Nate's 2025 European Buying (and Football) Trip

A trip to Europe to me always starts with packing and while I preach the wonders of wool from a practicality sense, I still tend to bring too much of it with.  This time was no different. The reality of a visit to Europe (or living there) is that you are outside a lot more than we are in the United States. Part of it is philosophical and part of it is practical. In Europe, you rely on public transport more often and that usually means a small walk to the metro line or bus station. The cities are also hundreds of years old and not designed with cars in mind so driving can be maddening, slow and time consuming. Due to this fact, Europeans, and those visiting, are wise to dress in layers and always wear a quality base layer, up and down. The Aktiv recommendation is always to use merino as your base layer unless you have a sensitivity. I packed three separate merino base layer tops and gained one from our friends at Ivanhoe but due to the fact that wool is antimicrobial and anti-fungal, the wool is basically self cleaning, so in the end I only needed one. Midlayers, when made of wool are the same song, second verse…and I also brought to many of them, same goes for socks. I was spot on in the underwear department thought, so that is something!
 
With bags packed, Leslie dropped me at the Denver airport for the first leg to Frankfurt and then a quick change to a Lufthansa flight to Oslo. Travel to the Nordics has become harder to accomplish over the past few years, especially from a United based hub like Denver. Up until last year, Scandinavian Air(“SAS”) was a part of the Star Alliance so you could hop on a SAS  from any place United flew and get into the Scandics quite easily. Newark, London, Munich and Frankfurt were all flush with multiple airlines flying into Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo but the struggles led SAS to sell some of their interest to Air France and leave the Star Alliance for whatever the Delta/KLM/Air France equivalent is. This has greatly restricted the practical paths into Scandinavia. The route I chose had me leaving at 3:50 on Saturday for the 9-hour flight to southwestern Germany. Buoyed by heavy tailwinds, we made great time and even with the plane switching gauntlet that saw me on a bus to and from the terminal, I was landing in snowy Oslo and their gorgeous airport around 1 PM the next day. I hadn’t been at Gardemoen airport in about two years but every time I pay a visit; improvements have been made and the experience is an amazing one. Scandinavian design is a term thrown around by many without a clear vision of what that means. Gardemoen is the embodiment of it. Practical, minimalist design with beautiful spaces that draw out the Norwegian connection to nature while also offering everything a 21st travel could ask for. A quick stop at the Duty Free for Norwegian chocolate and French wine and I was on the train to the city center.

Off the train at Nationaltheatret, which is also the stop where our Law School classes were when we called Oslo home, to meet with a customer who bought an Amundsen vest on a special delivery and I was on the tram to Skillebekk to visit our friends from our time in Oslo. Nighttime comes early in January in the Norwegian capitol and before I knew it, it was pitch black. A quick trip to Kverneriet, a local burger establishment and I settled in with a Melatonin aid for an attempted first night of sleep. All things considered, a fitful 8 hours was much more than I expected, and I was out the door of their apartment at 7:45 the next meeting to commute to Drammen to meet with Aclima.

The Norwegian commute can be easily described as quiet and quick. Foot traffic is swift, even over the ice and focused on the final destination. Trains are hushed spaces and always on time…always. It is invigorating to be inside the stream of people on their way to start the workweek. I arrived in Drammen in good time and walked and partially skated to the Aclima headquarters west of the Drammen station. 
Aclima is a Norwegian institution focused on all things wool and their headquarters are a callback to Gardemoen- nicely appointed with practical and clever design. It is also the best way to see their entire collection of items from base to mid to outer. I popped around their headquarters, saying hi to their CEO and new head of marketing before settling in to go about the selection process for next season. Generally, this is the very best way to place an order as you see the totality of what is offered and also the combinations of products as they were contemplated by the designers. In sum, we have a great selection headed our way from Drammen in the fall. From Aclima, I hopped back on the train to the Bilingstad neighborhood in the west Oslo metro to meet with Klattermusen.

Yes, Klattermusen is actually Swedish but their international sales are based out of Oslo with Kenneth and Magnus. I had a quick, very Norwegian lunch with Kenneth and then dove into their line for AW 25. The “Climbing Mouse” brand is built for mountain climbing and trekking, but it is perfect for all outdoor activity and due to its Swedish roots…the taller the customer the better. Klattermusen has the longest sleeves and trunks in the store without being overly wide. In fact, Aktiv has a pair of 6’10” customers that rely on Klattermusen for their shirts. Hopefully, our tall customers will be happy with the items I selected from them, they are exceptional…if I say so myself. Klattermusen gave way to our other climbing brand as I popped over to Rungne’s worldwide headquarters in Bekkestua in West Oslo.

Rungne by Magnus Mitdbo is a young brand focused on bridging the gap from the Crag to the office space. I was able to meet their full staff, check out their newest entries which include women’s clothes for the first time and even meet Magnus, which was a first. Look for a few new items from them in the coming weeks with more to follow as it is received. #climbon

With my three meetings in the rearview, I worked my way across the metro to Oslo Central Station for my evening train to Gothenburg. I have mentioned it before in my writing and speak about it frequently in the store, but train travel is a very dignified way to get easily from one city center to the next. Three hours later I was in Sweden’s second city and tucked into a Scandic hotel in the downtown. More melatonin and another inconsistent night found me in the buffet line the next morning. Scandinavian hotels are known for their amazing breakfasts and the Scandic was no different. My day in and around Gothenburg had two meetings on the agenda. Our friends at Varg were nice enough to bring their collection to the hotel and they continue to amaze with their one-of-a-kind look. 

Next, my friend, Anders Gothager, part owner of Ivanhoe picked me up at the hotel and we were cruising through the Swedish countryside on our way to their headquarters in Gallstad. Ivanhoe continues to re-invent themselves and their line for the next season is more of the same. It is a fantastic combination of the straightforward designs we have always loved with the addition of the ever-evolving undyed wool line. The natural hues of the undyed products enhance the coziness of them and look so earthy and stylish. Our order from them will be a beautiful cross-between of rich, gorgeous colors coupled with the more muted natural designs. I can’t wait for it to arrive. Anders dropped me at the Boras station and I got on my way to Copenhagen via Varberg on the western Swedish coast. Everything was going swimmingly until it wasn’t as there was so kind of criminal activity at the Lund station which halted our train. I made fast friends with a SAS pilot trying to get to the Kastrup airport in Copenhagen and before you knew it we were flying down a Swedish highway in a cab. Sometimes you have to improvise…anyway, we made good time and I got to Copenhagen in time for a quick dinner before turning in for the night and preparing myself for a crazy sprint of a day at CIFF. 

Wednesday found me on my way to 66 North’s International sales headquarters with a cell phone on the fritz. I generally knew where I was going and with the help of a few errant wifi signals I arrived at the Icelandic office to pick my order for next year. 66 is on an interested journey and this year has found them refocusing on classic designs that pay homage to their Arctic Circle roots while embracing the 21st Century lifestyle. It is always an amazing meeting although it tends to be very hard to decide what to keep and what to cut…I feel like we could sell the entire line! Anyway, difficult decisions are made, and the order is finalized and I am on the move again to southern Copenhagen for a lunch meeting with the head of logistics for Aclima.

Thor and I had a great lunch and talked over the somewhat bland, yet critical, plans that bring their products to our shop in Colorado. After that I was on my way across the street to CIFF (Copenhagen International Fashion Fair) to be overwhelmed by 1200 different brands from every corner of the world. 1200 brands is far too many but I had done some legwork to narrow it significantly and had a nice selection of six brands for meetings. 

Two are familiar enough as Movesgood and Jumperfabriken had small booths on the floor. For Movesgood, it was a very quick meeting to secure our shipment of the very popular Hansa jumpsuit for the Spring. Happily, we will be getting back into the store in black and a new color for Movesgood, Navy. They should arrive around the beginning of April and will be gone before you know it. 

It was fantastic to meet with Jumperfabriken again and see their remarkable collection for next season. We are going to focus on their very popular side cardigan design and supplement it with a gorgeous traditional cardigan and a lovely wool dress with a Scandinavian print.  After seeing those familiar faces, it was time to meet some new people and first on the list was BLÆST (pronounced like blast and from the Norwegian word for wind) from Ålesund. The windy folks from Norway’s west coast have a gorgeous selection of practical designs focused on sleekness and waterproofing…they deliver on both and one of the decisions I have to make over the next few weeks is whether to bring it into the shop. The quality is amazing but the climate of Ålesund and Denver are very different. I think there is a crossover for the use but need to think long and hard about it. 

Next was Gabba a Danish, family owned men’s line focused on denim! We have carried jeans from the inception of Aktiv but they have been quite limited in color and design. Gabba is neither of those things and the feel of their denim is simply fabulous. We will definitely expand our line to include their denim and possibly their trouser which looks a bit dressy and feels like joggers. 

Next in line was another Danish brand, Anerkjendt which I have still failed to spell or pronounce correctly. Aner…those guys, are focused on what feels like elevated streetwear but looks like something so much more. They have an amazing selection of shackets which seem to be on most peoples’ wish lists for any season. It will be a smaller order, but we look forward to bringing them in!

My final stop at the show was with BRGN, another stylistic brand from Western Norway who has the goal of embracing the elements while holding to a design aesthetic. We will bring in a few pieces focused on lighter insulation and I am very excited about it. 
After that it was back to the hotel for a quick meeting with a very small Malmo brand, Tordyvel, which has one pattern (which is captivating) in several different colors for men and women. Ann-Sofie is the owner and was wonderful to discuss a potential partnership with, I am quite hopeful that Aktiv can be their first retailer outside of Sweden. 

I had one last meeting for the night as I was slated to have dinner with Eric from Polyver in central Copenhagen where I would pick up a sample of their new boots. Dinner was amazing, as expected, since Copenhagen is arguably a top five eating city in the world, the boots were great too. A quick pop into a pub to watch the first half of some Champions League matches and it was back at the hotel as I had a morning flight to London as I put away my work hat for the trip and turned to Football.

London is one of my favorite cities in the world and Thursday found me meeting up with two American friends at Heathrow for a quick sprint around England and to five different football matches. The first was a Europa League tussle between Elfsborg (from the aforementioned Boras, Sweden) and somewhat mighty Tottenham Hotspur. What is undoubtedly mighty is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which hosted the game. It is a massive stadium that feels a bit like an NFL stadium (which, of course, it could be someday) mixed with a post-modern architectural marvel. We arrived early to collect our matchday scarves, drink a few beers that are brewed on site and sample a pie or two. Full disclosure, I had both the signature beef, which was more ground beef than steak, and the chicken and mushroom which was quite nice. The match was entertaining as Elfsborg attempted to hold off the home side before conceding halfway through the second half. A stark reality of the Spurs’s stadium is that it is not the easiest to travel to and from so we left a bit early to get the train back into London…it was worth it as my travel compatriots were running on fumes from just arriving in Europe. We stayed close to Euston Station as the next day had train travel on the itinerary and called it a night. 

Friday found us on the train to Manchester where we would be based for the majority of the trip. A quick pop-into the Airbnb to drop our stuff and we were on another train headed north to Blackburn to take in the English Championship match of the Rovers v. local rival Preston North End. Championship level (the second highest tier of the English pyramid under the Premier League) is a fantastic experience of authentic football players and fans. It has yet to disappoint me and a cold night in Blackburn was no different. For Americans looking to get a sense of what football means to the English, the Championship is an easy, affordable way to get a look at the passion that fuels the world’s most popular sport. After a quick dinner in the center of town we arrived at Ewood Park in time to hit the Rovers team store for scarves before finding our seats at the midway line. The match itself was a spirited affair where Blackburn ran out to a 2-0 lead before giving up a late goal to Preston and then almost giving up another one at the death. It was an energized and relieved crowd that walked into the Lancashire night. We hustled back to the train station for a quick trip back to Manchester as we had a big, big day ahead of us on Merseyside.

Saturday morning came early and found us on the rails again, this time to Liverpool where we started the day on a Beatles tour…as you do. Sure, our bus broke down at the second stop, but we were not deterred as we criss-crossed the city before landing at Goodison Park for Everton versus Leicester. A quick pop into the Everton One store for a scarf and a steak and ale pie with a pint and I was ready for the match. 
As you may know, this is the Toffees final season at Goodison before relocating to the docks and a new swanky stadium. We aren’t the only ones trying to make a final visit and tickets are very difficult to acquire. For this reason, each one of us had to buy a single ticket and mine was in the supporters’ end three rows from the pitch. My section is filled with long-time (survivors) fans that have seen each other on Saturday afternoons for the better part of their adult lives. It feels like family in the section, and I was greeted by a few curious looks before someone asked me who I was. I explained we were on a football trip with friends and took what we could get for tickets. I had a wide-ranging conversation before kickoff and during halftime with my row-mates one of which was a professional snooker coach and the other had a son living in Denver. There wasn’t much discussion during the game as Everton was the sole focus. The Toffees delivered their quickest every home side Premier League goal (11.6 seconds) and the whole of Goodison war roiling for the entire 90 minutes of a 4-0 domination of the flaccid Foxes from Leicester. We were positively buzzing after the match as we worked our way back to the Lime Street Station for our quick ride back to Manchester Victoria. We called it a night and rested up for our Sunday in Manchester.

The next day found us in the pulsing Northern Quarter of Manchester for a proper Full English breakfast before making the trek to Old Trafford for United v Crystal Palace. Old Trafford is a behemoth and we had hospitality so we were there in good time to sample the cuisine and get ready for kickoff. The creature comforts at United are a bit sparse. There are no replay screens although the sightlines are quite good. Manchester United is not, however and they were listless against Palace. When the visitors scored their second goal with eight minutes to go, the fans seemed relieved to be leaving…that club is a mess.

We hustled back to the Norther Quarter to watch the second half of Arsenal demolishing Man City (tough day to be a Mancunian) and tucked into a local restaurant for one of the very best English traditions, the Sunday Roast. We were at Trof and it was quite exceptional! We followed up with a little bourbon and then headed back to pack as Monday morning had us back on the train to London town.

We were back in Euston Station before you knew it and then on to Mayfair for some unforgettable fish and chips. I then headed to southwest London to meet up with some of Leslie’s college friends before walking over to Stamford Bridge for the final (and best?) match of the trip, Chelsea v. West Ham. I had not been at a match at the Bridge since the fall of 2018 and it was worth the wait. Match scarf in hand we headed to the Westview which is a newer addition to the stadium and feels a bit like an American club section although, disappointingly, they weren’t offering any pies as they were celebrating Asia food instead…next time for the pies!

The match was typical Chelsea with a down and up and down and up but this time the Blues finished on the up and collected all three points. Transport from the Bridge back into central London can be sticky so we hung out for a while on the club level and then made our way to the Tube for a quick trip back to Paddington and our hotel. 
Tuesday was getaway day and a quick jaunt on the Heathrow Express found us at Heathrow in time for our flight home.