It may come to pass that I have to travel to a place called Oskarscahmn, Sweden. Now, Oskarschamn is not a common destination; it’s a very small town. So I have two fly-in options, both of which are about four hours’ drive from Oskarschamn.
STOCKHOLM. The advantage of Stockholm is I am already in Sweden. The disadvantage is you cannot fly directly there from Toronto. The flights only connect and theyu’re awful.
COPENHAGEN. The advantage of Coperhagen is you can fly directly there from Toronto, saving piles of time. The disadvantage is that Copenhagen is located in Denmark, which, outrageously, is a totally different country than Sweden.
Is there a border control between Copenhagen and the Swedish mainland, or something about Copenhagen’s airport, that should dissuade me from Option 2?
Denmark and Sweden are both Schengen-area countries; there are effectively no border controls between them. (Border agents may still conduct various security checks at the borders or airports, but there is no immigration check once you’re in Schengen.)
ETA: Denmark and Sweden are both also members of the US Visa Waiver Program, so you don’t need to apply for a visa assuming you’re visiting temporarily for tourism or business.
I occasionally have to go from Dallas to Karlskrona which is a bit south of Oskarshamn.
There is no great way to accomplish this, but the least bad way is to fly to Copenhagen. Underneath the Copenhagen airport is a train station and then there’s a train that goes to Karlskrona. Sweden’s train system is fairly good, so check if there’s a convenient train route to Oskarshamn (There should be).
One word of warning: The train ticketing @ Copenhagen airport will NOT accept a credit card without PIN code unless it’s American Express. This is against VISA/MC policy, but they simply do not care. They do accept US currency.
As mentioned above: No real border between Denmark & Sweden. Just jump on the train & go.
If you look on Google Earth you’ll see that Oskarshamn has an airport (OSK). It’s listed as closed, but Wiki says it’s open for General Aviation so you may be able to get someone to fly you there.
Bring a case of Carlsberg with you. I once took a ferry from Denmark to Sweden, and everyone else on board was schlepping their own personal mountain of alcohol.
Did you take the ferry all the way to Stockholm, or what?
IIRC the shortest route from Denmark to Sweden is only a couple of miles, and I don’t think even a Dane can down all that much Carlsberg on, say, a ferry ride to Malmo, unless the boat is really, really slow.
BTW they have a bridge now, if OP’s boss wants to spring for a rental car and a hefty toll.
Swede here, lives in Copenhagen, knows this shit every which way.
You can buy a train ticket from Copenhagen airport to Oskarshamn (note the correct spelling) via www.sj.se for the equivalent of 80 Canadian dollars. Aim for the ones where you only have to switch trains once, in Kalmar, Sweden. The trip should take between five and six hours.
You might also want to check out the possibility of flying to the tiny airport in Linköping, Sweden - not possible directly from Toronto, but possible from Copenhagen, Amsterdam and a few other places. From there, the train to Oskarshamn will take about two-and-a-half hours, and will cost about 33 Canadian dollars.
I’ll add that going from Denmark to Sweden by plane or by train is easy peasy. If you’re going by bus, however, know that there is a non-zero chance that Swedish customs will stop the whole bus, get everybody out, have y’all take your clothes off, whip out the plastic gloves - etc. This does happen, but not very often. I’ve experienced it only once in ten years’ time.
As for the famed mountains of Carlsberg etc., the explanation is easy: Swedes go to Denmark to bulk up on cheap alcohol. (Danes in turn go to Germany; Germans go to Poland; and Poles go to the Devil himself.)
I recommend driving and seeing the countryside, if you find that enjoyable. Fly into Copenhagen or Arlanda, and drive there. The crossing between DK and SE is trivial, as said. Beware of the winter months as the icy roads are challenging but the rental cars have studded tires.
They treat Koebenhavn/Copenhagen like a Swedish train station…
(you might be able to by a danish ticket to get to Kalmar… you can’t book Kalmar to Oskarshamn through SE or DN so there’s no practical advantage, perhaps the cost differs ? )
When you get to the ACTUAL border, there’s no passport control … they won’t pull you off the train and interrogate you on a landing on the side of the bridge
