On July 21, 2013, Marc and I flew to Oslo via Stockholm on board an SAS flight from Vilnius, Lithuania. We had spent a week touring the Baltic States and I was so looking forward to going to Norway by then. It was after all going to be my first time in Oslo. Marc and I had been to Scandinavia in 2003 visiting various cities and towns of Denmark and Sweden by train.

Right away, Stockholm's airport impressed me as very first world. It was sleek, modern, and huge. It looked like a very expensive westernized mall, hip hotel, and glass and steel structure airport all rolled into one. Everyone looked so hip and styish in their summer wear. To be truthful, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to that of the Baltic's bus and train stations. The people in the airport looked like they had more energy and they seemed happy. I just found the people in the Baltics quite serious sometimes even surly. It was another reason why I was so looking forward to going to Scandinavia by this time. Our flight from Vilnius to Stockholm took one hour and 40 minutes while the Stockholm to Oslo leg took only 55 minutes.

I cannot tell you how happy I was to be in Scandinavia at this time of our trip. I was literally jumping with joy as I walked the halls of the Stockholm airport with my mouth wide open. It looked super clean, so huge, and very cosmopolitan!

I hardly go inside these stores. I have said it many times before, but duty free in airports are really no bargains. These stores should really be renamed added duty stores given their overpriced goods.

Somehow, Marc and I were really hungry upon arrival here. We weren't given any food on board the flight. Just a drink. We preceeded to the SAS/Star Alliance lounge where we had lunch. The buffet spread was AMAZING. It was not as great as the lounges in Beijing, Seoul, nor Ho Chi Minh City, but it was substantial. There were sausages, different kinds of ham, cheeses, bread, and loads of drink from wines to soda to bottled water.