Baltic Sea sights

Here are a few things I saw and learned on a cruise from London to the Baltic Sea this month.

Amsterdam: You can window-shop for sex and buy joints in “coffee houses.” Then, just a few blocks from the red-light district, Ann Frank’s house reminds you where the politics of hate can lead.

No Guns: Our tour guide in Amsterdam asked us about the Orlando shootings. He said, “We have no guns here. So no gun crimes. What’s so hard?” Sounds un-American.

Copenhagen: This is where I’m going if Trump wins. Danes are rated the happiest people in the world, despite the generally dreary weather. The city is clean, efficient and beautiful. The people are fit, healthy and good-looking. They all ride bikes. The government takes care of everything – health care, all levels of education, retirement, nursing homes. But it does take two-thirds of your income. So there are few really rich people and few really poor; nearly all are middle class. Very un-American.

Helsinki: Who knew “Nordic” and “Scandinavian” are different? In Denmark and the Netherlands, the language is related to German and English, so you can pretty much make out the words. But Finnish is related to Estonian and Hungarian. (Go figure.) The words are train wrecks of voluminous vowels and colliding consonants. Or just baffling, eg: the Finnish word for “Finland” is “Suomi.” But Finns get points for fighting off the Russians in World War II.

St. Petersburg: Now I get Russia better. St. Petersburg is where Imperial Russia stood up in the early 1700s and where it fell in 1917. That led to 70 years of Soviet regimentation, repression and brutality. Then came 10 years of political freedom and economic collapse. Now Tsar Vladimir, who is from St. Petersburg, wants to channel Peter the Great and Make Russia Great Again.

Imperial Palaces: When you see how the court lived, you see why the people revolted. If Tsar Nicholas II hadn’t been a fool and a weakling, he and his family might have lived, the Romanovs might have stayed on like England’s Windsors, Russia might have become a parliamentary democracy, millions of people might have lived and the world would be a different place.

Chinese Tourists: They flood the palaces, museums and churches like Mao’s army crossing the Yalu River. They push everybody aside, snapping endless photos, videos and selfies. And the Russians are none too happy about it.

The Siege of Leningrad: One million of St. Petersburg’s three million people died in the 900-day ordeal, many from starvation. German shells destroyed most of the city. The suffering was unimaginable, and the pain is still raw.

Metro: The system is busy and efficient, and the stations are beautiful. Ours are like toilets, and you could eat off their floors. The architecture is spectacular, and art is everywhere, mostly of Peter the Great. (He’s ubiquitous in the city Russians call, simply, “Peter.”) The Metro better work, because the traffic jams are epic.

The People: They’re friendly, and they speak English. We had dinner with a retired couple in their cramped flat. The food was good, the vodka was cold and the toasts were warming. “To meeting!”

The Women: Russia has beautiful women. They’re sexy and stylish. I wanted one for Father’s Day. My wife said she’d welcome the help.

White Nights: Sunset is 10:30 pm, sunrise is 3:30 am and it never gets dark. That’s hard to take, but imagine the winter.

Tallinn, Estonia: This is a cute little capital in a plucky little country. Picture Busch Gardens as an independent nation. Tallinn was the only European capital to escape major bombing in WWII, so the old medieval city was preserved. Today it’s a high-tech, online pioneer. Skype was born here. Citizens vote and pay taxes online. You can become an E-Estonian citizen and set up a virtual business. Estonians are proud of their independence since 1989, but they fear the Russian bear will do to them what it did to Georgia and Crimea. Thus the poster of Putin with a Hitler mustache and hair: “Kaput Putler.”

Stockholm: Beautiful city – about a third mainland, a third water and a third rocky islands. The setting, the city and the people – and yes, the women – are spectacular.

The Good Ship Vasa: This is the oldest existing warship in the world, built in 1628. It’s housed in a fine museum, but it’s a sad story. King Gustavus Adolphus ordered the ship built to impress the world with Sweden’s naval power. Vasa featured two rows of bronze cannons and an impressive adornment of heavy, ornate wood carvings. All of which made it top-heavy. Just a few minutes into its maiden voyage, with thousands watching from shore, Vasa heeled over in a light gust of wind, water poured into the cannon ports and the ship sank, ingloriously. Which may explain why the Swedes got out of the war business.

A Note: For a history buff, this was the trip of a lifetime. For anyone who wants to understand more about where we come from and why the world is the way it is today, it was a great education. But, as always, you return with a new appreciation for living in this country and at this time in history.

Another Note: As we pulled into St. Petersburg at 6 am Saturday for a three-day stay, we learned of the death of my sister. It was not unexpected, but we still felt the need to try to get home. After a few phone calls and with help from Carter, Congressman Holding’s office and the State Department, we learned there was no getting out, it being the weekend and Russia being Russia. So we were able to complete most of our trip, cutting it short by one day in Stockholm.

I’m thankful to all those who helped, and I’m thankful to everyone who expressed their good wishes.

Politics comes and goes. Friends endure. I enjoy politics. But I truly treasure friends.

 

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Gary Pearce

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Baltic Sea sights

Here are a few things I saw and learned on a cruise from London to the Baltic Sea this month.

Amsterdam: You can window-shop for sex and buy joints in “coffee houses.” Then, just a few blocks from the red-light district, Ann Frank’s house reminds you where the politics of hate can lead.

No Guns: Our tour guide in Amsterdam asked us about the Orlando shootings. He said, “We have no guns here. So no gun crimes. What’s so hard?” Sounds un-American.

Copenhagen: This is where I’m going if Trump wins. Danes are rated the happiest people in the world, despite the generally dreary weather. The city is clean, efficient and beautiful. The people are fit, healthy and good-looking. They all ride bikes. The government takes care of everything – health care, all levels of education, retirement, nursing homes. But it does take two-thirds of your income. So there are few really rich people and few really poor; nearly all are middle class. Very un-American.

Helsinki: Who knew “Nordic” and “Scandinavian” are different? In Denmark and the Netherlands, the language is related to German and English, so you can pretty much make out the words. But Finnish is related to Estonian and Hungarian. (Go figure.) The words are train wrecks of voluminous vowels and colliding consonants. Or just baffling, eg: the Finnish word for “Finland” is “Suomi.” But Finns get points for fighting off the Russians in World War II.

St. Petersburg: Now I get Russia better. St. Petersburg is where Imperial Russia stood up in the early 1700s and where it fell in 1917. That led to 70 years of Soviet regimentation, repression and brutality. Then came 10 years of political freedom and economic collapse. Now Tsar Vladimir, who is from St. Petersburg, wants to channel Peter the Great and Make Russia Great Again.

Imperial Palaces: When you see how the court lived, you see why the people revolted. If Tsar Nicholas II hadn’t been a fool and a weakling, he and his family might have lived, the Romanovs might have stayed on like England’s Windsors, Russia might have become a parliamentary democracy, millions of people might have lived and the world would be a different place.

Chinese Tourists: They flood the palaces, museums and churches like Mao’s army crossing the Yalu River. They push everybody aside, snapping endless photos, videos and selfies. And the Russians are none too happy about it.

The Siege of Leningrad: One million of St. Petersburg’s three million people died in the 900-day ordeal, many from starvation. German shells destroyed most of the city. The suffering was unimaginable, and the pain is still raw.

Metro: The system is busy and efficient, and the stations are beautiful. Ours are like toilets, and you could eat off their floors. The architecture is spectacular, and art is everywhere, mostly of Peter the Great. (He’s ubiquitous in the city Russians call, simply, “Peter.”) The Metro better work, because the traffic jams are epic.

The People: They’re friendly, and they speak English. We had dinner with a retired couple in their cramped flat. The food was good, the vodka was cold and the toasts were warming. “To meeting!”

The Women: Russia has beautiful women. They’re sexy and stylish. I wanted one for Father’s Day. My wife said she’d welcome the help.

White Nights: Sunset is 10:30 pm, sunrise is 3:30 am and it never gets dark. That’s hard to take, but imagine the winter.

Tallinn, Estonia: This is a cute little capital in a plucky little country. Picture Busch Gardens as an independent nation. Tallinn was the only European capital to escape major bombing in WWII, so the old medieval city was preserved. Today it’s a high-tech, online pioneer. Skype was born here. Citizens vote and pay taxes online. You can become an E-Estonian citizen and set up a virtual business. Estonians are proud of their independence since 1989, but they fear the Russian bear will do to them what it did to Georgia and Crimea. Thus the poster of Putin with a Hitler mustache and hair: “Kaput Putler.”

Stockholm: Beautiful city – about a third mainland, a third water and a third rocky islands. The setting, the city and the people – and yes, the women – are spectacular.

The Good Ship Vasa: This is the oldest existing warship in the world, built in 1628. It’s housed in a fine museum, but it’s a sad story. King Gustavus Adolphus ordered the ship built to impress the world with Sweden’s naval power. Vasa featured two rows of bronze cannons and an impressive adornment of heavy, ornate wood carvings. All of which made it top-heavy. Just a few minutes into its maiden voyage, with thousands watching from shore, Vasa heeled over in a light gust of wind, water poured into the cannon ports and the ship sank, ingloriously. Which may explain why the Swedes got out of the war business.

A Note: For a history buff, this was the trip of a lifetime. For anyone who wants to understand more about where we come from and why the world is the way it is today, it was a great education. But, as always, you return with a new appreciation for living in this country and at this time in history.

Another Note: As we pulled into St. Petersburg at 6 am Saturday for a three-day stay, we learned of the death of my sister. It was not unexpected, but we still felt the need to try to get home. After a few phone calls and with help from Carter, Congressman Holding’s office and the State Department, we learned there was no getting out, it being the weekend and Russia being Russia. So we were able to complete most of our trip, cutting it short by one day in Stockholm.

I’m thankful to all those who helped, and I’m thankful to everyone who expressed their good wishes.

Politics comes and goes. Friends endure. I enjoy politics. But I truly treasure friends.

 

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Gary Pearce

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