Oslo, Norway- Just got through Helsinki, Stockholm, and now Im on Oslo. I just arrived today after a long night of partying yesterday (no sleep) and too many candies. Sweden and Norway both love their sweets, kinda like Ireland. There are about 3 dozen varities of marshmellow, nut, chewy, creamy, chocolately sweets that cost around 1.5 Euro for a small bag full and 5 Euro for a larger bag - good for inviting friends. Hah. Boy am I excited to be in Europe, and Scandinavia at that! Things run very well here, and the architecture is so gorgeous. Simple, very simple, yet elegant. Numerous balconies and a seemingly slower pace of life. Youll see families walking around on the weekends and plenty of fathers. The weather is not bad at all, its around 85 degrees f. with a breeze. The alchol damn near costs my right arm, and I made the mistake of waiting until 7.30pm yesterday to try to buy a bottle of vodka before going out. Well low-and-behold the state-run alchol shop was closed so I was relegated to 3.5% watery beer. Very confusing for me. The food is really nice, though. In Sweden, I had some Yugoslav meat with a smogasbord and drink for 70 SEK on the main street (very average price of around 10 USD). So it actually isnt (((so))) expensive, actually. If I didnt go shopping, I wouldve stayed relatively within my budget, but alas, there are many sales and... you just cant buy all the cute stuff in Chicago thrift stores. So I bought some souvenirs for my Chicago peeps, and I hope you guys will like my gifts. Passing through I didnt get any customs officials checking my passport, which is a little confusing for me. I also didnt even get a Sweden or Norwegian stamp on my passport. Ahh I guess its for the better. The pages will last longer that way. Oh well. On 24 July, Ireland ahoy! However, I have the pleasure of staying overnight at the London Stansted. Lets hope I dont sleep through my flight. Chicago in T minus 9 days. Whoo hoo!