your device is dual-voltage before plugging it into the wall, as you can destroy it. If you have a product that is not dual-voltage like a sleep machine, you can buy a product that both adapts the plug type and converts the voltage down to 120.
Transiting Around Stockholm
Participants will be given a 14-day SL Access card to use all forms of mass transit in Stockholm. We recommend downloading the Stockholm Transit: SL Metro app that can be used to identify different forms of transit on a map (metro, bus, tram, ferry), which lines use a certain stop, and when the next metro/bus/tram/ferry will arrive. Participants should familiarize themselves with Bus line #2 that stops a block from the hotel, travels a few blocks to the nearest metro station (Odenplan), and then travels downtown and to the popular islands of Gamla Stan (old town) and Sodermalm. This convenient bus line should make it relatively easy to transit around central Stockholm and return to the hotel. Participants should also be aware of the Hop-on, Hop-off Bus and Ferry routes in Stockholm that they can use for free with their Stockholm Pass the first five days in town.
|
Map of Museums in Stockholm
Map of Best Western Plus Time Hotel
Map of Nearby Odenplan Metro Station
Map of Gamla Stan (Old Town) (for Royal Palace)
Map of Djurgarden Island (for Grona Lund, Vasa Museum, Junibacken, Nordic Museum, Skansen Funicular, Zoo, and more)