Day #174 - Helsinki, Finland to St. Petersburg, Russia

My hotel - Hotel Moscow - is that really what this says?

I think this is a bar

Hopefully the time is right - that's the way I'll know my train

This is what I was reading at the Metro Station

My dinner spot

Saturday, September 4th

Happy Birthday to my mom today! Thanks for being great and I hope you're having a fantastic day!

Russia - I'm in St. Petersburg, Russia! Many of you may be wondering why this guy has such a fascination with Russia. Why would he go through such an involved VISA process and spend so much time and energy to get there. Well, a few reasons. When I was really young, Russia was always in the news: the Cold War, Reagan/Gorbachev, Communism, the Soviet Union, Nuclear war, the Red Army, the KGB, the Kremlin. Then there was the call for the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic games in Moscow by President Jimmy Carter and the subsequent greatest sporting event ever - the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid, NY.

Russia has always been intriguing to me. I'm reading this book right now - "Russia - A Journey to the Heart of a Land and its People". A quote from the book by Winston Churchill states: Russia is 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma". I'm not positive what this means, but I think it's saying that Russia is an unknown entity.

Another reason I'm here - I like to face my fears in a calculated sense. I had a fear of public speaking - so I went into sales and presented on a daily basis. I had a fear of driving on the ice and snow - so I moved to Minneapolis and drove 50,000 miles/year in the states of Minnesota and North Dakota. I've always felt apprehension when it comes to Russia - so I'm here by myself to tour the country.

Also, understanding Russia greatly affects my comprehension of many of the remaining countries I'll be touring. Several countries were Soviet satellite states in the Cold War era: East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslavakia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia. Other annexed countries as Soviet Socialist Republics included: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova.

Europe is fascinating because it seems like countries are changing names and dividing territories all the time due to war and the affects it has brought. I was searching the other day for a list of 'the Countries in Europe'. Well, there is not an agreed upon number. For example, some people don't recognize Kosovo as a country - others do. The whole area formerly known as Yugoslavia will be a discovery journey all by itself (that will be in a month or so).

Ok - let me talk about today. I had a wake-up call at 5:30am. I walked down to the bus stop and caught the 6:14 into central Helsinki. I took the 7:23am train to St. Petersburg - arriving at 2:15pm. Russia is 1 hour ahead of Finland - so the train ride was about 6 hours. (I'm currently 9 hours from the US central time zone - the furthest away I've been so far on my journey).

I've only been to 1 country that required a VISA for entry thus far on my trip (Turkey). I was able to purchase this in the airport when I arrived. I didn't know what to expect today on the train. Once we got on - they handed us this form and told us to fill it out before we cross the border. About 3 hours into the trip, we came to a stop. Next thing I know, there were 10+ guards with guns walking down the aisles. We had to give them our passports. They took them in a bundle and walked away (what was this for?). About 15-30 minutes later, they came back and handed out the passports that had been stamped. I didn't get questioned, so I guess everything was OK. This process was a bit intimadating. At one point, some lady came by (she looked official) and said something to me in Russian. I had no clue. She moved on. Later I found out she was inquiring if I had anything to claim in Customs (good thing I didn't have anything).

On arrival at the St. Petersburg station, I might as well put a muzzle on as communication via words was not going to happen. I looked up - all these signs with the Cryllic alphabet. I had to smile. I am very glad I had my mind prepared for the worst. It was 2:15pm. I had 9 hours until darkness set in - let's see if I can find my hotel.

First thing I needed to do was get some money. They had these machines around that looked like ATMs, but there were too many of them to actually be ATMs. I stood back and watched people. I finally saw somebody going to a machine and getting money - Bingo. I put my card in and they had a button for English - very nice. Then, it gives me these figures in rubles. Options are like 100, 300, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000. I was clueless on the exchange factor - what should I do? Get the one in the middle. When in doubt, go for the neutral option. I hit the 1000 rubles line - out came a single 1000 bill. Great - is anybody going to cash this thing. Am I holding a $300 bill? It's safe to say I should have known the conversion before I hit land - but I had ways to figure it out.

I went over and bought a soda - a Pepsi. A Pepsi is a Pepsi in most all countries - that's what you call it since it's a trade name. I couldn't point because there were too many things - the lady was able to understand Pepsi. I gave her my 1000 ruble bill and she gave me 960 rubles in change. OK - my soda cost 40 rubles. Let's say it coast $2 - that means we have a 20 to 1 ration. I can work with this. (For clarification, the actual ratio is 1000 ruble equals $33 -- so I was close on my assumption)

I had a map of where my hotel was located, but I didn't know exactly where this train station was in relation to my hotel. I needed a map with the "You are here sign". That wasn't going to happen. No maps anywhere. I went up to a couple people and tried English - they looked up for a second, when I opened my mouth - they looked down and completely ignored me like I wasn't even there. I think one lady even cussed me out in Russian - probably saying something like: You 'blank-blank' American, you take your "blank" English-speaking "blank" and get out of my face.

Ok - I thought I'd give it a try by hitting the streets to see if I could pull off the "Go where everyone is going trick". This wasn't working. I knew my hotel was on the main drag - but as I kept walking, I felt like I was in some shaky territory. Abort the mission. I stopped before going too far from the station. I needed a better map. I went up to another booth. I had a map in my hand - pointed at it. I happened upon a really nice lady. She was desparately trying to help me in Russian. I started laughing and so did she. I was having alot of fun with this. She sounded like a screeching cat yelling out Russian in desparation. I actually got the clue what she was saying. She wanted me to go to the Metro station. I knew this coming off the train - I had the exact Metro stop I needed - but the entire subway system was symbols - with none of them being the name of my station.

I thought I'd give it another try. I had walked up to a different Metro station. A big break. This station actually had the name of the stop I had written down from the internet. I sat there for about 10 minutes looking at this map. I figured out that I needed to take the red line 2 stops and then the green line 1 stop. But what direction? I wrote down all the symbols for the last stop - I'd neeed this. Then, I purchased a token from the booth and took the escalator deep, deep into the earth. I had read about the Moscow underground - I didn't know St. Petersburg had this as well. I took a 2 minute, 30 second escaltor (I timed it and took pictures) straight down. I was hearing the song by Ozzy Osbourne - "The road to nowhere leads to me". At least there were other people going in the same direction - or there was no way I'd be going down.

I read the Cryllic symbols to get to my train. 2 stops - I jumped off. Then, more symobl reading. I had to go up an escalator to get to the green line. 1 stop - I jumped off. I then took the 2-1/2 minute escaltor up to the street level. When I got out - I saw my hotel. Excellent! Luckily I had studied the picture of the place - because by no means could I have deciphered the name. I went in - presenting my documents - and got to the room.

I passed out on the bed - a feeling of accomplishment and relief overwhelming me. It was about 4:30pm - not shabby. I power-napped for about 45 minutes and went down to head out again. I was now mobile (no bags) and I had a place to stay -- the world was at my disposal at this point. After about 1/2 mile walking - it started downpouring. It was closing in on 6pm. I decided to head back and live to fight another day.

I needed food. I challenged myself enough today. There was a McDonalds right by the hotel. I went in to order food. I'm standing there: "How am I going to order". I noticed that there were 6 value meals on the board. I got out a piece of paper, drew a little grid, and placed an x in the lower right quadrant. When I got to the cashier, I showed her the picture -- just like clockwork. She walked up to the screen and pointed at the double cheeseburger - that's the one. I've decided that I should travel with a laser pointer. I did this with my former job in medical sales. It was a critical piece. If you were in surgery and needed to describe to the doctor how to use an instrument or piece of equipment, you could point to the item with the laser pointer. (It worked alot better than saying - "That button right there - push that"). So, my items to add to a travel list - laser pointer and pen - they can get you out of a jam.

Today was alot of fun. Tomorrow I'll settle in to see the city.

Day #173 - Helsinki, Finland

A rainy day in Helsinki

Home of the 1952 Summer Olympics

Olympic Stadium - hard to get a good picture

One of the statues on my way to the Olympic Village

Busy streets - filled with trams and buses

Friday, September 3rd

My last day in the Nordic countries. It's been really good. I think the 1 thing that has made the biggest impression upon me is how fluently people speak the English language here. I would say these 5 countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland) speak more clearly with a better grasp of the English language than any other country in Europe (I'll even throw in the UK and Ireland when it comes to clarity in understanding the spoken language).

I went back into Helsinki to see a few more things mid morning. Today was an ugly weather day for touring around. Low 40's (F), rainy, and windy. I didn't have shorts on today. I still haven't gotten over my tortuous wind experience from the final 2 hours of the Reykjavik Marathon - today brought back those memories.

For the most part, I hopped in and out of buildings while exploring today. I did take a couple hour round trip walk to see the Olympic site. The 1952 Summer Olympics were held in Helsinki. This was the one and only time the Olympics were ever held in Finland. It's been held twice in Norway (Winter -- Lillehammer-1994, Oslo-1952) and once in Sweden (Summer - Stockholm-1912). The big Olympic stadium was pretty well camoflauged. If I hadn't looked at a map, I wouldn't have been able to tell this was even a stadium. There were a number of other athletic fields around the area. I watched a few of the soccer teams practicing.

Even though I may not have seen as much of Finland as I would have hoped (I didn't even do any day trips), I did get to see and experience the culture. A couple things from my book - a famous opera festival is held in the town of Savonlinna each year. This city is located 200 miles northeast of Helsinki. Also, a famous composer named Jean Sibelius is honored in a town called Jarvenpaa - located about 25 miles from Helsinki. His former house called Ainola is the current-day tourist site.

It's about 9pm right now. I leave for Russia tomorrow at 7:30am via train. I've never been so prepared for a country. I printed out all my hotel reservations today, along with maps. I haven't done this since the first week of my trip. I also have all my transportation legs (both train and bus) booked with tickets in my possession. I will also have my 'Point To" book in a convenient location. This was given to me by my sister before the trip. It is a pocket-size book that has pictures of just about anything. If you can't communicate with words - just find the picture of what you need - and point to it.

I don't know if I'll be able to talk or even read to get me where I need to go the next few days. But, that's where the last 5-1/2 months come into play. I'll need to pull from my knowledge base and let my instincts show me the way home. I'm ready for the challenge - come along with me.

Day #172 - Helsinki, Finland

Late night in Helsinki

Hotel Kamp

Sunset over Helsinki

My dinner of Creme Salmon Soup

Overlooking the central train station while waiting for my bus

Thursday, September 2nd

Well, the draft was good - ended at 5:30am my time. There were 16 rounds and it's a 14 team league. The last couple rounds took forever. I was nearly passed out. People were taking a couple minutes to choose their backup defense or kicker. I wanted to scream out on the microphone - "Just pick anybody - it does not matter".

I went to bed with the sun coming up shining through my windows. I put the "Do not disturb sign" on the door and was out - until 2pm that is. Solid - by any measure. I think my last 7 years in Minnesota helped me prepare for this trip. Often times, I would have very late nights and very early mornings. Therefore, I've learned to sleep whenever I could - no matter what time of day this may be.

I headed into downtown Helsinki again today. I wanted to check out a couple places in my book. Hotel Kamp is an exclusive hotel that sits in the very heart of the city. This hotel opened in 1887 and it serves as Helsinki's central meeting place for aristocrats, politicians, journalists, artists, and celebrities. The hotel was once marked for demolition but then went through a full-fledge restoration.

I went a street over to one of the fanciest restaurants in town - The Savoy. This restaurant began in 1937 and was a favoritie eating spot of one of Finlands national heroes - Carl Gustav Mannerheim ("Marski"). He is considered the architect of Finland's independence and the president of the first republic.

It was about 4pm and I hadn't eaten yet. I went into this cafe that was obviously pretty popular by the number of people there and the line to get served. I ordered a creme-based salmon soup (served with some bread), a cup of green tea, and topped it off with a blueberry danish. I took a picture of this beauty - the soup was outstanding with big chunks of fresh salmon. I had brought my book along. I had about 100 pages left - so I sat in the cafe and finished reading. I'm just thinking today how special this time is for me right now. I would NEVER have had a day like today in my former life. Sitting in a cafe for hours reading a book - really? It's about learning to appreciate the smaller things. I even bought a new book in the train station before coming home - 'the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo'. A tip of the cap to the Marklund family in Sweden that I stayed with. This was their recommendation. They had told me this was the big hit currently read all over Sweden (I've been searching for an English copy - today I found it).

I feel like I'm not accomplishing very much in Finland. I would really like to go north to see the sites (as I would have in Sweden and Norway), but it takes alot of time and the cruises or site-seeing tours are crazy expensive. A 13-day excursion to the North Pole - $15,000. I think of the Nordic countries like I think of Canada, going north will yield many incredible natural sites - but the bulk of the population and the actvity is right next to the border (in Canada) or central Europe (when referring to Nordic countries).

The temperature right now in Helsinki is 11 degrees Celsius (about 50 F). Helsinki is just about the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska. Looking at some websites, their temperatures appear to be fairly consistent throughout the year. I just looked at the average temperatures in Anchorage and compared it to Minneapolis. Minneapolis gets colder in the winter but hotter in the summer. Anchorage, as well as the other major Nordic cities, don't get overly cold or overly hot.

I find this stuff really interesting. I remember talking to a nurse when I first moved to Minnesota (she had recently moved from Anchorage). I said: "It must be really cold in Anchorage". She stated: "Not nearly as cold as it gets here". I always thought Alaska was a frozen land, just like I thought about the Nordic countries. Truth is, Minneapolis gets colder than Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen or Anchorage on average. When I was walking around today and seeing everyone bundled up (and I had shorts on) - I was a little surprised. I'm not so sure these people could hang in northern MN on a brisk, January morning. My blood is still thickened - it's amazing how your body adapts to meet the conditions.

I just happened onto this website - worldatlas.com. Hit "The Lists" in the middle of the page -- this is unbelievable information. It's a quick summary of everything. One thing this trip has taught me is that the world is a big place. It's helped me open my eyes to other areas and other people. There are over 6 billion people on this planet - only 300-350 million are in the US.

Here's to seeing more of this world tomorrow.

Day #171 - Helsinki, Finland

Uspensky Cathedral

One of the busy streets

There were having a wood-chopping show

The cruise ship I took from Stockholm

Wednesday, September 1st

Today starts my favorite time of the year - September through December. So many things I like about it. The weather is cooling down. You can wear sweatshirts/fleeces and run outside at perfect temperatures. Football season starts - college ball on Saturdays and pro on Sundays. Hunting season - how good is it to sit in the woods on a 50 deg day as the leaves are changing colors. The Holidays - Halloween, Thansgiving, Christmas, and New Years. And most importantly of all, you get a chance to complete the goals you have set for yourself. Every year, I wipe the slate clean on New Years (I really like New Years) and set personal goals for the following year. It's a sense of hope. These are never stated to anyone - it's just something I do.

Today was a time for exploring a new city (Helsinki, Finland), but also a time to get a few things done along the way. I started out getting my haircut mid-morning. I normally get the sides and back cut with a blade (typically a 2 or 3). I asked them to give me the #3. They said: "Sir, we have a 1, 4, 6, and 13. I said: "Please use the scissors instead". All good - I'm halfway presentable.

Next, I headed to Helsinki from my airport location. I did the walk-about to start the day. I was completely astonished at first. The city was large and very busy. I expected the city to be more like an Oslo or Copenhagen - but it was more like Stockholm in my eyes. Also, for some reason, I told you the wrong population of Finland a couple days ago. It's not 3.5 million, it's 5.3 million (what does that mean when you transpose numbers like that - I'm holding on too tight - I'm losing the edge). I had the correct totals in my blog written when I first got to the Nordic countries - but this 3.5 number was stuck in my head. Actually, Finland has more people than Norway. It goes Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and then Iceland.

I went to the main rail station to check on tickets to Russia. What a load off my shoulders. I was able to purchase my tickets to St. Petersburg from Helsinki as well as my trips to/from St. Petersburg to Moscow. My cousin who lived in eastern Europe for 2 years has indicated to me that Russia can be a tough place to find an English-speaker. The lady at the counter today completely concurred with that. She's like: "Yeah - I think it's a good idea to get your tickets and lodging straight before you enter Russia". She commented how she was in St. Petersburg last year and was completely surprised by the lack of English and the strange symbols used for signs. I asked: "Do you think I'll be all right?" She just laughed and then said: "You can do it". Really, what she was thinking was: "This guy might as well be holding the American flag - he couldn't be more American. He'll either sink or swim".

I next went to the bus terminal and bought my return tickets from St. Petersburg to Warsaw, Poland. I'll be taking a 2-day bus trip through 5 countries - Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. The tourist agency who helped me with my VISA in London gave me the thumbs up on the route. The lady at the counter concurred. Her friend just did this by bus last year. Nice.

I continued to walk around the city. Today was more of an overview - no real specifics. A couple neats things about Finalnd I was thinking about today: One - it's the home of Santa Claus. Absolutely. The Finnish town of Rovaniemi is where Santa's village is located. Equipped with reindeer, Santa's workshop, and his helpers. The post office here receives some 600,000 letters each year from all over the world. Second - a portion of northern Finland is above the Arctic Circle. This is also true for Sweden and Norway as well. The Arctic Circle is represented by the line of latitude right at 66.5 degrees. Anything above this - the Arctic. The North Pole is actually considered part of Norway - at a latitude of 90 degrees.

I then did some shopping for a few family members. September is a big birthday month for me. It's certainly more challenging over hear to get cards out on time and find things that are shippable. I'll do the best I can.

Back to the hotel, a run at sunset, then a dinner in the hotel restaurant. I'm staying up almost all night tonight on purpose. I have a fantasy football draft at 6:30pm St. Louis time. Every year since I got out of college, I have played in a few leagues with my buddies. It's alot of fun. I continue to do this for 2 main reasons: 1) I want to keep in touch with all my friends and past co-workers. I actually play in 3 different leagues - all of which have a different set of friends. 2) It makes football season more fun when you have a little money on the line. This will be the only draft I'm doing myself, as 2 of my good buddies will be helping me out in the others. So, I'm writing this blog at 12:45am. I have about 2 hours before draft time - 2:30am here (I'm currently 8 hours ahead). I need to go get some caffeine to make this happen.

Tomorrow I hope to see more sites in Helsinki - it's just not going to happen real early.

Day #170 - Helsinki, Finland

Tuesday, August 31st



Today was more less a recovery day. I've been travelling pretty hard lately. I needed to not be moving for a little while.



I left the boat around 10am in the main harbor in downtown Helsinki. I walked about a mile to the central train station and got a 45 minute bus out to my hotel (Again using out of city hotels to save some money).



My hotel is nice. It's by the airport and near one of the big malls in town. I arrived and checked in around noon. I took an afternoon nap. I later went for a walk around the area and spent some time at the mall.



First impressions of Finland: everyone speaks great English, very friendly, they use Euro as money (which is a bit odd because all the other Nordic countries use some form of Krone), the downtown is filled with waterways (typical), and the transportation system is great and relatively inexpensive.



I'll learn more tomorrow -- I just needed a day to do nothing.

Day #169 - Oslo, Norway to Helsinki, Finland

Sunset on the Baltic Sea

Sunset on the boat from Stockholm to Helsinki

Looking out before deporting from Stockholm

Casino floor on the cruise ship

Monday, August 30th

Today started about 6am at a hostal 1/2 mile from the Oslo central train station. I got to the station early - ate some breafast and then found my platform. They are still having some issues with the rails, so I had to take a bus for the first 3 hours of the 6 hour journey to Stockholm.

I wasn't really awake yet - so the first 3 hours were mostly sleeping. Once at the connecting rail station, I transferred to the train and proceeded to read for the next 3 hours.

I got into Stockholm around 1:30pm. I had to figure out how to get to Helsinki. I was told that the cruise ship option was the best bet. I had to pay 440 Swedish Krone for the trip - this is roughly $60 (not bad). I walked across from the rail station and got my tickets. I had to take a transfer bus down to the docks. Ship left at 4:30pm - I was on board around 3:45pm. I was up in the cafe having a drink while I wrote my blog from yesterday.

I think I could get into cruise ships. There really is alot to do. I had some dinner at one of the restaraunts - opting against the buffet. I spent some time at the black jack table. It was cheap. 2 euro minimum. Only problem - they had just 1 table. It was fun until I lost everything. (They had some weird rules on ties - they go to the dealer - that doesn't help the cause much. I had a nineteen and the dealer showed nineteen - they took my money. I didn't stick around much after that).

I then went to one of the 2 nightclubs on the boat. Pretty cool. Some good music and alot of dancing (I was a spectator). I took it in and called it a night around midnight. Helsinki is 1 hour ahead of Stockholm.

I was staying in this tiny room with 4 bunks. 2 other guys were there. Both spoke very little English. I can't go into details; however, one of the guys had met a girl on the dancefloor. He had a good night. I was out of the room at 5am - and that's just about all I have to say about that. Pot luck roommates - can be interesting.

On to Helsinki, Finland on Tuesday. Solid. This is my 20th country to date. That total will double before the end of the trip as many of the smaller and lesser known countries will be given a day or 2 at most. What do I know about Finland going in? Very little. I know it has about 3.5 million people, is the most eastern country of the Nordic group, has a wealthy capital of Helsinki, and is geographically close to Russia (just a short train ride to St. Petersburg). Let's find out what else I can uncover.

Day #168 - Lavik to Oslo, Norway

Bergen, Norway - very old section of town

Return trip to Bergen from Lavik

The boat we took for our 2-1/2 hour trip from Lavik to Bergen

The Lavik Fjord Hotel - sitting up on the hill

Sunday, August 29th

I'm coming to you live aboard The Viking cruise ship sitting as a towering force in the Stockholm, Sweden central harbor. We're ready to set sail at any point headed for Helsinki, Finland. This is an overnight cruise and I'll arrive in Finland around 10am local time on Tuesday, August 31st.

I've been writing these blogs from some pretty strange places lately. When I intended to go from Stockholm to Helsinki, I did not realize I would be on a cruise ship. I've been on a bunch of boats - of various sizes thus far on my journey. This is a ship - equipped with the casino, night club, 11 decks, mutiple bars and restaurants, and the ever-present buffet.

I'm currently on the 9th deck in the night club/lounge. I'm enjoying a cool, frosty Beck's beer - while we are pulling out from port right now.

Sunday was a major travel day. When I decided to go to Iceland for the Reykjavik Marathon - it messed up my geographic positioning. I knew that these next couple days would be ballistic. I had to get from the most western portion of the Nordic countries (excluding Iceland) to the most easternly portion. And - I'm not flying.

I took the 2-1/2 hour water shuttle early Sunday from Lavic back to Bergen. I wrote to you on that journey. It was spectacular like my arrival. I could never get old of the scenery in that area. On my arrival into Bergen, I had about 45 minutes to walk across town and catch the 7 hour train across the country to Oslo. I made it just in time.

The train ride was fine - uneventful. Great lakes, trees, mountains. I've started a new book - True Blue by David Baldacci. I can't believe how much I've been reading on this trip. I'm already half way done with this 640-page novel and I just bought it yesterday.

After arriving in Oslo, I had booked a hostal about 1/2 mile from the central train station. I knew when I booked that the area was a bit sketchy. I was only going to be there 1 night (a few hours at that). I wrote to you last night from the bottom bunk. It actually turned out just fine. Not long after I posted, the other 5 people came in the room. They were quiet, respectful - it was all good. I'm the one that probably made the most noise as I had my watch set for 6am to catch my 7:30am transfer to Stockholm.

Sunday was a crazy travel day - Monday would be another.