Travel 4: All Around the World Same Song

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

I've gotta say, the new TSA Precheck Touchless has been great on this trip to the US.

I've got Global Entry, so clearing customs is easy. Except for the asinine thing the US does where you need to recheck your bag and then go through security.

But, with the new Touchless, it's just like Global Entry but for Precheck. Non-existent line, quick photo scan, and right to the normal Pre security check.

Under three minutes to clear security in Ohare and Pdx so far. Expecting the and in Seattle, too.

yeah I went to Berlin a few weeks ago and even during the shutdown, my security wait at MSP was non-existant with this

 

[MichVandal]

I was up above the arctic circle and MAN is that breathtaking in the winter.
did you enjoy a lot of salmon and/or reindeer soup?

Enjoyed it very much- the salmon soup we only found in in Helsinki, which was odd (it was on the menu on the train, but they were out). The reindeer stew, we got all over the place- and it was really interesting (in a good way) how they used lingonberries as a spice to it. We also have moose soup- as my cousin's wife made us some for our visit to their farm (which was the farm I got my last name from).

We did go up to the north, too- as my grandmother's family came from Kuusamo- so we also added Rovaneimi. We were hoping to see some snow, but it was a kind of warm October up there. So just some rain. Still spectacular.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

I had reindeer stew in Anchorage many years ago, and I thought it was great. No lingonberries in the AK version though.

 

[MichVandal]

I had reindeer stew in Anchorage many years ago, and I thought it was great. No lingonberries in the AK version though.

Finnish reindeer stew is small pieces of reindeer over some very smooth mashed potatoes and then a generous amount of lingonberries on top- and they are just left natural- so it adds a very nice amount of acid to balance it really nicely.

Since reindeer is a harvested meat in Finland, it's an easy ingredient to find everywhere- had reindeer steaks a few times. And I didn't feel bad even though we went to a reindeer farm (where the reindeer that were not safe to let roam around were) and got up really close to them- charming animals. But that does not offset how delicious they are.

BTW, Finnish reindeer redefine what free range is. They have zero barriers and wander all over northern Finland. But being herd animals, they just track one of two of them, and all of an owners reindeers are all together- so it's not impossible to gather them up for harvest. It was pretty funny to see warning sings on the roads showing that you could see reindeer all over northern Finland- which we did, a lot. And they do not care at all about cars- which makes them more dangerous than most animals.