Reindeer Cuisine and a Slightly Detoured Map
"Have you ever eaten reindeer?"
I asked some travelers I had just met in the dining room of a budget hostel in Sweden.
"What's that? Reindeer?! Can you eat that?"
As expected, their eyes lit up, and they leaned in all at once.
At the time, I was a poor student traveling alone, staying at a youth hostel in Stockholm.
I had become close with a group of students from Italy while hanging out in the communal kitchen, cooking simple meals morning, noon, and night.
While I gave a small fist pump in my heart, I kept a calm face and told them about the seared reindeer I had just eaten recently.
"It's called 'Grilled Raw Reindeer.' The seared surface has a crispy texture, while the inside is moist and tender like tuna, with a savory flavor like lean beef!"
"But it must be expensive, right?" they asked in unison.
Finally, unable to hold back, I puffed out my chest a little and said,
"It was a price even I could afford!"
It was a casual restaurant with reasonable prices. It's a Nordic game meat that you can only eat rare if it's fresh. I even hinted that they might regret it if they didn't eat it now.
Excited, they immediately made plans to go eat it the next day.
This was in an era before smartphones and Google Maps.
I proudly drew a map and showed them where the restaurant was.
——However, I am directionally challenged and get lost even on roads I've walked a hundred times.
The map I drew with such confidence, it seems, was slightly off somewhere.
When they returned to the hostel late at night,
"It was delicious! Thank you for telling us about such a great place!" they thanked me.
However, it seems they had taken quite a detour to get there.
It seems I went back and forth looking for reindeer.
In a distant foreign land, I ended up creating a group of lost people.
It appears my map takes a bit of a detour.
——Even so, since I can still manage to reach delicious things, I suppose it's fine.
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I also write about getting lost while traveling abroad here.
"The story of how I got into a maze in Canada despite having no sense of direction"
Here is the story about how I get asked for directions both in Japan and abroad, despite having no sense of direction.
"My brother with the ultimate map skills and me, the guide for the lost"
I hope we can meet again quietly in the next update.
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