Numerous lakes and rivers

Blue Terminal of Kuuijaq

Yellow terminal of Iquluit

Kuuijaq (CYVP) to Iqaluit (CYFB) was next. Another short leg but still with headwinds. Now more rocks and more lakes are what we see below us. The huge rocks with crater lakes become more dramatic. I noticed Canadian names and nouns are like American Indian words. “U” does not necessarily follow their “Q”. Again, the terminal was painted bright yellow, which stood out from the colors of the ground. Had a chance to run to the terminal to grab myself a crab sandwich. Saw their interesting handicrafts that deal a lot with polar bears, seals, and other aspects of snow life. The features of the locals resemble the Eskimos of Alaska. I did not realize how big Canada is until today.

Iquluit (CYFB) to Kangerlussuaq (BGSF) was our first Atlantic crossing. Greenland-finally! The rocky mountains became bigger and still more lakes and rivers. These are fjords and could have been dramatically white with snow if it isn’t summer. The approach to the airport was exciting as you fly below the mountain rocks into the river.

Approach to Kangerlussauq between the mountains

Glaciers looking like white chocolate chips

We were losing time as we flew east. Sunlight was long because it was summer but it eventually caught up with us. It was getting dark but as we took off, we still see the chunks of glaciers separated from the mainland and drifting towards the North Sea. It was like having white chocolate chips drifting in the blue sea from 35,000 ft. I was hoping to see some whales or polar bears but forgot I was not superman. Greenland was bigger than I thought. We crossed the Atlantic again and headed off to Iceland.

Garmin 1000 gives us TOD

Myself having fun flying the Mustang

Kangerlussuaq (BGSF) to Keflavic (BIKF) was almost 800 miles. This was my first night landing this trip and my sim instructor will be pleased at how well I did. They had a small FBO and had sandwiches and coffee ready for us.

From Iceland, our next stop was Flesland (ENBR), Norway. This is about 4:00 am local time. I can feel fatigue creeping in on us. We could hardly comprehend ATC clearances but it was just another quick and short hop to Stockholm (ESSA), Sweden --- our planned overnight stop. I can see the sun rising in the horizon. We were ready to sleep. Tuned-in to ATIS… heard ceiling was 400 ft and visibility was 2 miles. This is exactly what we DON’T need when we were all struggling to stay awake. Decision height was at 300 ft and as we got to 350 ft, we saw the runway. What a relief!!

It was drizzling and cold. That gave me an excuse to use my new leather Mustang jacket! I called our handler by Iridium to prepare a car to bring us to town from the airport. When we got out of the plane, our handling agent did not even help get our luggage, and as we got out, they did not even get a vehicle for us. That really sucks! With the gloomy weather, the drive to town seemed longer than it should be. We wanted to be right at the center of town so we chose Radisson, which was just next door to the train station. When we checked in, our rooms were given away because of our late arrival. This day was definitely not starting right but we were happy to be in mainland Europe safe from the cold snowy islands of the North Sea.

Breakfast was great and definitely a far cry from our small town cafe in Goose Bay. Nice yoghurt that American/Canadian hotels never think of, freshly baked hard rolls, croissant, apricot jam, and good cheese made us look at the bright side of things. At last, we were given our rooms right after our hearty breakfast. After a good shower and a quick nap, Supap and I were ready for our Thai lunch! Thai Airways fly to Stockholm daily because there is a large Thai community there. Hmm… we could hardly wait to have our Tom Yong soup and hot rice! We wondered around town and did our photo/video session soon after. We enjoyed the Swedish river that goes out to the sea. We saw the huge cruise ships and the old style sail boats that the Nordic seafarers use to travel in the olden days. Their architecture is also very distinct from the other parts of Europe. The colors and pattern of the buildings behind the water made us feel that we were indeed in Stockholm. The city is clean and well organized and in fact, it is voted as one of the Top 10 Cities best to live in around the world. The city has different colored trains crisscrossing around which always amused me and became good photo subject.

Distinct Swedish Architecture

Ship docked in Stockholm

Khun Somchai, the Thai Airways general manager, is Supap's good friend. He picked us up for dinner and drove around town. He knew exactly Supap's taste. He brought us to a fancy restaurant and had the most stylish meal in Stockholm. The dessert was a killer because it was so good!! I can just imagine the calories that I have ingested! We were beat by the time we finished. Almost fell asleep between stories but I still had to do some flight planning and hotel reservations in Budapest --- our next destination!

Khun Somchai had Chinese dim sum prepared for us before we departed for the airport. It was still drizzling and cloudy as we got the plane ready for our flight. Our shoes were wet with the rain but weather was reported to be nice and sunny in Budapest (LHBP).

This was my flying leg and it was great to get out of the clouds. The ATC was also very good to us and gave us a couple of direct routing. By the time we were turned over to Budapest approach, we were actually number one. What a great flight plus, we had about a 60-knot tailwind.

We had to take off our sweaters the minute we landed and we were off to Four Seasons right in the heart of Budapest. It could not have been any better than this. My good friend Bruno called as soon as we got there and he was ready to pick us up. When I stepped out of the hotel, the whole Hungarian Balloon Team was outside waiting for me. I was very happy to see them in their country. I always wanted to visit them. They have the same fun loving character as Filipinos do. From the moment we met, I knew that we were going to be friends for life. Bruno is 74 but looks and acts like 45. Peter had gifts for us and it was embarrassing because I had nothing for them. I thought I'd give them my American snacks packed in my bags and a few Asian Air Safari shirts.

Four Seasons Gresham Palace

Dinner with the Hungarian Team

Dinner was in the old town of Buda at a restaurant called Kisbuda Gyonye just across the river. The resto served traditional Hungarian drinks and food. They even had an old man singing and playing the piano and accordion while he joked with us. To my surprise, Tibor showed up in Barong Tagalog, a Filipino’s formal wear for men. He claims that it should make the party festive and culturally impressive for his new partner, Nora. Toni and Julie were the nicest couple ever. Toni is lucky because Julie sacrificed drinking for driving so he was obliged to drink her share. Laslo enjoyed recalling their Philippine experiences. We had a blast trying all the different starters, Hungarian wines, dessert, and even coffee. Except for Bruno, all of them drove about 60 miles just to see us. Tomorrow's dinner will be Laslo's treat at his restaurant in Agar!

Bruno picked us up for lunch and he was more than happy to tour us around the city. There is so much history and culture in Budapest. Even our hotel used to be the famous Gresham Palace. Bruno’s story telling included the medieval times, the Ottoman Empire, World War II, and up to the modern times. It is like a review of my history classes in high school but this time, it really sticks in my head because I can actually see and feel the place. It was a very pleasant walk around the city. Everywhere you look is a nice photo subject. I regret that I never visited this place earlier in my life. I can very well be a Hungarian in my second life! I love this place specially the people. By the way, all the women are so pretty but I was too busy with visiting cathedrals and castles.