Helsinki

This is the National Lutheran Cathedral.  90% of Finns are members of the Lutheran church , one of two national churches.  The other church is the Finnish Orthodox Church with only 1 % of a population of 5 million people.

The government levies a 1% income tax to support the national churchs   However, anyone can fill out a form to opt out of this tax. But people need to think twice. If they opt out, they cannot have their family take part in baptisms, confirmations or funeral services. In the world of computers, it is easy to check.

This is the Uspenski Cathedral , the home of the Finnish Orthodox church.

This is the inside of the Uspenski Cathedral.

Everywhere I looked people were sitting on the grass or park benches or even church steps to take in the sun.  I was cold even with a sweater while many people were in tee shirts and shorts. The temperature was 60 degrees! 

There are only three months of good weather - June, July, August, or so my colleague told me.  Winter can be six months long, 20 degrees below zero, with three feet of snow piled on the streets and with only 5 hours of daylight every day ( 9am to 2 pm).

No one can lose these little sun worshippers.

This is one of the ferries that leaves for Sweden every evening and arrives back every morning.  Finland was a colony of Sweden for 600 years (and a duchy of Russia for 100 years). 5% of Finns speak Swedish as their first language but all Finns study  and speak Finnish and Swedish from primary school. 

English is the third most popular language.  Incredibly, Somali is the fourth most spoken laguage due to the large number of Somalis taken in by Finland under political asylum.

The summer market down by the harbor opens in June and continues through August .  It is popular with visitors and natives alike.  The number one visitor these days is the Chinese followed closely by the Japanese .  They come mostly to go up north to Lapland and see the land of the midnight sun.

Actual Conversation

"Say, give me one of those great looking hot dogs and a coke , please "

"You know they are made from raindeer meat, don't you ?"

"Say,  just give me a coke , please "    (Christmas would never have been  the same )

The harbor area .

Things are not well in Gotham! Or Helsinki.  Nor here at the Parliament . There are massive protests and backlash about Finland being a  member of the EU which it joined relatively .  The country is  witnessing cut backs in benefits and increases in taxes .  Why ?  Because Greece is experiencing a financial meltdown and all EU members must help out.   Finns who are incredibly conservative in their national and personal spending are experiencing one of the downsides to the EU.

An ultra right party, anti- immigrant and anti-EU, is gaining a lot of supporters and has just won the majority of votes in the most recent elections .

Gypsies, called "Roma" in most of Europe (based on their base in  Romania)  have become a big problem for the Finns who  had never had beggars on the street corners and now they seem to be everywhere.  The EU grants free entry to citizens of all EU countries. However, Denmark, Norway and Finland are considering imposing restrictions regardless of the EU charter. 

Finland still gives a warm welcome to all .  The main train station, designed by one of their award winning architects,  is a hub of activity .

The electric tram (trollys) are the main form of public transportation and can get you anywhere in the city.  During non-rush hours,  the city provides entertainment in the form of folk or rock singing and in poetry recitals. Offices or businesses can hire a tram for a happy hour.  Now if only the New York subway would do similar things.

This is one of many parks near or along side Helinkis main streets.

The Scandi Marski Hotel.  The staff was great and could not have been nicer but the Marski  was my least favorite hotel.  The room was postage stamp size, shampoo and soap came from dispensers on the wall, the door opened "the wrong way" , there was no coffee or hotwater pot in the room and when I asked for an iron,  I was told to go to the central ironing room on the third floor.  Okay, maybe I am a little spoiled …

A lovely building  ( a modern art mueum ) in a lovely  city

Oslo

 Medi is standing in front of the the Royal Palace ( The  Slottet ) built in the first half of the 19th century. It was  the Norwegian  residence of Norwegian and Swedish king . It is now the official residence of the present Norwegian Monarch.

Many people wore the national dress to celebrate Norwegian National Day.  This day may look very different come 2030 when 51 % of the population will be of non Norwegian origin with Pakistanis and Somalis the largest immigrant groups.

The population of Norway currently increases at a record rate of 2% annually, making it the fastest growing city in Europe.  However most of it is due to immigration and the immigrants' high birthrate.

(Missing Photos) The lovely streets of Oslo.  Can you spot the TGIF restaurant?  Or Ben and Jerry's ?

Medi standing with the US Embassy to her right.

This is the street right outside our hotel. The buildings had a wind tunnel effect. Some nights the howling winds woke us up.

The Nobel Peace Prize  - Awarded in Oslo Every Year - Alfred Nobel left his huge fortune to establish 5 prizes to recognize those who made the world a better place to be. He asked Sweden to make awards in chemistry, biology, medicine and literature. He asked Norway to award the Peace Prize. Since this was only known when his will was read, no one knows why this famous Swede chose Norway for the peace prize.    

Can you offer a reasonable explanation ?  Contest closes July 1. Awards will be made July 15 for the top three answers. A plaque and generous cash prize form the award.   (Winners must be present to receive the award to be presented in a formal sunrise ceremony)  

Stockholm - The Vasa and Its Incredible Story

The Vasa sank in 1628 and spent the next 300 +  years at the bottom of the sea. Since it was raised from the bottom, preserved under 350 feet of mud, more than 25 million visitors have visited the museum built to house the ill-fated ship.

The ship looks like it was built yesterday. The renovation was superb. The story of the Vasa is phenomenal.  It is one of the most remarkable sights I have seen in my travels.

Medi is standing in front of a model of the Vasa. This is how it looked for the few minutes it sailed the sea on its maiden voyage.  Stockholm harbor was filled with many boats holding thousands of onlookers ready for the occasion.  The Vasa sailed less than one nautical mile before sinking.

The Swedish king was fighting Poland in the 1600's and the battles were not going well. In addition, fortune was not smiling on his navy.  In one storm, ten Swedish battleships were lost in a storm. The king demanded that five new ships be built that had more fire power than ever seen before.  The ships would have not one but two decks with cannons. That was something not seen before.

He demanded the ship be built in record time.  Instead of the 5 years it usually took to build a ship, the Vasa was built  in two and a half years, the first of the five ships.

This model shows the Vasa listing dangerously after being hit by winds.  The weight of the cannons caused the ship to sink faster than normal. Ironically, the captain worried about the stability of the ship and, the day before the voyage, he had 30 sailors run side to side on the top deck but he had to stop for fear the ship would roll over there and then.  But as happened many times in history, no one wanted to give bad news to the leader so the ship sailed as scheduled.


Wikipedia Report

"She was built top-heavy and had insufficient ballast. Despite an obvious lack of stability in port, she was allowed to set sail and foundered a few minutes later when she first encountered a wind stronger than a breeze. The impulsive move to set sail resulted from a combination of factors. Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, who was abroad on the date of her maiden voyage, was impatient to see her join the Baltic fleet in the Thirty Years' War. At the same time, the king's subordinates lacked the political courage to discuss the ship's structural problems frankly or to have the maiden voyage postponed. An inquiry was organized by the privy council to find someone responsible for the disaster, but no sentences were handed out.

Ironically, the Vesa is now one of the most famous ships ever to sail but precisely because it did not sail .  The four other ships in the series were built with keels one and half feet wider and successfully sailed the seas.

The raising of the Vasa is almost as fascinating as the sinking of the Vasa.  Learn more at the site below

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)

Stockholm - The City

The weather did not cooperate for our weekend in Stockholm.  It was cold and overcast most of the time but the sun did come out from time to time. I was able to take some photos but not as many as I had hoped to shoot.
Stockholm is a pretty city with lots of statuesque buildings, beautiful parks and lots of waterfront all around.
It is also a very expensive city.  We paid $25 for a ten minute taxi ride and $80 for what was basically two pasta dishes and cokes.

This is a photo of the main street running along the harbor.  There were so many people out but unfortunately I did not capture the crowds. I was really struck by how many Asians live in Stockholm.  Proportionately speaking, I think I saw more Asians here than in the other countries we visited. I remembered that during and right after the Vietnam War, Sweden took in a much larger number of refugees than most other countries.

Walking around the city, we were struck by how pretty the city was,  a city within a park. There is a sense of space and relaxation .  Stockholm does not have a large population.  It has two million people. That is 25% of the country's population.

The Harbor

End of the day. End of our sightseeing.

London

The double decker bus is a sight I think everyone connects with London.

For me, the majesty of the buildings is also something I associate with London.  Recently, I also associate people standing outside the pubs in order to smoke .  Walking behind us I head one lady ask another if she had ever been to the pub in the picture.  She said  "I go there sometimes for one or two" . 

Smile when you bring that drink, pilgrim!

(Didn't John Wayne say that?)

 I will expect a smile when I go there for one or two.

Statue of Dwight Eisenhower .  I don't think the Brits will everf forget our help during WWll .

Memories of the war continue.

British understatment.  Every Marriott we stayed in had huge red letters declaring the building was a Marriott Hotel.  Here you had to look close to make sure it was the Marriott.

I love the cultural diversity of London. People from all over the empire live and work here.  One of my favorite cartoons showed people in every conceivable native costume in a clearly London setting . It was during the time Star Wars was popular.  The caption was "The Empire Comes Home"

Clearly the best part of London was that we got to see our daughter Karen.  She and her husband Kyle treated Medi to one of the best Mother's Day lunches ever.  Although busy as can be running her business, Cupcake,  Karen spent every free moment with us.   It was heaven.

Moscow - Red Square, the Kremlin and Nearby Areas

This is the History Museum that stands right outside the entrance to Red Square.  The statue here was erected in honor of one of Russia's greatest generals - Field Marshall Zhukov.  Stalin called on him when  a battle was not going well. Zhukov produced results.  In 1946 , with Zhukov's popularity equaling that of the leader, Stalin had him exiled to a place far from the capital..

This is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier erected in 1995.   It is surprising that a nation with such gratitude to its military men and women took fifty years to erect such a monument. This was considerably after the former Eastern block nations had established such monuments.

This is a third popular site on the edge of Red Square. The other two are the History Museum/ Zhukov Statue and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  The young lady is standing on the zero mile marker. It is  from this point that distances in Moscow are measured.

There is a belief that if you stand exactly on the zero mile marker , toss a coin and make a wish, your dream will come true.  Do you see the people behind her?  They pick up every coin right after it hits the ground  and they do so in orderly fashion, each one taking a turn.. The mile marker works for them !  They get their wish.

Ladies and gentlemen: This is your Red Square.

 The History Museum is at one end .

St Basil's Cathedral is at the other end.

When we think of the "Kremlin", we think of the nerve center of Russian politics and  planning.  It certainly is  that and a lot of policy gets developed here at the Presidential Palace. But the Kremlin, established in the 1300s, was a living area first and foremost. The name -Kremlin- means "walled fortress" . It had living quarter for the Czars and their families along with churches and parks .

 This is the Church of the Assumption where Russian royalty, like Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible and Catherine the Great would have their coronations, weddings, and baptisms.  Another church on the Cathedral Square, the Church of Michael the Archangel,  was used for funeral masses and internments.

This is the Bell Tower and Belfry of Ivan the Great.  It is one of five structures that stands on the Cathedral Square and the only non church building.

(Contest:  What is the difference between a belfry and a bell tower?  Winning entries must be received by midnight June 15 and sent to :  mynameisray@comcast.net.  Prizes will be awarded July 1)

Moscow - Sites and Sights

I know. I did not think a Jaguar would be my first pick for a sight in Moscow.  But I have rarely seen so many luxury cars in one city.  I have noticed more Bentleys here than anywhere else.

Where are we ?  What happened to my cold war stereotype.  In the area of our hotel, there was every designer shop you could think of.

At first glance, I  thought this was a picture of a Russian grandmother.  But, it is a photo of Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.  There were ads for rock's greatest in many areas: Eric Clapton, Led Zepplin.

Fortunately, there were also traditional Russian handicrafts in weekend markets, underground subway passages and outdoor stalls.

Isn't it incredible to think these figures are all handpainted?

Russians have a great love for the arts. On the outside of many buildings in our area, there were replicas of great works in the national museums to entice people to go there.

One of the most popular drinks is this soda made from fermented rye bread.  It even has a minor alcohol content of something like .001.  Our guide asked if we wanted to try it .  Did we ?

These stands are the street " hotdog stands" of Moscow.  They had better be good.  They are competing with the 150 McDonalds in the country.

There are also barbeque stands that serve all kinds of meat wrapped in a type of pita bread.  My friend asked if we wanted to try some.  He said "he had not gotten sick yet". What do you think?  Did we try it?

Medi and I were surprised at how fashionable the Russian ladies were.  Everywhere we looked it seemed a  fashionable lady  was either














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