Snippets from Helsinki

Our travel companions tell us the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki had many forms of entertainment, duty-free shopping, etc. but we were so exhausted we stayed in our cabin and slept the whole ride.  No casinos, no karaoke, no shopping, no drinking binges...

The flu bug we caught on the flight over to Berlin is gaining the upper hand.

Finland is the most technologically advanced country in Europe as well as the northern most outpost of the European Union. NOKIA, the mobile phone giant, calls Finland home. We have been impressed with the fast internet service everywhere.

Entering the Helsinki harbor was a bit unnerving. Looking out the water smeared port hole, huge boulders are close enough to reach out and touch, or so it seems. Has to be a steep deep channel.

 Helsinki, with a population of only 600,000 is a small big city. Being coastal at the northern end of the Baltic Sea, it's windy and cool most of the time. Unless you're sitting under a direct sun. then it warms up a bit. Otherwise, dress warm and turn your watch ahead one hour, time zone change.

Love to see these electric non-polluting trams in the cities. 

Though the overhead wires are slicing through every photo I try to take 

of the green domed Lutheran Cathedral in the background.

The Finns too love their bicycles. Young lady smartly dressed for work and cool weather.

Eila Hiltunen, a Finnish sculptress, was commissioned to create a piece entitled " Love of Music" 

 to honor Finland's great composer, Jean Sibelius.  

The challenge was to create a visual presence of what music sounds like.

In a city park, stands her interpretation for that challenge.  

A tight forest of six hundred stainless steel pipes floating over a huge rock

 amongst a forest of evergreen trees. It makes no sound. 

It's music for the eyes. 

Music critics were so opinionated, the sculptress was obligated to add a bust of Sibelius 

nearby so everyone would know what it was about.

Lesson learned: sculptors aren't musicians and musicians aren't sculptors. 

There are many big and even bigger rocks under and above ground in Helsinki. In the middle of downtown, was a particularly large granite boulder that until 1969 they could not decide what to do with it. Two architect brothers developed a plan to blast a hole in the center of the boulder to create Temppeliaukio Church, also known as Church in the Rock. Now a favorite tourist attraction. 

The modern main entrance was boring but I thought this service entrance had an interesting character with eight different textural elements. 

 Berry season is in full bloom in Finland. Market Square on the waterfront in front of the Presidential Palace was open today for a farmer's market.  The fresh ripe fruit was looking so delicious, just couldn't figure out how to stuff red and black berries in the pockets of my white shirt without permanent stains. Only buy what you can carry in your hands.

As in all countries surrounding the Baltic Sea, seafood is a main staple, and inexpensive too. 

The hot salmon soup with homemade bread was tasty. One has their choice of sitting in the sun soaking up rays or in the cool shade out of the wind. 

Tonight this food stand will be torn down and re-erected again tomorrow, in order to comply with the "No permanent structures" ordinance. 

Unless they are enjoying shots of Blueberry Vodka as did Amparo and Anna our Russian guide,  

we saw few Finnish smiles..

Wandering a small island near downtown, spied a country lane leading to a farmer's simple produce stand and home. Interesting how he built his fence.

On a back water lagoon, a solitary Finnish duck keeps a wary eye 

on the stranger with his camera.

Russian food is big in Finland, where they take great pride in preparing the most authentic traditional Russian meals. Of course, the meal would not be complete without Russian tea. 

A traditional Russian samovar is used for heating the water. 

but only after having a large portion of borsch (or borsht) with dollops of smetana (sour cream).

Next morning it's back on the road, next stop St Petersburg. 

But first the Russian border for a long wait. Maybe someone will show up and stamp our passports, maybe not. Our group was the first to arrive mid-morning, yet no one was working the other side of the immigration booth.

A typical non-smiling bureaucrat unenthusiastically opens her booth and slowly reviews each person's passport, their visa,  then studies their face.  

Should I smile, frown or clown?  

Better play it straight, we spent 60 days and paid US$350 each for a Russian VISA, 

don't want to screw it up now. 

At last we're in Russia. Now to exchange Euros for Rubles, so I can buy a diet Coke.

CCjon

Snippets from Stockholm

After a short ferry and long bus ride, arrived and checked into the Hilton Slussen in Stockholm.
Swedes can be complicated. The tub/shower in the hotel has FIVE (5) different controls, three near the nozzle and two at the foot of the tub, you have to work in order to get a hot shower, I think.

Finally settled for a lukewarm shower.

The skyline in Stocklholm has many interesting unique features of Scandinavian culture but I am more interested in what is happening at street level. 

Museum displays of ancient wealth of dead aristocrats are boring to me.  I want to see where the old cobbler lived and worked, what kind of oven did the local baker use, where is the tinkers shop and what kinds of tools did the shipwrights use?  So am once again out exploring the old city, 

my favorite world haunt.  

Is now the last week of September, days are cooler, tourist season is over, kids are back in school, no problem finding an open table in the restaurants. 

By 1400, Stockholm had a population of 6000. Looking about Stortorget, Stockholm's oldest public square,  I want to know who lived on the third floor, left window, 100 years ago?  How long has the family occupied this building? Is the lamp a family heirloom? 

Is momo watching us from inside?

Coats are more prevalent now, yet the outdoor cafes are always open. 

Time to roll out the tall propane heaters. 

Amparo admires the old cathedral and its statues.

After 43 years of marriage, tried to get in to collect my Peace Prize.  Amparo claims we have had only one argument in all those years.... and it's still going on.

Alas, they are closed. The door is double locked. 

TWO Closed signs, did they hear I was coming?

 Have to go back to my ornery cantankerous self. 

Playing the old grumpy guy bit can be habit-forming.

What could have been....

now that they give the medals out for what you say and not what you do... 

I'll say...  you can keep your doctor, 

you'll save $2500 a year on healthcare, 

the most transparent government ever, 

nothing wrong at the IRS, 

Benghazi was all about a movie...

What else do you want to hear?  Can I have my medal now?

Back to the real world, wandering cobblestone streets! There's a Saint George slaying the dragon statue. Not sure this has to do with Sweden, but makes for a memorable landmark where two streets intersected.  

So you invite a young lady out on a first date by saying - 

I'll meet you at the dragon slaying after school?

Hmmm, how do kids skateboard on cobblestones?

Skies are grey but the fall colors are rich.

The narrower the street, the older the lane, the more interesting it is to me. For hundreds of years, people have walked these roads, touched these walls, fallen in love, 

raised families, mourned for those lost....

am moved and lost in the timeless history of memories one feels exploring the narrows.

Lonely bicycle chained, silently awaiting its owner.  

Unlike Harley's, bicycles don't mark their territory with oil spots.

A solitary plasterer repairs a stucco wall. 

Wonder how many different tradesmen have worked over that same wall in the last 600 years.

Cooler weather is keeping everyone inside. Noticed that the further north we go, 

the less people smile. Why is it that... the fewer smiles?

They're not unfriendly or hostile, but they're slow to smile. 

People in southern climes are more open, more friendly, smile more, 

more willing to talk to strangers. 

Child care and education is free for all citizens in Sweden. 

Taking the pre-schoolers for an outing, safety first.  

Noticed again the lack of smiles. 

Next up, an overnight ferry/cruise to Helsinki, Finland. Now where did I put those Euros and what can I quickly spend the last few Swedish Kronors on?

CCjon

Snippets from Copenhagen

From Germany we took a ferry out of Rostock to Denmark. Changed our Euros for Danish Kroner.

Our hotel room offered a great view overlooking old town Copenhagen. Of course we took the programmed city tour of palaces, museums, churches, etc.  Copenhagen old town is a compact flat island with more bicycles than automobiles. And more boats than bicycles, or at least it seems that way.

At the Amalienborg Palace, the Guards are young and more relaxed.  They didn't seem worried about anyone trying to break in or the royal family trying to get out. 

The opulent Christianborg Palace was void of much furniture, nice parquet floors though.

Looks like we're too early for lunch at the palace dining hall.

Trying my best to not get heads of other tourists in the picture, 

so just as I snap the photo, the fountain decides to jump in.

Many canals and waterways lined with shops and cafes, divide downtown Copenhagen into neighborhoods. 

How could we possibly go to Copenhagen and not visit the little lady.... 

who watches over the Danes cruising her waterways since 1909.

From the hotel, spotted a church with a spiral walkway around the outside of the steeple in the Christianshavn neighborhood, a different island from Old Town. Saw I could walk across a pedestrian bridge over the old moat for a closer look. 

Wandering the cobblestone streets in Christianshavn, am amazed at all the bicycles. With their mild coastal weather they say they cycle year round.

Arriving at the church, could not bring myself to violate one of my cardinal touring rules, Never pay to go into a church. God can hear me from outside as well as he can from inside.  

Noticed quite a few people walking past the church toward another area, so decided to follow the flow. Arriving at a rather funky post-hippiedom park called Christiania, or the Green Light District. 

In 1971, 700 hippies claimed squatter's rights on an unwanted abandoned military base. This weekend they are celebrating the anniversary of the occupation.  While the buying and selling of drugs is illegal in Denmark, the government has decided to ignore the potheads, idealists, non-materialists, the "Bob Marley" youngsters and "Willie Nelson" oldsters who just want a little puff. To protect their non-aggressive way of life, this self-administered neighborhood outlawed automobiles, hard drugs, firearms, explosives and violence.

The graffiti advertises busting hard drugs and celebrate grass.

The welcome sign in multiple languages, reads

Dear Friends,

There are three rules in the Green Light District.

Have fun.

Don't run, it causes panic.

No photos. Buying / selling hash is still illegal

Sorry, no more photos . You will just have to go experience it for yourself. 

Departing for Sweden by ferry, our final Danish vista is the Kronberg Castle.

Next stop, Sweden, now to find where to change our Danish Koners for Swedish Kronors.

CCjon

Snippets from Germany

This Fall Amparo and I took a three week tour of northern European capitals and Russia.  Experiencing eight countries, eight different languages and five different currencies. Juggling all of that was both fun and a challenge. This and the next few posts will be snippets from that trip. The complete story will be worked into a book for the family. So here we go...

SNIPPETS FROM GERMANY

Coming out of the airport, our first view of Berlin.  Has sort of a Star Wars feel to it. 

Once in the Art'otel, we crashed after being up for the last 23 hours. That evening we went walking...

There is new construction going up everywhere in Berlin. Since almost all of Berlin was destroyed during the War, new construction is either modern steel and glass or made to look like it was built in the 1800's. 

Of course we had to get some local cuisine...

and walk some more... Thought it interesting the doorway to Dunkin Donuts was next to the doorway to McFit on the second floor.  Get your latte and cream-filled jelly donut then walk it off on the treadmill. Both places were busy.

Mama bear hugging her soccer playing son next to headless joggers. 

The next day we bought a three day city bus pass so we could ride anywhere the buses go in city centre.  And then, none of the bus drivers checked to see if we had a pass when we boarded.  Guess they figured two grey haired tourists couldn't be dishonest. 

Seeing Brandenburger Tor was high on our list.

Library tower above and corridor below. See what I mean, new construction made to look old.

Kaiser Wilhelm church tower still stands. One of the few pieces of buildings that remained standing after the bombing of Berlin in 1945. 

Has not been restored or rebuilt. Only supported to keep it from crumbling more.  The church bells were replaced, now marking the hour every day. At noon the bells ring out a melody.

Time for a snack in an outdoor cafe. Strawberry chocolate mousse pie and hot tea while we people watch the world go by.

Even here, when shopping's done, still have texting to do.

A different type of bicycle, for delivering goods to and from stores?  Noticed most here remove the bicycle seat when they chain their bikes for the night.

We decided that English and German are similar in many ways making it easy to read signs and directions. We should probably spend a week or two exploring the rest of Germany in the near future, but for now...

on to Denmark and Copenhagen.

Auf Wiedersehen

CCjon

German Enigma

On a narrow tree lined street in Berlin, sits a sidecar rig parked on the sidewalk. One’s first thought is how nice and clean it is. Not that cheap bright plastic shine, but a hand rubbed pride of ownership sheen. The smooth soft silver bodywork on a bright red frame is a strong hint that the owner has spent many hours with his hands on this beauty.  The second observation is the total absence of any logos, brand markings or labels anywhere on the bike, the engine or on the sidecar.  

The motorcycle has a familiar shape and look yet something is different. The sidecar has a comfortable old school look but… it too is not like others I have seen. Is this an Eastern Europe bike that we rarely see in the States or maybe a recently built Indian knock-off?  Definitely calls for a closer inspection.

Starting with the engine: it’s a single cylinder, air-cooled, four stroke, very clean, no grime, no dripping oil. Appears to be a mid-size 300 to 600cc?  Has a carburetor and a glass in-line fuel filter. That’s unusual. The standard gear shift and drive chain on the left side means it not older than mid-seventies though it looks to be much older. Maybe a retro fit?

 The two disk brakes with solid rotors on the front wheel says mid-seventies or newer yet a small drum brake on the rear wheel declares it's a much older bike. The trailing edge of the front fender has a low wide flare to divert water away from the engine and rider’s feet. Looks like a 1970’s bell-bottom pants leg. The front fender carries a seldom seen small chrome running light top center.  A matching running light is on the sidecar fender. A single round headlamp sits in front of a speedometer marked in kilometers. Handlebars are a chrome low rise with a wide grip. Again standard clutch on the left, front brake on the right. No windshield. No turn signals. Nothing to identify the manufacturer. 

 The seat is a custom bench seat residing above a chrome after market horn. Not unusual for an owner to replace a factory seat with a more comfortable custom. The rear fender is interesting. It’s hinged for ease of removing the rear tire, but the fender mounts are unlike any I have ever seen.  It has a small diameter old school looking taillight that matches the taillight on the sidecar fender. Maybe this rig is older than I thought.

Turning to the sidecar body, the front has that familiar torpedo shape of a Cozy brand sidecar we see in the States but this one is different.  The rear section of the body is tapered like the nose of an Indy racecar with a trunk lid and a small luggage rack. The tube body is mounted at two pivot points to the sidecar frame in front of the passenger seat. The rear of the body is hung with two chrome extension springs.

The fender looks to be a familiar design yet the running light on top and the gap between the fender and the sidecar body hints this is not factory.

 

 The sidecar frame itself is attached at four points to the bike, which appear to be factory mounting hardware, though not like any I have seen.  The three wheels have normal squared off sidecar tires.

  

Still not finding any hints as to brand or country of origin, I look around for someone to ask about who might own this rig. Have many questions to ask to resolve this enigma.

Only now I notice the rig is parked in front of a motorcycle gear shop, LOUIS Fun Company. With any luck the owner will be a customer inside buying something for his beautiful machine. Entering the store I ask the cashier if he knows who owns the sidecar rig out front.  He calls out something in German toward the back of the store.  A tall slender fortyish man with dark hair emerges from behind a stack of helmets. The cashier introduces him as Erik Haid, the sidecar owner.

  

 Fantastic! Erik willing shares his story of how he built this truly one of a kind rig. What good fortune, but it quickly fades once we realize our linguistic skills are not up to discussing things technical. While Erik’s English is a thousand times better than my few German phrases, we are stumbling over too many technical points. Quickly we recruit an interpreter. Thank you, Detlev Louis.

Starting with just the engine, frame and gas tank from a badly wrecked 1980 Yamaha SR500, Erik started an epic journey of building his dream sidecar rig. After removing the useless damaged parts and sections, deciding what was salvageable and what to discard, Erik spent the next seven years rebuilding with whatever parts he could source in his native Berlin from salvage yards, abandoned bikes, scavenger hunts, friend’s parts bins and neighbor’s garages. What he couldn’t find, he fabricated himself. With a limited budget of money and time, Erik applied ingenuity and creativity to meet the challenge. Very few new parts were bought. Most everything was outsourced and recycled.

The original front forks were twisted beyond repair. Searching around town, Erik found a set of forks with twin disk brakes off a Yamaha XS650. Then the headlamp, speedometer, ignition and front fender were scavenged from several different MZ BK350 bikes. Of course the many pieces from all these different manufacturers could never fit together, so Erik cut, hammered, welded and reshaped everything until they did fit. He says there was a lot of trial and error fabrication going on. He would try something, go for a test ride then rework it again until he was happy with the results. Today everything fits together seamlessly as if it came from a factory that way, just not like any other rig you have ever seen.

Erik thinks the sidecar might have been made by Globe in India. When he got a hold it, it too had been in an accident. I thought the front looks familiar but not the tail section. That’s when Erik explained the tail was smashed in so bad he had to build a new rear section of his own design. While he was at it, he added a trunk with a top lid and a chrome luggage rack.  Instead of the Cozy style rubber band mounts for the sidecar rear, Erik decided to use a pair of chrome extension springs.

He says many of the original sidecar mounting brackets and sub frame parts were missing as well as the sidecar fender. Back to scrounging for parts, Erik either outsourced or fabricated whatever he needed in order to move the project forward. He freely admits that not everything worked out on the first attempt. Many variations of parts and ideas were tried, removed, reworked, discarded and another approach tried before arriving at what we see now.

Erik says the most difficult task for him was having to completely rewire the bike and sidecar.  Having no factory wiring schematic to work from, Erik created  his own. In a burst of inspiration, Erik decided to use matching old style small diameter taillights on the bike and sidecar but the crowning touch was to mount on top of the fenders small chrome running light from an early VW Beatle.

Satisfied that everything was working properly as he wanted, Erik totally disassembled the rig, smoothed the welds, added gussets, sanded, polished and painted. Then reassembled the hundreds of parts into a smooth running machine.

Not only was Erik concerned about building a safe and smooth handling rig if his family was to ride in it, he also wanted it to look good.  An elderly German couple stopped to admire the rig while we were talking. They complimented Erik on a fine looking machine.  Looks like Erik has accomplished his goal. This sidewalk enigma is indeed a fine example of good design, hard work, resourcefulness and German ingenuity.

 

 After seven long hard years and countless late night hours, Erik now owns a sidecar rig that anyone in the world would be proud to call their own. 

If you are ever in Berlin, go to Louis Fun Company at GuntzelstraBe 17-18. Erik works there. Tell him you heard about his sidecar  story, his personal enigma.

Reiten am Horizont

CCjon