I don’t know why Finland has always referred. Its location between Russia, a threatening communist country to the east, and the very liberal Scandinavian presence to the west was fascinating. Both sides have claimed their territories – Sweden for 700 years from 1150–1809 and Russia from 1809–1917. Even as an independent country, Finland saw itself as a mediator between East and West – example: the Helsinki Agreement in 1975, which helped end the Cold War. War by strengthening countries’ borders and their inviolability. But I wanted to know more about its people, about themselves, a mixture of East and West.
The joke from our Helsinki guide is that Finns didn’t need Covid for social distancing. They come naturally. A person’s privacy is respected. However, our county judge Bill Harris, who lived in Finland in 1980-81, described them as quiet at first, but quite friendly and generous when you get to know them, and even called them “friendly Germans”. They are modest, do not talk about salaries and are not showy in their dress. Even in the center of Helsinki, their largest city, the streets were quiet. Three on the road is considered a traffic jam. Because of the harsh winters, most of their parking is underground, and the facilities can also serve as air raid shelters. Helsinki is known as a facade city, whose buildings are beautifully maintained on the outside and modest on the inside.
On our morning, Senate Square had very few people walking through, even though it is considered their main historical center, with the largest Lutheran church on one side and government buildings surrounding it. Our guide often sees the country’s young female prime minister, Sanna Morin, walking in the square without bodyguards. She had caused a bit of a stir recently by throwing a birthday party at the official Prime Minister’s residence that included late-night dancing and drinking. Most Finns thought he earned his privacy at the party with a few grunts about how “it looked”. I was hoping our presidential grunt would be about something so small.
Finns are proud of their flag and wave it on several occasions – in some official and customary occasions – for example on Mother’s Day, Poets’ Day, Finnish Literature Day and the birthday of Finnish music on the birthday of its most famous composer, Jean Sibelius. wrote “Finlandia”, a nationalist symphony to support their struggle for independence from Russia. We saw flagpoles in most homes waiting for the next holiday.
Babies have a strong early years when new parents are given a roughly $400 “baby box,” which includes a mattress that fits in the box for an early crib and baby essentials such as diapers, bodysuits and bath products. The parent can stay at home in the first year with a 70% salary guarantee. Higher education is also paid for. In a park near our hotel, a group of new college students dressed in bright clothes with patches that spoke of their various activities at the university. They celebrated the beginning of the school year and shared their excitement with us.
Due to the harsh winters, Finns have adopted the sauna. They can be found everywhere – homes, hotels, public saunas, and even one of the cars of the famous Ferris wheel has tinted windows to provide privacy inside the sauna.
The most impressive building we saw in Helsinki was the new Oodi library, which calls itself “the living room of its people” and reflected the communal need of Finns to share resources. Painted on the circular staircase are the groups the library serves—including the poor, the alien, the spiritually enlightened, the orphaned, the depressed, the dreamers, the stargazers, and even the chicks—that is, everyone. On the third floor we had a lovely cappuccino at the cafe bar while watching a group of young mothers and their young children chatting and playing in a circle. Baby carriages filled the surrounding area.
Downstairs was bustling with young people using the free video arcade, computers, printers (including 3D printers) and sewing machines. Musical instruments and hand tools could be inspected. Six to seven thousand patrons use the library daily, including some who dine in its restaurant.
The discussion about the war in Ukraine was inevitable. Many cruise ships had canceled their trips because Finland is so close to Russia, which hurt their tourism industry. Wealthy Russians had come to Finland by land to fly to other parts of the European Union. Since five percent of the population still speaks Russian, there was some support for Russia. But the country itself decided to support Ukraine and had broken with their years of “partying with the West” by asking for NATO membership. They understand that what they are doing is “poking the bear”, but are willing to take that risk, and for that they are to be admired.
Mary Walker Clark is an award-winning travel writer. His book “Landing in My Present”, about the untimely loss of his flying father, tells of his journey to retrace his World War II footsteps in India and China. Her stories are featured in Paris News and can be found on her blog, Mary Clark, Traveler, and on their podcasts on NPR, KETR, 88.9. He is a member of the North American Travel Journalist Association. Clark lives in Paris, Texas and can be reached at [email protected].