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Touring Helsinki

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Tour leader Maria  We took a free walking tour of Helsinki today. We would recommend them in any city you visit. They give a historical background to the buildings and an understanding of the social aspects and culture of the place you are visiting. The participants in the tour are also interesting. Maria spoke about the nature of the Finnish people. Restrained, quiet and non-emotive are some of the qualities she mentioned, reflected in the statues to the right. The woman on the left is shading her eyes from the sun which, of course, does not make much of an appearance here at the 60th parallel. Sweden conquered this area and forced their language on the people. (Who knew Sweden had such an imperial nature?). The Finns are not Scandinavian. Their language is related to that used in Hungary and Estonia.The street signs are all written two ways, Finnish (on top) and Swedish (below). Some signs also have an animal which hearkens back to a time when people were illiterate and cou
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Finnish Flower Power

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One thing I was disappointed about in Russia were the public floral displays. In Moscow they had tried to spruce things up for the World Cup. We ran across the occasional bed of marigolds planted in military formation but then someone had forgotten to follow up with watering so the poor things would be dead. Here in Helsinki is the exact opposite.  There is a large botanical garden in the centre of town and the flowers in public squares and outside shops are outstanding.
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Our last Day in Russia

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 Samara is known for its riverside beach and embankment walk. We visited at probably the busiest time, a summer Sunday, when all the locals come for some relaxation and recreation. There are an incredible number of activities taking place. We have been impressed by the importance that is placed on children and families. At the beach there is access over the sand to the water for wheelchairs and strollers. There are always inviting playgrounds. AND their education is free all through school and university. Souvenir kiosk Children's beach Samara is also the location where they built Stalin a bunker in case Moscow fell to the Nazis in WWII. He never had to use it. Russia had the highest number of casualties and deaths of any nation. This square was a commemoration to the Russians of that time.
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Our last game

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We flew south from St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea to Samara on the Volga River (which eventually empties into the Caspian Sea). We are quite close to the border with Kazakhstan. It has been sunny and quite warm (about 28 degrees) although today there was a thunder and lightening storm after we returned to the hotel. Samara was for years a "closed" city because of the defense industries and space race. Vostok rockets were built and launched in Samara and Yuri Gagarin did his first flights here. Samara was opened up about 30 years ago, at the end of the soviet era.We thought it might be interesting to see from that point of view and there was a quarter final game scheduled here too. Samara in Russian spelling is Camapa Hotel Moya Hotels on the Russian leg of the trip have been all quite different although the staff have been friendly and helpful everywhere. We started at  the Moscow Holiday Inn Express which was new and modern, with little unnecessary decor
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Friendly Russians

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On day 7 we were taken to see a typical wooden house by our guide Ireni. It was the home of Lobanov and Anatolyi Mikhailovich. He had been born in this village and made the house by hand, many years ago. He is retired now and she is a preschool teacher.They like receiving people from all over the world and do not receive any payment for their hospitality.  We had a tour of the garden and a lovely tea. The house does not have any running water. They have to go into the village for water, other than what they collect off their roof. They do have electricity and a t.v. and Anatolyi was very well versed in the 1972 summit series between Canada and Russia. Front gate Back garden Anatoli and Lobanov at their front door Laurie checked out the cellar   
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