Comfy Calgary

I'm back in Calgary now. Got in last night just before 8PM. Apparently reindeer meat is not an allowed import, so my Norwegian souvenirs were confiscated, although I was allowed to stand there and eat as much as I could handle before clearing customs. Reindeer sausage sticks are tasty, but moose is much juicier and I highly recommend it. I assume I should be able to find some more of that back here?

Speaking of which, does anyone know where one can find Yakult in Calgary? It's a drinkable yogurt I first encountered in our unplanned morning in London. The hotel had it for free with breakfast, so I tried it on a whim, fully expecting the name to say it all, but was surprised by a delicious party in my mouth. I kept finding it and (over?)consuming it everywhere in Germany and Austria, but never saw it again once we hit Ukraine.

Anywho, enough about food...

Our last city was Oslo, which was, well, Oslo. Not a whole lot to comment on. It was nice and all, but not exactly a tourist hotspot. We saw City Hall, the Fortress and Harbour, took a ride on the public ferry and went to a museum full of 1100 year old viking ships, artifacts, and skeletons. That part was cool because I was feeling like I hadn't gotten enough viking exposure in Scandanavia yet. All in all though, the last week or so felt like I was already back in Canada. I definitely enjoyed my time in Norway, but both John and I often felt like we could have done pretty much the same things a few hours from home. For much cheaper too. I'd heard Scandanavia was going to be expensive, and Finland and Sweden definitely were, but Norway was downright shocking. $12 for a beer on tap. $22 for a bowl of soup and half-sandwich. $200-$300 a night for pretty basic hotels. Fortunately I had already stopped paying attention to what this trip was costing me or I likely would have broke down crying. Future weekend trips to Banff and Lake Louise are going to seem crazy cheap!

The highlight of the trip home was waking up from a short nap just as we reached the shores of Greenland. I've flown over that a handful of times now, but never in daylight, and it was a sight to behold. With snow and glaciers as far as the eye can see, "Green"land is the whitest thing I've ever seen. When you consider how white I am, that's really saying something :)

Well, that concludes my sojourn. 16 cities, 37 days. It was... perfect.

Thanks for reading along!

Greg

PS. I'm too tired / jet-lagged to think about posting any more pics right now, so I'm not sure when I'll ever get to that. If there are any in particular you want to see, give me a shout and I'll get some up.