As a nordic skier I have been extremely lucky enough to travel all over the US, Canada, and Europe by plane, train, bus, van, and car. Throughout these experiences I have established some ground rules and best practices for those long and often unpredictable travel days. As the BSF Pro Team’s Sweden training camp is on the horizon I thought it would be useful to share some of my travel tips and tricks.

For those long air travel days my biggest piece of advice is to relax take a breath and chill out. No matter what happens it’s going to be fine. That is my mantra for those sweaty airport power walks and missed connections.

The second rule is to check your flight status early and often. There is nothing worse than showing up to the airport on time just to spend an extra few hours looking at your phone in the A terminal Quiznos.

Always pack the essentials in your carry on. Noise canceling headphones are a must because that baby can and will scream for eight hours straight.

This brings us to the age old debate. Isle or window? In my opinion you must pick based on the situation. Overnight flight to Amsterdam, window. Three hour flight in the afternoon to MSP, isle. Seven thirty connection to Helsinki after twenty two hours of travel, that one is a toss up for me. Assert arm rest dominance early.

Eat when you can and pack snacks. Ask for the can. Stand up often and finally have fun and be nice.