Cant book MTR express (Sweden)

[JonasB]

As to the laws it's been like that for years and I believe the locals approve of it, so who are you or the EU to tell them not to?

There is A LOT OF debate about alcohol laws in Sweden, it's one of those things many people have a lot of strong opinions about. On one side of the debate there are liberals/libertarians who want to remove all restrictions and treat alcohol like any other beverage. On the other side there is the temperance movement who believe that the laws are way too liberal.

In the membership negotiations, Sweden was allowed to keep the Systembolaget monopoly and the high taxes for public health reasons. But the EU has forced Sweden to relax other laws and online wine stores have become rather popular.

 

[jon0844]

This is why I always travel with cash. You change it up before you leave home, know exactly what exchange rate you are getting, and know how much you have to spend. Don't have to worry about card fees etc, card cloning, losing the card, being scammed for a higher amount or any of that.

And as proven in my example here- it's bloody cheaper !!!

It's always a good idea to carry some cash, but I use a Revolut card. I can control the PIN, enable/disable the magstrip, enable the chip and lock to a certain area.. seems pretty good to me.

I get updates on my phone when I use it and always pay the interbank rate with no commission. I can even use cash machines with no fees (up to a limit).

As for tourism, Sweden seems to have plenty. But if you're finding bars that do drinks for a fraction of the price of others, what are you expecting when it comes to drunks? Have you never been inside a Wetherspoons here in some locations?!!

 

[Billy A]

This is why I always travel with cash. You change it up before you leave home, know exactly what exchange rate you are getting, and know how much you have to spend. Don't have to worry about card fees etc, card cloning, losing the card, being scammed for a higher amount or any of that.

And as proven in my example here- it's bloody cheaper !!!

That depends on your bank charges and how the exchange rate goes from day to day though.

My usual preference is to bring some cash for anything that needs cash and use plastic otherwise. Cash can have a downside. I was in Stockholm last September and brought some cash from a previous trip with me. I had it handed back to me. New notes had just been issued and the old ones were no longer legal tender. Even a bank wouldn't take them. The only way to get value from them was to post them to the Central Bank whose fixed charge would have exceeded their value.
By the way, Stockholm is full of tourists in the summer. You can hardly move in the old town centre. The rest of the country maybe less so.

 

[AlexNL]

Sorry to have a rant, but I really couldn't live in this nanny state country.

We arrived at the airport getting off the train, and was told to join the queue for the 120sek airport train tax (what is THAT about- imagine having to pay a tenner fee for using the Picc to Heathrow even if you have a travelcard that covers the zones!).

The Arlanda railway line ("Arlandabanan") is built and operated as a public-private partnership, and the infrastructure won't be owned by Trafikverket / the Swedish state until 2040. The infrastructure instead is owned by Arlandabanan Infrastructur AB, which is free to set track usages fees as they see fit (which they do).

The primary operator on this line is Arlanda Express, while other operators (such as SL Pendeltåg and SJ Regional) use the infrastructure they pay track usage fees to AI. This is why you have to pay a supplement when you use an SL or SJ train to get to and from the airport.

Next time you travel to/from Arlanda airport, make sure to check the Arlanda Express website or ticket machines for any promotions and deals. If you're traveling together it can be relatively cheap (if you don't have an SL travelcard yet).

We couldn't pay in cash. So I had to leave my passport as "security" and go to the newsagent to pay this in case. Other tourists in the same boat here.

This is something I would never have agreed to. The Dutch government heavily frowns upon leaving a passport behind as this increases the likelyhood of identity fraud being committed - all sorts of information (such as a SSN) is on that document.

 

[Bletchleyite]

This is something I would never have agreed to. The Dutch government heavily frowns upon leaving a passport behind as this increases the likelyhood of identity fraud being committed - all sorts of information (such as a SSN) is on that document.

Used to be the norm when checking into a hotel until credit cards came along. Still is in some parts of the world.

Is the Dutch social security number an actual key to anything like the US one is? The UK equivalent, the National Insurance Number, is basically of no use to you unless you want to pay my taxes for me, and I'm sure you don't.

It's like some countries are precious about giving out bank account numbers, while the Germans all put them on their letterhead. What are you going to do, pay me money?

 

[MarcVD]

Everywhere in the ex-Soviet zone you are still asked to leave your passport at the reception desk while they perform registration. This can take up to a full day.

Envoyé de mon GT-I9505 en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[AlexNL]

Is the Dutch social security number an actual key to anything like the US one is? The UK equivalent, the National Insurance Number, is basically of no use to you unless you want to pay my taxes for me, and I'm sure you don't.

It is. A "Burgerservicenummer" (BSN) can be used to open bank accounts, to deal with healthcare, for tax reports, and so on.

The Dutch government actively encourages people to keep their BSN secret, there is advice on how to deal with copies of IDs and they even made an app to help making a copy of your ID.

A while ago a client required a background check, as I would potentially have access to systems that stored financial data. They appointed an independent contractor to do the background check, and the contractor wanted to know my BSN. I refused to give it to them, as I was of the opinion that they did not need that number to do the check. At first they struggled a bit, but in the end they agreed with me.

 

[sheff1]

Everywhere in the ex-Soviet zone you are still asked to leave your passport at the reception desk while they perform registration. This can take up to a full day.

This is not the case at all. In the last year I have been to Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania & Bulgaria. Nowhere did I have to leave my passport at reception. They took any necessary details whilst I was there - exactly the same as they did in France.

 

[Bletchleyite]

This is not the case at all. In the last year I have been to Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania & Bulgaria. Nowhere did I have to leave my passport at reception. They took any necessary details whilst I was there - exactly the same as they did in France.

Last place I had to leave it at the desk was Kosovo, which was at the time basically a cash economy. It was a substitute for the card swipe (i.e. trash your room and you don't get your passport back until you've paid) and used to be usual practice everywhere - watch something like Michael Palin's 80 Days Around the World and you'll see lots of it going on.