Northern Europe is the region with the best welfare in the world. People here live extremely wealthy lives and have excellent natural environment and climate characteristics. It is a very suitable destination for travel, vacation and sightseeing. I will share the details with you below. strategy.
One night at the end of July, a friend in the friend group posted information about round-trip air tickets from Hong Kong to Copenhagen via Beijing at the end of September and asked if anyone wanted to go with him. The leader of my family has always wanted to travel to Europe but has never had time to go. The call from my friends immediately aroused the enthusiasm of my leader to go to Copenhagen. In this way, my leader Xiaomei and I started the long preparation to go to Copenhagen.
We just left. After receiving the call from our friends, we immediately compared Ctrip, Fliggy, and Qunar. We found that our friends booked the cheapest air tickets on Qunar. In September It took off from Hong Kong on the 29th, stopped in Beijing, and arrived in Copenhagen at around 6 a.m. on September 30th.
The return trip will take off from Copenhagen at 1:15 pm local time on October 7th, stop in Beijing, and arrive in Hong Kong at 11:00 pm local time on October 8th. There is a 6-hour time difference between Beijing time and Copenhagen time. Round trip. The time for both trips is approximately within 17 hours, and the air ticket is 4,612 yuan per person.
Considering that it was around the National Day and the flight time was just over 16 hours, we were quite satisfied with the price of the air tickets, so we booked round-trip air tickets from Hong Kong to Copenhagen that night.
About visas
Since it was a temporary decision to start the journey, after booking the air tickets, the first thing we urgently needed to solve was the visa issue (we had some knowledge before that Schengen visas are refused for Northern Europe) (a place where the comparison rate is relatively high), because the two friends who are traveling with us are based in Shenzhen, and we work and live in Guangzhou.
So we decided to apply for Schengen visas separately. Xiaomei and I have never applied for Schengen visas before, so we chose the relatively reliable plan of going to Ma’s dad’s house and asking a travel agency to help prepare the materials. Why do we say yes? How about relative?
Because in the end we found that the travel agency we were looking for to help review the materials was not rigorous at all. When submitting the materials, we were dissed in several places by the lady at the visa center. In the end, they were revised and remedied on the spot. I’ll talk about specific precautions later.
The service fees charged by online travel agencies basically start at 388 yuan (basically they promise to refund the service fee if the visa is refused. The visa fee is paid on-site at the visa center, 684 yuan/person. If the visa is refused, the visa fee will be charged. It is non-refundable)
The main purpose is to help you prepare air ticket itinerary, hotel reservation, provide a 30-day travel insurance (insurance is required before Schengen), and issue a travel document. The itinerary will help you review the materials you need to submit.
Help you fill out a Schengen application form. This is our first time applying for Schengen, so we need to go to the visa center in person to submit information and enter fingerprints and facial information. Someone from the travel agency will provide brief guidance on site. .
[Guangzhou visa delivery] Taiyi Danish visa personal travel Schengen country free travel visa 388 yuan to buy from Fliggy
Selected a travel agency, and started preparing visa materials after paying. Materials that need to be prepared (for employed personnel) include a copy of the household registration book (the entire copy), a copy of the ID card, a copy of the marriage certificate, the company's business license (the copy is stamped with the official seal), and proof of employment (printed on letterhead paper according to the template, online Actually a lot)
Visa application form, bank statement (requires a balance of 50,000, half-year salary statement), 2 visa photos, air ticket reservation certificate, hotel reservation certificate and itinerary (air ticket, hotel reservation If you don’t have the certificate and itinerary, the travel agency will help provide it). If you have the real estate certificate and car driving license, they can provide it as suggested materials.
On August 3rd, we sent all the materials to the travel agency for pre-review according to the requirements of the travel agency. At the same time, they began to prepare our hotel reservation and itinerary. On August 6th, the travel agency completed it. With all the materials required, make an appointment with us for an interview at noon on August 9th.
On the day of the interview, we saw the person who accompanied us on the spot and gave us the prepared materials. After looking at them, he added the insurance policy, hotel reservation form and travel itinerary to the materials we provided. (Later I discovered that Qiongyou and Qunar have tools for making itineraries, and travel agencies use these tools to help with planning). We were reminded in advance that in addition to going to Denmark, we would also go to Bergen and Oslo in Norway, so the itinerary was There are also itineraries that reflect these two places.
The Danish Visa Center is on the second floor of the Tiyu West Road Urban Construction Building, which is located together with the visa centers of Iceland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The interviewers are all Chinese and speak Chinese, so it is the first time for children to sign for Schengen. Don’t worry too much about the interview. The visa center collects the materials in advance and then sends them to the consulates of various countries for approval.
There were not many people queuing up for visas at 1 noon, and we were interviewed soon. We handed all the materials to the lady at the visa center, and she sorted all the materials again. All the repetitive materials have been extracted.
We only kept one copy, and then used colored markers to mark the cities we were going to on our itinerary. We also checked whether the transportation and hotel reservation information matched, and then started picking us There is something wrong with the material, I would like to share it with you friends.
For the Schengen application form, the travel agency helped us check multiple visas. When the young lady came up, she asked why you had to select multiple visas for your first time in Europe. She was shocked when she came up (thinking about the travel agency) Fill it out for me, I only know it), I said, can we change it back to signing only once? The answer is yes, just cross out the original place, sign below, and re-check the place where you signed it once.
She looked through the copies of our passports and said that all the pages with entry and exit stamps and visas in the passports must be copied (I am confused, the travel agency did not mention this at all in the materials, this is also what I said) Travel agencies are unreliable). Fortunately, the visa center has a photocopying place, but at 1 yuan/page, just copying two stamped pages costs another dozen yuan. Remind friends to pay attention to this.
The bank statement of my leader was printed with a dot matrix printer. The paper is not in A4 format. The lady said that all materials must be in A4 format. This bank statement does not meet the requirements. You can take the whole copy. I went to reduce it to A4 format. My wife’s journal had 20 to 30 pages, and it cost me dozens of yuan to reduce it.
The lady at the visa center finally finished picking my faults and I could pay. I took out my bank card and was about to swipe it. The lady reminded me that I had to pay in cash and not swipe cards. Even bus tickets are accepted here. In the era of using WeChat, the visa center could not swipe cards, so I ran to the bank downstairs to pay in cash.
The young lady said to sit in front and wait for your number to be called. Then go to the next room to have your fingerprints taken and your fingerprints taken. After 20 minutes, you can take your fingerprints and get the receipt and then you can leave. What followed was a long and painful wait. The travel agency also sent us the precautions for ESCs the next day, saying that if we encounter ESCs, we must be careful not to get caught. After submitting the information, you can check the visa progress online. The visa progress can be found in TrackyourApplication on the Danish visa website
. Enter the visa receipt number and the applicant's date of birth.
About electric adjustment - while waiting for the visa to be issued, we also read a lot about the experience of telephone surveys online. It seems that the probability of electric adjustment for Schengen visas in several Nordic countries is quite high, probably A week later, my family leader also received a phone call from the Danish Consulate for investigation. The person who controlled the electronics was also Chinese and spoke Chinese. However, the questions asked by the electronics were very direct and sharp, making everyone very nervous. The approximate question was caused by Below,
It is your first time to go to Europe. Why did you choose Northern Europe?
Do you speak English?
You know the situation of the company you work for, and its headquarters is in Where, where do you work, how many people are there in the branch, and what work are you responsible for?
Have you paid the full amount for this flight booking? How much did it cost?
How much did you spend for the hotel booking? Have you paid everything?
Because I was in charge of the air ticket booking and visa matters this time, my boss was very nervous when he received the call. Fortunately, she blamed all the things she didn’t know about on me, and the visa officer didn’t They called me again, and three days later the visa center informed us that we could go get our passports back. I wanted to ask about the visa result on the phone, but the answer was that we had to open the documents in person to know the visa result, and the visa center didn't know the result either. The next day I went to the visa center to get the sealed documents. I opened the two passports and saw that both had Schengen visas. The friend from Shenzhen who applied together also got the visa the next day. The most important tickets and visas were in hand. Before Copenhagen The brigade could finally be settled.
Electronic adjustment tips provided by the travel agency
About the itinerary and accommodation
With the air tickets and visas in hand, we have roughly planned an itinerary, which is actually in Northern Europe. There are only 8 days. Since we have to enter and leave Copenhagen, if we have to visit three countries, time will be very tight. Therefore, our initial itinerary is Copenhagen-Bergen-Oslo-Copenhagen, and we will only visit 2 countries. The specific itinerary is as follows:
This is the itinerary we initially planned before departure. The general plan is to spend the first three days in and around Copenhagen, fly from Copenhagen to Bergen on October 3, and fly to Bergen on October 4. The Norwegian Miniature classic route from Bergen to Oslo, stay one night in Fl?m (Fl?m), a small town on the Norwegian Miniature route on the evening of October 4th, and stay one night after arriving in Oslo on October 5th, October 6th After storing our luggage at the train station in the morning, we will spend a day in Oslo. In the afternoon, we will take the Airport Express from Oslo Central Station to Oslo Airport, and take a flight back to Copenhagen in the evening. Return at noon on October 7th. Basically, we went to all the scenic spots mentioned in the plan, but the actual tour did not follow the planned order. The second article will specifically introduce the scenic spots to visit.
After the itinerary was confirmed, we started to book accommodation, air tickets between cities and tickets to Norway in miniature. Let’s talk about accommodation first. Since this is a leisure and budget trip, we planned to bring instant noodles and go to the market to buy ingredients for cooking. Therefore, in terms of accommodation, we give priority to Airbnb. If we cannot book with Airbnb, we will consider booking with Agoda and Booking. The experience of the journey proves that the B&Bs in Denmark and Norway are very good and fully furnished. The several B&Bs we stayed in all have dishwashers. Washing machines, refrigerators, and ovens are all available, especially the dishwasher, which is so convenient. I have been looking at the dishwasher since I returned to China. However, I wonder if people in Northern Europe rarely blow dry their hair. Several B&Bs are not equipped with hair dryers. Sorry, the two girls we were traveling with said it was very inconvenient. Also, 3 of the 4 B&Bs we went to this time did not have kettles. Fortunately, my friends who were traveling with us brought their own, which solved the problem of making tea and warm water. .
We are traveling with 4 friends (2 couples) this time, and it is relatively easy to book a B&B. We can basically find a two-bedroom apartment. We booked Copenhagen for the first three days and Copenhagen for the fourth day on Airbnb. The cost of B&Bs in Bergen and Oslo on the sixth day is about 1200-1400 per night. Since Fl?m is a small town, there are relatively few B&Bs, so I could only book Brekke on Agoda
Although we only booked 2 double rooms in the Apartments, the hotel arranged a suite with two bedrooms and one living room.
It also has a kitchen, but the cost is a little more expensive than the B&B on Airbnb, a double room costs 1,000 a night. On my last night in Copenhagen, I considered arriving at 8pm and leaving for the airport the next morning, so I chose a hotel near the airport that was more convenient to get to by rail or subway. Finally, I chose a hotel similar to the domestic 7-day chain. Copenhagen
GOHotel, a double room costs over 900 per night, but the environment and facilities are completely incomparable with the B&B we stayed in the first three days. Therefore, if you go to Northern Europe, it is recommended to stay in a B&B.
B&B in Copenhagen for the first three days--luxury living room
B&B in Copenhagen for the first three days--dining room
B&B in Copenhagen for the first three days--gym
B&B in Copenhagen for the first three days - outdoor dining table
B&B in Copenhagen for the first three days - open kitchen
In Fl?m (Fl?m) Hotel---Cottage
Hotel in Fl?m---there are sheep outside the window, very rural
Industrial style Oslo B&B
The host of the Oslo B&B was introduced as a local musician in Oslo
After the hotel was settled, we began to solve the problem of transportation between cities. Denmark and Norway are all countries in Scandinavia, and Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS, also known as Scandinavian Airlines) is an airline formed by the three Nordic countries of Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
So, our flights from Copenhagen to Bergen and Oslo to Copenhagen are all booked by SAS, and the price is also quite cheap. Where to book the flight from Copenhagen to Bergen is 502 yuan/ The cost per person from Oslo to Copenhagen is 396 yuan per person, compared to more than 100 yuan for a Burger King meal in Norway.
The cost of this transportation can be described as cabbage price. In fact, our original plan was to take a DFDS cruise from Oslo back to Copenhagen, but considering that the arrival time was only a few hours before the return flight, we were worried about what might happen in the middle, and finally gave up the cruise with regret.
About Norwegian Miniature
As for the transportation from Bergen to Oslo, we took the official route of Norwegian Miniature (Norwegian Miniature China official website), from Bergen to Oslo The route can be divided into one day or two days, starting from either Bergen or Oslo. In order not to rush, we chose the 2-day method and stayed one night in Fl?m (Fl?m). , this way you have plenty of time. If you walk the epitome of Norway from Bergen to Oslo in one day, it will be already after 8 pm from Bergen to Oslo in the morning, so you will be quite tired.
In order to avoid trouble, we did not choose to buy the tickets for Norway in miniature from the official website. Instead, we purchased them from "Muxi Nordic Travel" on Mafengwo (purchase address). We searched online and Muxi is more focused on Northern Europe. The merchant of travel products (Muxi's own official website), the order price is 1813 yuan/person, which requires a second confirmation. We placed the order on August 28, which clearly stated that we departed from Bergen and it was a 2-day trip. , I stayed one night in Fl?m (Fl?m), and received the second confirmation email in 2 days. When I arrived in Bergen, I took the confirmation number in the email and went to the ticket center of the train station to redeem my tickets for the entire journey. Get them all. At this point, all inter-city transportation has been settled, and then we start to make some final preparations before departure.
Norway in miniature route
Norway in miniature--Bergen to Oslo (one day)
Norway in miniature--Bergen to Oslo (two days)
Norwegian miniature tickets (***5) redeemed on-site at the ticket office of the Bergen Central Station Hall
About other things that need to be prepared
Phone card : This time, in order to save trouble and money, I did not buy a separate Nordic phone card, but directly purchased China Mobile’s daily data package (unlimited data, which can achieve data speed reduction, but in fact it cannot be used all), and the price is 8 days. It's 84 yuan, which is cheaper than a phone card.
Copenhagen Card (strongly Amway): At the beginning of September, a friend who had immigrated to Belgium for many years happened to travel to Denmark. He complained about the high prices in Denmark, so I immediately asked her to give some tips. She strongly recommended that we buy it. Copenhagen Card, we just knew this existed. The Copenhagen Card is launched for tourists to Copenhagen. You can take all public transportation in Copenhagen 1-99 for free, including buses, subways, and/or trains. You can redeem it for free for all tickets for tourist attractions that require a fee. Designated merchant offers.
Transportation and classic tickets in Copenhagen are very expensive. Any classic ticket costs 100 Danish kroner. The Copenhagen Card has different validity for 1 day, 2 days, 3 days and 7 days, and the prices are also different. You can buy it on the official website, or You can buy it through the travel website, or you can buy it at Copenhagen Airport. We compared it and found that the price purchased on the travel website was the lowest (we bought a three-day card for 705 euros at the time, and the official website was 93 euros). After placing the order, you also need to confirm twice. After receiving the secondary confirmation email, take the receipt to the tourist information office in Copenhagen Airport T3 to redeem the physical card.
Because we need to buy separate tickets to and from the airport on the fourth and seventh days. Although we have already found a hotel relatively close to the airport, even if we only take one stop of the subway or train from the airport, , all cost 24 Danish kroner, which is why I strongly recommend the Amway Copenhagen Card. All subways and trains in Copenhagen are unmanned and do not have any gates. However, everyone must not think about evading fares, because once a ticket is checked, the fine is very heavy. The fine is 750 Danish kroner. In the lower left corner of the train ticket in the picture below, there is a ballpoint pen scratch, which is the mark made when checking the ticket.
Big promotion: Copenhagen City Card, Tourist Transportation Card, Attractions Pass, One-Card, you can take the airport transportation for 65 yuan and buy it at Fliggy.
With it, you can travel smoothly in Copenhagen
Subway Tickets
Train tickets
As for whether we need to exchange foreign currency, I exchanged 3,000 Danish kroner before departure, and my friend exchanged 300 euros. However, after we arrived there, we found that we didn’t need to exchange it at all. If you don’t need cash, a VISA or MasterCard with sufficient credit is enough. All subway and train purchases require a bank card. Ticket purchase machines basically do not accept banknotes, and some can use coins. Shopping malls, supermarkets and convenience stores are more likely to use them. Needless to say.
All can be settled with a credit card, but it should be noted that some automatic ticket purchase devices require a PIN when paying
CODE, which I did not set before using the Bank of China Great Wall Global Pass Credit Card After passing the password and entering the PIN
I can only input the CODE randomly.
As a result, the transaction will fail. Fortunately, you can set it up on the mobile APP. It is recommended to set it up before departure. WeChat and Alipay have not yet established a solid foundation in Northern Europe and have almost no use. Therefore, it is recommended that if you want to change the currency, it is about 1,000 yuan, and you don’t have to worry at all if you don’t change it.
Danish Krona
Clothing and equipment. During the few days we went there, the temperature in Copenhagen was about 10-15 degrees. It would be colder in Norway. The miniature of Norway would pass through mountains with an altitude of more than 1,300 meters. At the same time, it is said that it will rain at normal times in Bel, so when purchasing equipment, waterproof and windproof are the first priority. It is recommended that a jacket and a pair of waterproof hiking shoes are enough. The hiking shoes must be waterproof. , think about how uncomfortable it would be if the shoes get wet and there are still several days of travel ahead and the shoes cannot dry.
Cameras and camera bags. This time the four friends brought 2 cameras, one is Canon 600D SIGMA18-35MM
F1.8 and a Fujifilm XT100, camera bag A specially designed TARION backpack and camera bag. Although it is made of canvas, its waterproof performance is also very good. It is layered up and down, which is very practical.
TARION German Camera Bag SLR Backpack Cowhide Canvas Retro Canon Multi-Function Professional Portable Photography Bag
Jungle Green 299 yuan went to JD.com to buy instant noodles and tea. Since almost all the journey was in bed and breakfasts, in order Instant noodles are a must to save money. Our four friends brought a total of 30 packs of instant noodles, which solved most of the dinner or breakfast problems. As for tea, it is also necessary to quench thirst and relieve greasiness.
Seafood with instant noodles
Suitcase, this time we only brought a 28-inch suitcase and two backpacks (one of which is a camera bag). The 28-inch suitcase is completely sufficient.
On your mobile phone, remember to install Google Maps and translation software
At this point, all the preparations before departure are done. The next article is about setting off to Copenhagen. I hope this article can prepare it for you. Friends who have gone to Northern Europe have some help. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a message and I will do my best to inform you.