As the bus lurched forward with its load of tired passengers, we sped off to the airport terminal. Having just disembarked from our Boeing 757, we had flown in on Icelandair from Seattle, and it was now 7:05 AM local time at Keflavik.
Photo: The Öresund Bridge, which crosses over the Øresund strait between Sweden and Denmark.
I departed the bus and raced up the stairs to get in line for customs. From there, I walked through the modern airport and found my connecting gate to Copenhagen. I had 55 minutes before we departed and quickly found a seat at a counter and connected to the airport WiFi.
Once my laptop was plugged in, I had a good 30-minutes to check in on our clients and make sure all was set for the day. Day two was underway.
Day 1-2: travel to Copenhagen
I was at the beginning of an 11-day trip to Denmark, Sweden, Norway and then back to Iceland before heading home to Portland. This trip was not a vacation – but a “workcation.”
Because our Leadtail team can work from anywhere there is a good WiFi connection – we find ourselves not only where most of our clients are based, in Silicon Valley, but across the United States and around the world.
With 16 team members, we live in Portland, Astoria, The Bay Area, Connecticut, New York, Ireland, and Australia. And now, I was on an adventure, a challenge of sorts, to keep up with our busy daily schedules while managing time zone differences and dealing with jet lag.
This trip was my first where I would work from tiny cafes, coffee houses, airports, Airbnb’s, train stations, and even at the foot of a ski jump (more on that later). This was to be a week and a half of remote-working Leadtail style!
Day 2-5: Copenhagen and Malmö
Note: Learn more about Copenhagen and Malmö.
I walked through town and saw most of Copenhagen’s “must-see sights” including Nyhavn, The Little Mermaid, The Round Tower, Rosenborg Castle, six museums, Christiania, the harbor and much, much more.
Between my Airbnb, the cafes and a cool Danish dining hall called Absalon Public House, I was able to manage the daily workflow of our clients. Between using Slack, BlueJeans, and email – I was in constant contact with our team and our clients.
Took the train to Malmö across the Öresund Bridge (pictured above) – what fun!
Stood at the foot of the Turning Torso building in Malmö (above) which is the world’s first twisting tower and the tallest building in Western Europe.
Malmö wins the prize for the best Espresso House – what a fantastic environment to get busy with our daily projects!
Day 6-8: Oslo
Note: Learn more about Oslo.
The Copenhagen and Oslo airports are modern, amazingly well designed, clean and have thoughtful places to work and stay productive while waiting for flights. Working in these lounges and gates was simply, a joy.
BTW – my round trip on Norwegian Airlines to Oslo was on the now infamous, Boeing 737 MAX-800 – two days before and a day after the tragic crash in Ethiopia – then the entire global fleet was grounded a day later. Yikes!
Taking the train from Oslo’s airport to downtown was smooth and fast – a great way to get into town!
Walked around Oslo and took the T-Bane across this beautiful city. It has interesting sights including the Nobel Peace Center, City Hall, the Viking Ship Museum in addition to its delicious food and more! I found another comfortable Espresso House and dropped in for a few hours of work each day.
Highlight: Saw a long-jump skiing competition at Holmenkollbakken (above) – then had a BlueJeans meeting (which is our client) overlooking downtown Oslo – this was by far the most incredible weekly client meeting I have ever had!
Day 9-10: Reykjavik
I can’t emphasize enough just how great it was to find stylish spots in both Oslo and Copenhagen airports as I waited for my flights on my way back to Iceland – can you say “productivity” at its best?
I had fun wading around the warm waters of the Blue Lagoon among the multitudes of tourists then headed into town with my rented car. Fun driving in Iceland!
Reykjavik is another clean and lovely European city with great sights to see and lots to explore, including the Höfði House (above) where Reagan and Gorbachev met in 1986. Although I was surprised that there were zero tourists in sight, it was nice to walk around this historic house without any of the usual crowds.
I hung out at a local coffee house away from the tourist areas and was constantly reminding myself when I looked up from my laptop, that I was sitting among the locals in Reykjavik! Just, so cool!
Day 11: Homeward bound
Again, the experience at Keflavik Airport (above) was like being in a 5-star hotel walking around and then camping out to work with flawless WiFi and tasty food in a spotless, comfortable terminal.
Arrived home in Portland late – and was up again 8 hours later working at my home office. Apart from the time zone differences – the work remained seamless across the 11-day adventure.
Thank you, Leadtail
What can I say, working remotely, “Leadtail style” was beyond a terrific experience – can’t wait for my next trip abroad! A BIG thanks to Carter Hostelley and Karri Carlson who have worked tirelessly to make Leadtail what it is today and which allows us all the opportunity to work and travel with ease.
Note: This post was originally published on my LinkedIn profile.
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