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Finding Level 1 Delta business class awards to Europe (Sweden) – Part 1
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class outbound via Manchester – Part 2
The Escape Lounge Manchester T3 – Part 3
KLM Euro business class to Amsterdam & Gothenburg – Part 4
The smallest lounge EVER – the Ford business class lounge in Gothenburg GOT- Part 5
The Club Carlson Park Inn by Radisson Stockholm – Part 6
Hertz Presidents Circle GOLD club rental in Sweden – Part 7
KLM Euro business class to Amsterdam & Manchester – Part 8
The KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam #25 – Part 9
ASPIRE lounge #26 Amsterdam AMS Priority Pass lounge review – Part 10
SPG Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel Schiphol suite review- Part 11
The Escape Lounge Manchester T2 for Virgin Atlantic Upper Class guests review- Part 12
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Manchester to Atlanta – Part 13
Final thoughts, costs and Virgin vs. DeltaONE to Europe – Part 14
Driving is Sweden is not hard other than it helps to know a little bit of Swedish and a GPS is always nice. Really a GPS is nice anywhere you rent a car. Since late in 1967 Sweden, like most of the rest of the civilized world, drives on the right hand side of the road vs. the “proper” side of the road for places like England etc. so no adjustment there.
I have rented from Hertz in Gothenburg a number of times. They have always been great to me as a Gold member and were equally great to me as a now Presidents Circle member thanks to the elite status match from my Delta Diamond Medallion® status. I have never failed to be granted some kind of upgrade and this time they moved me into this Volvo X60 diesel and I really liked it. I mean I REALLY liked it and was well covered with my AMEX rental insurance policy (since I was outside the USA and yes, I check the MSRP of “nice” upgrades – do you?).
It came with responsive cruise control and oh my what an amazing bit of technology. I am in love. To be able to not have to hit the breaks in the right hand lane while you wait for someone in the left to pass and then to have the car just accelerate again when you pull out into the clear left lane is amazing and I so want this now (btw, Lisa took the above photo and did not interfere with my driving, just so you know).
My drive was basically cross country from Gothenburg to Stockholm. You have two choices. One, mostly highway (E4) or two the older route (E20) that is lots of little towns and many, many speed cameras. So decide what you are in the mood for. Or, if you do not need a car, the express train is WAY faster (well most times it is).
My trip was toward the end of May and Sweden is just spectacular that time of year as you can see by the Canola fields looking like ponds of gold in the sunshine. Amazing.
Also we passed by some historic SAAB jets they had turned into road art. For those like me who love anything that has wings these were just neat to see.
Now to some of the little bits that really had nothing to do with Hertz but with driving in Sweden. I cannot, it seems, for the life of me get away with renting a car in Sweden and not having to pay a parking ticket. First off, you have the sign above. Looks right – right? Well you do have a big “P” and “Avgift” or fee but then notice the last little sign that says “Boende” or basically you live there. So, these spots are pay to park spots but only for local residence. Even if you pay the fee you will get a ticket. So, you have to find a “P” open to all.
Next, and 1000 SEK later, you never want to park w/in 10 meters of a crosswalk I found out no matter what is painted on the sidewalk. You can park very close AFTER but not before it for safety reasons. Oh, and there are lots of other parking rules that can result in tickets.
Part of the problem is the “parking enforcers” are a PVT firm that is more than happy to hunt down every single violation great and small. Then, once you have a ticket, the simplest way to take care of it is at a money exchange place like FOREX.
Again, overall I have been most pleased renting from Hertz in Sweden. If I have one gripe it is they really don’t participate in the rewards program. Yes on upgrades but no on points so don’t expect to earn for your rentals. Not a huge deal as I do not rent “that” often and tend to burn my Hertz points for mostly expensive one-way rentals. – René
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Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
I feel with you, bro.
We moved to this country a couple of years ago. In my job I travel all over Sweden.
But I will never get used to the “parking mafia”
Those guys earn provision on every fine that they give you. There is almost nothing you can do against those firms. They set the prices themselves. It sucks, I can tell you.
Awesome ride! And thanks for the reminder to try to do the match to Presidents Circle as a DM. Is that still available or did I forget my way out of free upgrades?
@Graydon – You can still register: http://deltapoints.boardingarea.com/2015/03/03/oh-hertz-you-are-making-me-a-little-crazy-delta-elite-promo-update-part-2/