FINLANDIA

In as much as the Council meeting contained much material and ran late, I will need time to organize my notes for my commentary. Perhaps this will be more interesting than my belated remarks are going to be.


We arrived in Helsinki on the solstice. The hotel we were booked in to was named the “Merri Hoteli”. A small lobby on the ground floor included the registration desk There were two small elevators that accessed the upper floors. The uppermost three floors contained the guest rooms. The inside ones opened on an air shaft. The second floor was devoted to the restaurant which also doubled as a night club.

A small rock ensemble played American type dance music. Much of the repertoire was pre war big band music adapted to the tempo the Finns liked. However, some of their arrangements were completely unique. A local favorite was very jazzy “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. Some religious songs, such as Amazing Grace, also became rhythm and blue.

The practice of using the ground floor for commercial space is common in Europe hotel design However this hotel, the newest in Helsinki, apparently was built over a parking garage, since we could always smell exhaust fumes.

The desk clerk had a rack full of picture postcards on the counter for sale. Unfortunately, an Italian tour group arrived while we were there and before the clerk could move they had cleaned out all of the cards.

The square it was on included the house where Lenin had stayed during his Finnish exile. There also was a small harbor used by ferries and small fishing boats abutting the square. In the day time a small open air market functioned near the waterfront.(above)Where Lenin stayed in exile
(below)The smaller Harbor

“Mid-summer’s day” is a residual pagan holiday in Finland. The Finn’s were heavy drinkers and all night long noise of bottles breaking in the street made that night sound like “Kristal Nacht”. We also were unknowingly fortunate to dine at one of the greatest restaurants in Europe. After a harrowing taxi drive that would have put all New York taxis to shame, we arrived at the restaurant which was on a wooded peninsula. After dinner, we discovered that there was a trolley line outside and took it directly back to the hotel.

It was possible to travel to most of the city by trolley. Finland and Helsinki was a center of avant guard Jewelry design, as well as furniture, dinner and glassware. Helen purchased a free swinging gold pennant with large amethysts stone that 40 years later was still an eye catcher. Karelian lake

Finland is a country of lakes. There are as many motor boats as cars in the country. I had read about the steamboat trips on the Karelian Lakes. The Russian had invaded and occupied this area northwest of Leningrad in the 30s. The Finns had made a gallant defense but ultimately had to cede that area to Russia. When the Germans invaded Russia, Finland became Nazi allies.

After staying several days in Helsinki, we flew to Lappeenranta on the Russian border. This city had lumber processing plants and it was a port on one of the three spoke like interconnecting lakes. It was also the terminus of a small ship canal to the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg (Leningrad). There was a fleet of small ships that made a three day trip through all the lakes.

Although of poor quality, one can see the foliage decorations

Early every afternoon the three boats docked within minutes of each other at a common port near the junction of the lakes. The ships were a little bigger than a New York City Circle Line Boat. The boats were decorated for the holiday with leafy tree branches tied to all the railings. These are visable in the photo. There were very small cabins with bunk berths for those who were on a multiple day cruise. Meals were served family style below deck in a small dining room.

Our trip was to be for only the one day. We ate about noon. At our table there was a fortyish year old lawyer who “was traveling for his health” with his “nurse”. Like all the Finns, he had fallen in love with Kennedy. When I said that as a Republican I had voted for Nixon he was ready to kill me.

The Finns were very friendly. They all drank too much. Helen had a conversation with one who could speak little English but insisted on telling her that he had been in the SS in the war. She told him that I was a parachutist, which shut him up.

Shortly after 1pm, we docked and were escorted to the boat for the rest of our trip. About 3pm, our ship docked at a campsite. To our astonishment, all the, passengers and crew, including the captain, dashed madly off the ship carrying a towel. We were informed that the campsite had a great sauna. The "Sauna Rock" is below.Every time they docked there the crews took advantage of the opportunity to get clean. Arriving at Mikkeli after dark, we were escorted to the hotel. There was a small lobby and the few hotel rooms were on the floor above a store. In the bathroom of our “bridal suite” there was a giant size bathtub on a platform. I had arranged for a cab to take us in the morning to the RR station for the train back to Helsinki. When we got into the cab, the driver made a left turn at the corner, a left at the next corner and stopped midway down the block. Because we had arrived after dark we were unaware that the station was just across a small park and we could have walked.


Computers being what they are this was scheduled to be posted Tuesday AM. If it is on line Monday night it may be that my meeting report was anticipated.