retired from what?

As the local woman said, "We can't do this in February and there are many samba schools."  Yes friends, it Carnival time in Helsinki, despite the rain, wind and temps in the 50s, but the Finns aren't about to let weather get in the way of their fun. And the obvious theme for this year is The Olympics. I am pleased to report that the crowds were there as well. There's a saying in Finland - there is no bad weather, just bad clothing. 

Finland was a land of peasants and fishermen ruled by Sweden for most of its written history till it became a Russian possession the 19h century. Finnish wasn't even a written language until the 1500s because Swedish was the official language. It's always been interesting to me that nations that were once possessions of Catholic countries have fared worse to this day than those whose exploiters were Protestant. Sociologists have long attributed this to the Protestant Work Ethic, but that didn't seem enough of an answer and yes, Catholicism is very hierarchical and authoritarian and sure, there's the whole issue of birth control but something else I hadn't considered till this trip was right before my nose.  When the Nordic people went Protestant, they did so completely and rulers required compliance. One of the main tenets was that people should not rely on priests to tell them God's word, but should study it themselves. Not just should study, but MUST. But read...

There are 789 islands within the borders of Finland and 187,888 lakes.  Plus, it's got 1250 km of coastline.  The Helsinki archipelago has 330 islands.  Here are a few photos.  That building is a new public sauna, which recently got a write up in the NYT.  Icebreaker a at rest Military, cruise and sailing ship Ready to set sail

Today we went to Soumenlinna, an island just 2 km from the dock at Market Square in Helsinki and a Unesco World Heritage site.  It was begun as a Swedish fort in 1748, spent time as a Russian fortification and has been Finnish since independence in 1918. It's filled with lovely old building, amazing walls and now, some 500 folks actually live there, though it can only be reached by ferry. Also, cafes, restaurants and conference facilities and something that, given the people laying about on the lawn, Mark immediately referred to as the Bob Marley Hostel. These walls are about 30 feet tall. This was where gunpowder was stored. The weather was wonderful and we walked the length of the island. We boarded the boat to return and just as we pulled away, I realized that my jacket was no longer with me. I asked the young woman who worked on the boat what she thought I should do. She called the main number of the island, asked about a lost and found and gave me the number. She then suggeste...

Who knew there were half a dozen types of strawberries from which to choose, each with subtle differences. I pointed to a basket, handed over my €s and was not disappointed! They exploded with flavor. It's strawberry season in Finland and here at the market, which is outdoors every day with produce, crafts and hot food to eat, here by the docks where the boats ferry you to some of Finland's many islands or Stockholm, we ended up with a Sunday morning brunch of smelt, an actual mess of smelt, as that the the collective noun used for smelt.  I was seated in an orange tent. Me with sister Sandi and her husband, Richard, who arrived half a day before us but alas! Sandi's luggage did not arrive with her. Note my flying jacket - it is windy and in the 50s.  Helsinki Cathedral Lutheran. Eighty percent of Finns say they are Lutheran,  but few are regular church goers. The second most popular religion is Eastern Orthodox, at 1%. It was a rather spartan interior, especially compare...

So as we leave Denmark, here are random reflections... 1. Not many non-Anglos. The place feels clean and prosperous, which doesn't mean that they don't have gypsy beggars and bus stop hanging winos. And skater punks!  2. Perhaps our cab driver wasn't comfortablely fluent in English, but everyone else was, right down to colloquialisms. When I ordered the cab, I asked for a price estimate and the woman said "Worse case scenario..."  3. I found the museums lacking, but then I'm sort of a museum snob.  4. There some serious tanning going on. Saw so many golden brown Danes, and while some may have been from the parlor, I think it's just a northern tendency to worship the sun when you have it and dress like it's really hot out when it's about 62 degrees. Sitting outside to have a drink, even in 25mph winds on a chilly day, is A-OK as long as there is sun.  This place was in the Brooklyn of Copenhagen, but there are similarly crowded places all over town....

The great thing about Europe- you can go to another country with little planning. As a matter of fact, no one checkd our ID as we entered Sweden and no one checked to see if we really had train tickets either. Crazy!  We had not intended to visit Sweden on this trip, but when we discovered it was just a short train ride from Copenhagen, it was why not? So off to Malmö we went.  It was graduation time in sunny Malmö and groups of students, girls dressed in white, boys in dark blazers, all wearing captain's hats, stroll the street singing, blowing whistles and making a ruckus. And why not? But I noted that the students in hijab were in their own group, though still in tight white, but no skin showing, outfits. In fact, I saw far more women in hijab these few hours in Sweden than in 4 days in Denmark.  Also, in Copenhagen, unlike other European cities, no churches are touted as tourist attractions. Below is St. Peter's in Malmö.  Other cathedrals we visit are below. We ...