FINNISH TRIVIA

Delightful People, Delightful Country

Neutral during WW II, Finland resisted two Russian attacks and emerged from physical devastation with strong economic and military policies.

            Once a dirt poor country many Finns migrated to northern Minnesota.  Between 1809 and 1917 Finland began to industrialize and most of Helsinki’s great buildings were built during that time. 

Since the end of WW II Finland has become a modern country with successful timber, paper and telecommunications industries.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, about 20 percent of Finland’s trade disappeared.

Finland had been ruled by both Sweden and Russia before its independence in 1917.

            Although thought of as a Scandinavian country, Finland is really more Nordic. Finland is a republic. One third of the country is above the Arctic Circle.

In 1906 Finnish women were the first European women to be given the vote, and now women make up 40 percent of the parliament.

The Finnish language, related to Estonian and Hungarian, is a difficult one.

            Finland is well known for the Nokia phone and the familiar orange handled Friskers scissors and tools.

Street signs are in both Finnish and Swedish.

People were once paid in onions, potatoes, or vodka. The society was drinking itself to death, so since the 18^th century all liquor has been sold in state stores.

Lakka is a cloudberry liquor schnapps that I found quite good.

Finns are quiet stoic people, and are suspicions of small talk.

They like licorice that comes in many flavors, but they are not chocolate candy eaters.

They also prefer to suck or chew snuff to smoking cigarettes.

Helsinki is the smallest city to ever host the Olympics.  The films Gorky Park and Dr. Zhivago were filmed there.   

A Helsinki shipyard made ice breakers in the 1980s. In the 1990s it made cruise ships, many for Carnival Lines. The dry-dock is as wide as the Panama Canal.

            Helsinki is very pedestrian friendly, but the drivers are not!
            I liked Helsinki a lot and had a great visit there.

FIRST REAL DAY ON THE BIKE

A NEW ADVENTURE

             I thought   biking from Munich to Vienna  would be so much fun that I could hardly wait for that first European bike trip. I was 63 at the time, and it had been a few years since I’d been on a bike. In addition I had never done any serious biking. My children thought I had absolutely lost it, but nothing could dampen my enthusiasm.

            Before leaving the U.S.I bought the required bike helmet and I was ready to go! I had been to South America a couple of times and to Africa but this was to be only my second trip to Europe.

I was fitted to bike #10, learned the traffic differences, and learned the rules of biking. After the day of bike trials and a short ten-mile trip and back I was ready for the first 43-mile day that lay ahead.

The Germans call the Danube Donau, and it really isn’t blue like the famous music. The river is muddy with a pretty swift current. The river has many locks as 25% of the country’s electricity is generated from the river. It had been a very rainy year so several ferry landings were flooded and the bike path in many areas was under water necessitating us to use the road.

Cloudy skies and often rain followed us the entire two weeks. There were days we were in and out of rain gear several times.  The scenery was spectacular and the villages and cites quaint and picturesque. As flooding forced us to use the narrow roads we were told how important it was to keep a good distance between bikers. Vehicles could pass one or two bikers at a time but a string of 23 bikers made it difficult for  drivers. I had visions of being very muddy from car-splash, but drivers were very considerate and my visions never became reality!  Then again everyone there rides a bike and we Americans were easy to spot as we were the only ones wearing helmets.

            I was always the last person in, but that didn’t bother me. I stopped whenever I wanted to take pictures, all of which show the cloudy skies. The only problem of being last was the lack of a break. But like the Energizer bunny, I just kept peddling and was having the time of my life. By noon of that first day I felt like I had a knife between my shoulder blades. I never could figure out why, but my best guess is that my handlebars were too far away so I hunched over them. The problem continued to plague me and only lessened a little, when I made a conscious effort to drop my shoulders After 43 miles and all day in the saddle I really felt it. I thought I was going to die.

I learned a lot about biking gear. A couple of experienced gals shared lots of information. I left home with NO biking gear or wardrobe. I was really an innocent babe in the woods, but I soon remedied that situation.

            This turned out to be the first of three European bike trips, and I wouldn’t trade that first great trip for anything in the world. I had a fantastic time, learned a lot about biking,  the country and its people and had a  marvelous knowledgeable guide.