Scandinavia...from the Heart

7/28/2019 Scandinavia...from the Heart

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Scandinavia 2008It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of

foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, itwas the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything

before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct theother way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that

some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good orfor evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Tuesday, July 15th Stockholm2:48 pm

Camping is always an amazing kaleidoscope of emotional highs an lows.

We were laughing in Lyon; it was the first day and very sunny. The boys

and I joined the children of our host family- the Bobichons - for a dip in their pool. Afterwards, we

clumsily managed to set up the tents for the first time this year and decided to leave them up since

the weather was so balmy. About six the following morning the heavens thundered and the cloudsunleashed, drenching everything not under cover. I ran outside and found the small Bobichon

children in their tent, crying for their mother as lightning flashed all around. My thoughts

immediately went to, is this unanticipated drama a foreshadowing of the four weeks of camping to

come? Fortunately, our kind hosts allowed for all manner of gear and clothing to be hung to dry.

Marilyn even washed and folded our laundry- what would we do without the comforts of home?

The following day we were barely able to load the Peugeot 807 minivan and head for Geneva to

rendezvous with Ta lor, ust finishin final exams at IUG (International Universit in Geneva).


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Tuesday, July 15th Stockholm

8:58 am

Today represents a contrast in extremes: camping vs. apartment life.

With camping, you wake up with that groggy, sore-back, dehydrated

feeling, wondering who beat your body in the night, then realizing you

have the difficult choice of making the five minute walk to the crowded

bathroom or making a public exhibition by peeing on the nearest tree, common for males

throughout Europe. Our group is split here, with the boys wandering offinto the nearest shrubs and

I wrestling with the crowds in order to represent well for the US of A.

Contrast camping with the sumptuous experience of apartment living. Thanks toMalin, a friend

Reese met while studying in Spain, our crew reveled in the most amazing of modern delicacies:

power strips on-demand, cold or hot food at your fingertips, toilet and shower only a few paces away,

table and chairs for gathering, unlimited internet and a luxurious soft couch to rest your weary

backside! This feast for the senses helped me appreciate what I have in terms ofneedsversuswants.

I really only need all the basics that camping provides, but I really want the comforts of civilized

living. My view is that everyone should try living without our wants for a time, if it doesnt kill you,

it makes you a better person! You may encounter a profound sense that loving and being loved

means more than all the toys.

After two hours of playing soccer and a dip in the nearest lake, all were ready to settle in for rest and

conversation with Malin and her three friends, Cecilia (Cissy), andMaria. Each had questions about

the USA and how Swedish culture is experienced for first-time visitors. The observation was made

that Swedes may require more internal fortitude or resolve in order to survive six months of freezing

winter with an average of six hours of daylight. Swedes who love to travel seem to appreciate their

country more than, for example, the young guy we met on the train who feels stuck and mentioned

his hobby was getting drunk with my friends.


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Tuesday, July 15th Stockholm9:39 am

GHOST RIDER

An interesting side-note, our hosts father introduced us to his

Suzuki Hayabusa, a 171 hp mean street machine. In 2001,

Japanese super-bikes became so powerful,

government legislation was enacted to

lower top speeds from 198 mph to 186

mph. I am not sure how this 12 mph

has much of an impact, but bike-tuning

fans responded by supporting their own

anti-hero, the infamous Ghost Rider

from Sweden. He has cashed in on

defying police all over Europe by filming

his 499-hp twin

-turbo Hayabusa, reaching speeds over 200mph on often crowded freeways. We have learned that he is

now retired after a crash broke both wrists and settling in to

the joys of family life with a couple kids and a motorbike part

store in Stockholm.

Thursday, July 17th Stockholm9:53 am

Wonderful people. Where have they been all my life? We

meet for a brief moment, exchange thoughts, hopes, ideas,

personal anecdotes.... and part as intimates, perhaps never toagain meet, lives changed if but by the slightest margin. The

collected, sage and timely comments I have received over the

years seem to propel me through the difficult times where

purposelessness prevails. One guy told me the Swiss do not

expect their businesses to be profitable for TEN years - this

conversation happened when I was ready to give up, after five

years of seemingly fruitless toil. Year eight was my

breakthrough year. Keep dreaming! Selfless ambition fuels

inspiration.

These yearnings, why are they? These thoughts in the darkness,

why are they? Why are there men and women that while they

are nigh me, the sun-light expands my blood? Why, when they

leave me, do my pennants of joy sink flat and lank?

- Walt Whitman

Song of the Open Road (1900)


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Sunday, July 20th Helsinki9:54 pm

Time for reflection. Questions about life and its purposes. Thoughts about

destiny and determination. Each of us has a will to succeed, otherwise we

would cease to live. But what exactly is success and at what price is each

person willing pay to achieve it? How will we know when weve arrived?

Visiting the home of my beloved Finnish host family from 27 years ago. Nothing

has changed here, at least in my heart and mind. I am still 17 going on 18 andBenita still gives me unsolicited motherly advice and chastisement - and I love her

for it. Our conversation - some would say debate - delved into the virtues of hard

work and planning, versus the creative brilliance of freelance spontaneity and fluidity. This is a

classic beer hall discussion, comparing the linear, northern european, teutonic-style thinking(left

brain) with the more fluid and arguably more creative southern european (right brain) thought.

The essence of a person remains the same throughout their life, I am convinced. That essence is

neither all-good, nor all-bad. We remain an amalgamation of many facets and purposes, some

understandably selfish and some perhaps more nobly selfless. Willfulness is another discussion!

The key to a happy life, in my unsolicited opinion, is to release- let go of your expectations, all thewhile holding on to your hopes. You will not be disappointed as your will will not be done, only the

will of fate, chance or divine providence, as the case may be. Jesus said it well, not my wi&, but Thy

wi&be done, and I hold on to this approach. If only I had dared to release my all-pervading death-

grip on life twenty years ago.... relationships would be more intact and healthy, affluence would be

defined by how well I loved rather than what I possessed, stress would not have robbed sleep and

longevity, a passion for art and life would be pursued over spending time on cheap entertainment

and idle pursuits. Perhaps these are natural 40-something musings, but I prefer to believe that Ive

stumbled onto a fundamental outlook on life that anyone can adopt, anytime and experience joy.


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Sunday, July 27 Espoo (Nuuksio)10:36 am

Just completing almost one week of what can only be

considered a truly Finnish wilderness experience.

Wilderness, in this case, represents a house with no

toilets, a lakeside sauna with six beds and norunning water, and copious amounts

of pure silence mixed with endless

open sky in every shade of blue

imaginable. To survive, remember

that the composting outhouse is a

short jog through the forest, so when

the urge happens, make sure you can

find a pair of shoes. Other lessons

learned include: Finnish sauna baths are always wet,

meaning water and steam are an essential part of the

ritual. Most importantly, Finnish saunas are communal

and never include clothing; one would be considered

very strange wearing clothes or a bathing suit into the

sauna. This little detail caused not a small amount of

terror in some of our party, vanishing soon after the

first refreshing plunge into cool lake waters. Families

and close friends typically take sauna together,

although with our group having separate mans sauna

and womans sauna seemed appropriate. The men

tend to prefer hotter temperatures, sometimes nearing

the boiling point of water. Our sauna hovered around

90-degrees Celsius after a good fire was kindled.

Afterwards, a soap scrub and rinse from warm water

heated in a separate wood-fire tank provided the

perfect cleansing. As saunas are a huge part of Finnish

life, psyche, culture and history, it was no surprise to

learn there are more saunas than cars here. Another

interesting fact is that in recent times birth was

frequently given in the sauna-

perhaps due to thesterile environment created by a bacteria-killing 160-

plus degrees Fahrenheit. A cold beer and dinner

afterwards became a satisfying part of the sauna ritual.

Dinner meats were grilled on birch coals after a blazing

ceremonial bonfire to welcome the lingering sunset.

With a hangover you are at first afraid you will

die.... and then you are afraid you will live.

- Finnish folklore


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Wednesday, July 30th Baden-Baden

1:20 pm

The crayfish party! How to explain this most Scandinavian of ceremonial events? Every year near

the end of July crayfish season opens in Finland. Our hosts explained that rotten meat

is placed in a cage to lure these tiny bottom-feeding critters, a method similar to

catching crabs. In the land of a thousand lakes there is apparently no small supply and

many are farm-raised to satisfy the national obsession, an excuse for gathering to drink

beer and Finnish schnapps, called Koskenkorva. Considered an appetizer to the maincourse, boiled crayfish are served cold. The meat from approximately seven to ten tails is

placed on white toast together with mayonnaise and dill. Every few minutes the shelling

is interrupted by traditional drinking songs followed by a sip - or shot, as the case may be -

of Koskenkorva. Our first-time opinions were unanimous in surprise that crawdad meat is

tasty and sweet. Even our young Frenchman, Quentin, who vowed never to eat seafood, loved the taste

and appreciated the revery. He was kindly reminded that Finnish crayfish are lake food and not seafood,

after all. After a couple beers and one shot of schnapps, I begged offand promptly fell asleep, causing

peels of laughter the next day. It was after 2 am and the week of rest had taken its toll. Daily soccer

matches, swims, sauna and cooking mixed with periodic canoeing, horse riding and hiking and prompted

deep and immediate sleep, usually about the time the sun started rising after a very brief dip in thehorizon after midnight.

2:42 pm

Now on the German autobahn..... its survival of the fittest. In this case, the fittest are Mercedes, BMW,

Audi, the occasional Italian car, and all the rest. The three lanes are divided into the exclusive 150 kph

sport club, the mundane 130 kph family car club, and the slowpoke 110 kph truck and camper club. A

few racers passed us at a head-turning 200 kph, so if you hang out in the passing lane, be prepared to duck

for cover when a Ferrari appears from nowhere, sucking the very fumes out of your tailpipe with very little

room to spare. In all, the drivers are confident, accomplished and therefor predictably safe. In almost

5,000 miles of driving over Europe in six weeks, weve seen no serious accidents.


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Thursday, July 31 Lyon1:13 pm

The Final Word..... on ten weeks of travel through ten countries:

REST and REFLECTION. There is a way to escape the frenetic

pursuit of material wealth and accomplishment - it is through the

discovery of something profoundly internal. For me, over ten years

without a significant vacation took its toll on my mental and emotional

health, relationships and overall optimism. I felt reduced to a machine,

having value only for the work I performed or the next paycheck I brought in. Gradually, theconscious effort to break out of the mundane, drop out of the daily grind, get offthe reservation,

escape the plantation, set in. Liberty starts with an inner longing for something more profound,

something significant, something bigger than satisfying our petty wants. For me, all I thought I

wanted collapsed in a divorce and near-bankruptcy. At that desperate point, twelve years ago, the

Almighty Self died. Along with self, all preconceived notions of success and recognition perished in

the fires of humiliation. Ironically, at this point in my life I actually started making room for others.

In my desperate need, others were able to reach through the charred embers of my destruction to

offer help. This became a profound turning point in my life and its been a long

road to recovery. At this point, I cannot help but be thankful. The new Stan is

much more thankful, patient, observant, willing to help. Achievements are

shared. Memories are preserved as something good, not something to deny or

bury. The future is much less certain, but much more bright. Hopes triumph over

expectations. The darkness of the past contrasts beautifully with the brilliance of

the future, like a Finnish summer being all-the-brighter due to the harsh, black

winter. Seasons of life. Thanks to all for sharing and caring. My hopes abound for our fellowship to

continue in due course. I hope we will meet again soon....

"Ei kastunut vett pelk." - Finnish Proverb

Translation: "Someone already wet will not be afraid of water."

Scandinavia...from the Heart

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