Helsinki....few people can speak Finnish

The program at the Coral Theater last night, Tango in Buenos Aires was excellent with a troupe of
Argentinians on deck.

Today we toured Helsinki, a small country with very cold winters and pleasant the rest of the year.
Population 5.4 mil.
Our guide, Cynika, struggled with her English but was diligent in getting people back on the bus
when it was time to leave for the next venue.  She kept on advising us that it was dark and gloomy
in the winter so Finns always celebrated too much when the warm summer months arrived.

Two famous Finns, Paavo Nurmi, the flying Finn of Olympic fame years ago and Sibelius their
famous composer.  I remembered Nurmi from my youth and Sibelius from his Finlandia Symphony.

The Finns have a long history of being overrun by their neighbors, Swedes and Russians.  Both
of these countries have left some cultural vestiges of their occupations.

As for the economics in 2012, the Finns have a type of socialistic system with a tinge of capitalism.

They have a long tradition of shipbuilding and manufacture many of the world's cruise liners.

To show the complexity of their language check out Annabelle below a hair emporium sign.

The memorial to Sibelius is constructed of stainless steel pipes to portray an organ.

Tomorrow, at last, St. Petersburg and the object of our long journey.