I usually get to the airport about 2.5 hours early for European trips, but Antoine insisted on 3 hours. In the sprit of compromise, we ended up arriving 3.5 hours early (actually because we didn’t have better things to do at home). The baggage drop wasn’t even open yet, so we grabbed a morning coffee, waited for it to open, dropped off our luggage, and then settled into a table at Pret to kill another two hours. It was Antoine’s first time at Luton Airport, and honestly, Luton felt quite nice compared to Stansted or Gatwick.
We boarded on time and the flight was smooth. It was supposed to be 3.5 hours, but we landed in just 3. As we approached Tromso, we saw beautiful snow-covered mountains through the window. I was excited to get out and step on the snow—little did I know we’d be stuck at the airport for two more hours.
Border control took around 30 minutes, but the real issue was the car rental. There were four groups in the queue, but only one staff member working, and it somehow took an hour for our turn to come. I still have no idea why it was that slow. When we finally got our key, we were relieved… until we couldn’t find the actual car.
It was –12°C outside, and we wandered around the parking lot searching for it with no luck. We even tried a second lot. Antoine nearly slipped a couple of times because he didn’t bring his snow boots. After we went back to the desk, the staff told us to try yet another lot. When that didn’t work either, he finally gave us a different car. After 1.5 hours of waiting and freezing, we were finally on our way. Who knew renting a car could be this hard?
Antoine drove us to our Airbnb, which took about 20 minutes. It was a cozy little apartment, and the host seemed friendly. After checking in, we went grocery shopping for snacks and sandwiches for the next day. The total came to £55 — a gentle reminder that Norway is beautiful, cold, and very expensive. Still, we were happy with our choices: Antoine with his chocolates, and me with my beloved fishy paste. We nibbled on some snacks and called it a night, ready for the big day ahead.