Woke at 03:30 after a surprisingly good sleep. Quick breakfast, last checks, and off to the terminal.
Ålesund → Amsterdam
Check-in and security were both smooth. The little Embraer 175 to Amsterdam was full; I’d paid €40 for extra legroom and it was worth every cent. Banana bread and a drink for a snack — simple and fine. We landed on time and a short bus transfer took us to the terminal.
Amsterdam → Portland
Passport control could have been faster if there were more machines (and if people knew what they were doing). When it was my turn it literally took 30 seconds — passport in, stare a bit stupidly into the camera, passport out. Done.
Gate E5 wasn’t far. Quick stop in the gents and then on board the Boeing 787-9 Sunflower. Seat 21K in Economy Comfort (I splurged €150). Best decision of the trip — actual legroom and no crushed knees. Even better, a father moved his son down the cabin so the middle seat next to me stayed empty. Up the armrest, spread out — pure luxury on a 9+ hour flight.
We caught a tailwind and saved about 30 minutes. Service was very good: warm towel on boarding, drinks, and my pre-ordered Italian meal arrived about 40 minutes after takeoff (pre-ordering really pays off — you get served first and don’t risk your option being gone). I even put a picture of the menu with this post.
Movies kept the hours moving. I watched four: King Richard, Minecraft: The Movie, Jojo Rabbit, and Jersey Boys. Between films there were snacks — a small cherry tart and coffee, later a cheese sandwich — and a second meal before landing (pizza slice, pasta salad, and some cheesecake-ish dessert). Smooth flight, almost no turbulence. We crossed over Greenland, then across Canada, into US airspace, and descended into Portland in clear weather.
Arrival in Portland
Forget the horror stories — immigration was friendly and quick: a few questions, fingerprints, stamp, “Have a nice stay.” Customs was the same — polite officers asking the usual about food, smiling, and wishing me a good day. They did pull a couple from Uganda into secondary, but they got their luggage with mine, so no dramas.
Portland → Seattle
The airport is being renovated — much needed. After checking my bag for the connection I sneaked out to snag a quick geocache (got Oregon on my list), then spent an hour wrestling with Saily’s customer service over a slow or non-working eSIM. Very frustrating — might buy a physical SIM tomorrow because I need decent data for caching.
TSA was friendly and efficient. The new scanners let you keep everything in your bag, which I love. The scanner flagged me and I had a quick pat-down in a private area — no big deal, done professionally, handled with a bit of embarrassment and then moved on.
The short hop to Seattle on another Embraer 175 was 27 minutes of great mountain views. Taxi to the gate took longer than the flight, but my bag arrived almost immediately at the carousel.
Car & Hotel
Followed the signs to the rental shuttle and ended up in a six-storey garage with all the rental companies. Hertz Presidential Circle perks are real: my name and parking position were on the board, I walked straight to the car, showed my papers at the exit and drove off. Got a small 4×4 Jeep — feels solid and comfortable.
Three miles later I checked into Country Inn & Suites by Radisson. Not the cheapest, but a good room: king bed, AC, a proper shower — everything I need for the night.
Ordering dinner via Uber Eats was a bit of sticker shock: a small pizza and a soda came to about $30 after tip and tax. Ouch. Tomorrow: supermarket run to stock up.
I’ve been awake for more than 25 hours now, so lights out at 21:00 local time. First full travel day down — now to recharge for the real exploring.