Giving Thanks

I don't think I've generally stated out loud that for which I am thankful, but since I can't celebrate a proper family Thanksgiving at the moment, I thought I'd return to the old tradition.  These are in no particular order.  Remember, I detest rankings.

I am thankful for having a fully intact family.  I have taught many people whose families either split apart or lost a member, so I don't take for granted the fact that my parents are still together, still in love, and still taking the same vacations to the exact same places after so many years.  

I am thankful for having a brother that is as good a man, as caring a father, as devoted a husband, and as talented an engineer as there could ever be.  Some people don't have siblings.  Some people's brothers suck.  Mine builds an arcade machine with every game imaginable for his kids, and keeps it downstairs in the sports cave so Colleen doesn't have to hear it. 

On that note, I am thankful for having a sister in law and three nephews that are amazing human beings all.  Many people aren't that lucky.  I show up a couple times a year at most, and they all shower me with love every time.  

I am thankful to have a family that is supportive of this crazy decision I made to move overseas.  I know they really want me to buy a house down the street and have dinner with them weekly, yet they have been supportive of me every step of the way as I pursue this path that has taken me 5 time zones away.  I've known many people whose families talked them out of following their dreams, so I appreciate how much easier my life is because my family honestly means it when they say they just want me to be happy.  

Ditto for my friends. Let's face it, a lot of people are full of shit. It's easy to say "I'll be there if you need me," but how many people follow through on that when it isn't convenient?  I am thankful for having friends that are so damn good that I miss them as much as I miss my family.  I'm looking at you, Sammons, Pecchio, and Snyder families.  There are no guarantees about meeting truly good people, and I am damn lucky to have met you.

I am thankful for being healthy.  If you know me, you know healthy living is not my highest priority. If I weighed half a ton, had suffered 3 heart attacks already, and had teeth that were several shades of unpleasant, you'd probably think "Well, you were asking for it."  I've had body issues all my life, but hell, I'm doing okay.  

I am thankful for being able to love my career.  Plenty of people just do what they have to do.  I get to do exactly what I want to do, and I got to choose where to do it.  I'll have to thank mom and dad for that one. 

I am thankful for feeling appreciated at work.  How many people can say that?  How often have I been able to say that?  I have had a month or so full of bosses, colleagues, and students singing my praises.  I have a group of 12 year olds that made me a thanksgiving card because they thought I'd be homesick that day more than any other.  I am very lucky at the moment.

I am thankful for having the opportunity to live in London.  People ask me all the time why I moved here, and all I can say is "I just wanted to live here."  They expected me to have been forced here by some unique circumstances, but no, I just wanted to live here.  How many people can pick up and move abroad at 35 just because they want to?  

I am also thankful for having people with a desire to read my thoughts.  There is a little indicator on my blog that says how many people have read this, and you just made the number go up by one.  Thank you for that.  

Thanksgiving, explained for my non-American friends

Thanksgiving is starting to become a thing in the UK.  I'm not sure if it's the big meal or the Friday shopping that is the main motivator, but I suspect the latter. Black Friday sales have already taken hold, and they've already led to violence.  Black Friday is rather awkward in a country that doesn't have Thursday and Friday off work, and I have overheard people asking "what is Black Friday, anyway?" The context brings them to Thanksgiving, which people have heard of over here, but it's not universally understood, as I've fielded many questions about it.

So, for the benefit of my UK friends, Thanksgiving is a holiday that happens on the fourth Thursday in November every year, at least in the USA.  The whole point is to give thanks for whatever good things you have, whatever they may be.  It is associated with large family gatherings involving a huge meal with turkey as the centerpiece, but obviously this is adapted to suit whoever is celebrating.  Some people don't have families to gather, and others don't eat meat, but the family meal is a tradition, not the point of the day.  The point is to acknowledge and show gratitude for the good things you have in your life.  Most of America gets a day off work, though obviously not everyone (the issue of going out shopping on Thanksgiving is actually a bit controversial, since it means someone else is working), and many people have Thursday and Friday off.  As a teacher, I always had Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  The large meal takes a full day to prepare, and my family always has turkey (Butterball, of course), mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, cranberry sauce, apple pie, pumpkin pie, and sometimes my mother's Christmas hermit cookies.

Big meals celebrating the harvest are not rare around the world, and the story of the first thanksgiving meal in America with the pilgrims and the Native Americans is part of every American child's education.  The fact that those two groups were killing each other not long afterwards is generally ignored for the sake of a good story.  That's not where Thanksgiving comes from, though.  Giving thanks for the harvest with a big meal grew as a tradition gradually and was popular enough by the 1800's.  As a national holiday, though, it actually has its roots in the Civil War.  This was not an especially happy time, as you might imagine, and it claimed more American lives than any other war we've ever fought.  It was exceptionally brutal and bloody, and most people either lost a family member or close friend or at least knew someone who did.  Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be a national day of thanksgiving, as keeping focused on what one still had was particularly important in the midst of a Civil War.

Thanksgiving is truly my favorite holiday.  It doesn't have any religious affiliations, it doesn't celebrate the birth of anyone in particular, it doesn't commemorate any important event, and it doesn't necessitate awkward gift-giving.  It is simply a day devoted to positive thinking.  Plenty of people associate it with awkward family gatherings and gluttony, to be sure, but the idea of devoting a day to being thankful for what you have is fantastic anyway.  Britain could do with some positive thinking, so I highly encourage this tradition to cross the ocean.

Black Friday basically just came about because people tend to have a day off, so stores take advantage of this by making big sales on that day to start off the Christmas shopping season.   The irony of following a day of giving thanks for what you already have with a day of militant consumerism devoted to what you don't have but really want is not lost on me. The day off part is important, though, if you really want Black Friday to work in Britain.  Otherwise, it's just awkward.

Ranking schools is like ranking foods.

How good is your school?

It's a seemingly simple question. Why is it so difficult to answer? Perhaps we need to start with what makes a school good. A safe environment? A diverse population? A homogenous population? Academic rigor? Social opportunities? Community involvement? Any answer we give will reflect our own prejudices or our own personal needs. Perhaps there are multiple answers, so it's okay. But next we must ask what evidence would show us our preferred qualities exist in a particular school. People move to areas for their schools, so what do they look for? I have spent all my life in schools either as a student or a teacher, and when my brother and I talked about this very thing when he was considering where to build a house, I was stumped. Thinking back, we could only say we "knew" which were good schools and which were bad. That meant, of course, it was based on prejudices neither of us wanted to acknowledge.  The one agreement reached was that the higher the median income of an area, the more likely it was to have good public schools. 

Schools need to sell themselves. Private schools obviously need to attract new families/customers, but public schools need to motivate families to move to the area and teachers to seek jobs there. Self promotion needs more than gut feelings. We go for numbers. Graduation rates, disciplinary referral numbers, student-teacher ratio, per student spending, and of course test scores. All those numbers can be and are manipulated. None of those numbers necessarily means the school is good or bad, but we yearn for some way to make our decisions, so what do we do? Can we ever definitively say one school is better than another?

Think of how we choose food. What makes food good? Is there a number we can use? Our food labels are certainly full of numbers. We periodically focus on the Calories, grams of fat, grams of carbs, RDI of a particular vitamin, etc. None of these definitively make one food better than another. That doesn't mean there's no such thing as good or bad food. I'm sure we can come to some agreement about some foods in either category, but ranking foods would make no sense except as a fun debate among friends. 

Yet, schools are consistently ranked as though we know exactly how to do it. Universities have been ranked for years by US News & World Report, as well as others, and their findings are accepted without much questioning as to how they're decided. The amount of money the university has and is making, along with personal opinion surveys, are all categories in the formula. Did you know that? Would you put those high on the list if you designed the ranking? But the list is not called the richest and most well known universities.  It's called America's Top Universities. The ranking influences many people's college decisions. 

Here is their explanation of their rankings. 

22.5% reputation survey--how well they're regarded by college presidents 

22.5% retention--6 year graduation rate, mostly

20% faculty resources--class size and faculty salaries

12.5% student selectivity--admission rate

10% financial resources--how much money the school has

7.5% graduation rate performance--how well the rate compares with us news' prediction

5% alumni giving--how much money comes in via donations

Are those the categories you would choose and the weights you would give if you made up a list from scratch? Would you look at post graduate employment rate? Price? Population diversity? It doesn't matter. This is the ranking, and to save you some time, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are always top three. If the same three teams were always winning the Super Bowl, would you consider it a fair system? My brother and I took different career paths. He became an engineer. I became a high school teacher. We needed different strengths in our universities, so the idea of there being a best school even for the two boys in my family seems odd. 

Now Newsweek annually prints a list of the 500 best high schools in the country. If they published a definitive rank of the 500 best restaurants in the nation, would you take it seriously? They have tweaked the formula every year, especially because of the criticism it has received for being heavily populated by schools that either serve high-income areas or selectively screen out disadvantaged students.  Their explanation of their methodology admits they must " address critiques of
past rankings that claim that school performance as measured by average student test scores is as
much or more a function of student background characteristics than of factors within a school’s
control."  That's the fine print, but they don't call the list "schools with the highest state test scores." That would be honest, but not eye-catching. The Newsweek list was originally based on a formula called the challenge index, created by a Washington Post writer. Check it out. It's an interesting number, but that's all. But his list is not called the 1000 most prolific takers of AP tests. That would be honest, but not eye-catching. Saying these list are of the best and most challenging high schools is a ridiculous claim, but it influences policy decisions.

The UK has a brilliant solution to the problem of school rating, and also completely ignores it most of the time. 

The brilliant part involves inspection reports. Ofsted for state schools and ISI for independent schools periodically sends a group of inspectors to observe every aspect of a school for a week. They will observe classes, interview students and teachers, etc. to get as complete a picture as possible, then publish a full report for all to see. The reports are quite thorough, and I've used them when researching schools myself. Here is last year's report on my current school. The inspectors are often officials from other schools, so they even get to learn from one another as they go. The process is stressful, and of course the inspectors are observing a school that knows it's being observed, but the system works very well in my opinion. It makes no attempt to rank them, but it explains the logic of the rating in each category extensively. 

Of course, inspection reports too often take a back seat to test scores. Students are judged by them. Teachers are judged by them. Schools are judged, and ranked by them. The national system is judged by them, as they make the national news in a way I've never seen inspection reports. Are the test scores an accurate measure of learning, teaching, or school management? They're certainly treated as though they are. 

Using inspection reports seems like using food labels and taste tests to help decide what food is best for you. Using test scores seems like basing all food decisions on the number of calories and nothing else. You could even rank food that way, if you want to. If it seems crazy to rank foods definitively by one associated number, why would it make sense to do that with schools, which are just as complex?

Love locks

I have seen these things in enough cities that it's obviously now a thing. This thing strikes me as a poorly thought out idea. The "thing" is buying a padlock to commemorate your wedding/anniversary/third date. Maybe you even get it engraved or shaped like a heart. It's symbolizes your undying love for and devotion to each other. Is a padlock a good symbol for love? Who knows? Anyway, then you lock it to a bridge. Most likely a pedestrian bridge. Why a bridge? Because a bridge links two shores like love links two lives? Is it because people like to commit suicide by jumping off them? Is it an homage to Simon & Garfunkel? I suspect the "Look at us! Aren't we cute?" aspect is important. After all, they leave it there. Do they return to check on it? The abundance of locks in Paris with English engravings makes me think not. Soon enough, other people put their locks up, too. Can't let some schmucks think they're the only romantic ones around. Inevitably, some people use massive locks that seem designed to hold ships to the dock. They must really be in love. The lock is so big!

All this love and romance is threatening to kill people. Let's do a little math, using a foot bridge I found in Helsinki.  Above is a grate in the middle that is almost completely full.  Below is a grate near the end that was just started.  Most people seem to go for attaching it to the vertical bar, so counting only those, there are 420 spaces for locks on this grate.  There were 28 grates along the bridge, which means there are spaces for 11,760 locks, assuming they can all be filled and no one just starts locking their locks onto other people's locks.  Amazon lists the weight of everything they ship, and a quick search showed lock masses varying from about 60 grams to about 180 grams.  Let's choose 100 g (0.1 kg) for simplicity of math.  Filling the bridge with locks would then add 1,176 kg (2,587 lbs) to the bridge.  This was a short pedestrian bridge.  I don't know all the engineering tolerances, but I can't imagine the designers want an extra 1.25 tons added to the sides of the bridge.  In fact, I'm certain of it, because they're starting to remove locks from bridges in Paris after a rail collapsed from the weight of these locks.

Love, summed up by a symbolic one time gesture in a place you may only visit once (Look at us! Aren't we sooooo in love?).  Then forgotten, as though no work must ever be done afterward, until it becomes so burdensome to others that your now decayed gesture must be painfully undone before it causes serious harm.  If this describes love and marriage a little too well, perhaps we should be worried.

Thoughts from Scandinavia

Before you go much further into this, you should know this is basically a daily travel journal from my 10 day trip around Scandinavia.  There is no great theme, and I sometimes ramble, but mom and dad like to know what I'm up to when I grab my backpack and go.

Tuesday 10/21/2014-Bergen

Early morning flights are not fun, but I love that I can take them because I live close enough to Heathrow. I am getting better at airport security every time, but they keep adding layers. I know when to take out my boarding pass and passport for the first layer, my jacket is off with toiletries in a clear plastic bag for the metal detectors, and I even wear plastic belts to just for these moments. I'm through in record time. Now I can grab a sandwich. I go to pay, and I'm asked for my boarding pass again. My boarding pass used to be for getting into the terminal and onto the plane. Now it is needed for sandwich authorization? Was there a meeting where the problem of unauthorized sandwich purchases was presented and possible solutions presented? Will they print a sign saying "For the safety of our customers, we ask that you keep your boarding pass visible while consuming any meals bought at our establishment"?

The flight was nice and sparsely populated. Had a row to myself and comfortable seats. I don't always get so lucky. Got out of the airport and onto a bus to the city center in 10 minutes. No 3G as yet, but the phone is working. Ipad is proving to be good for offline blogging. The landscape coming in was beautiful. I couldn't help noticing the 7-11 in the airport on the way out. 

I am getting good at traveling, at least in cities. Bergen was the only city for which I could not find a print map before I left, so I was relying in my phone for this.  Lacking a data connection, I sought out McDonald's for wifi. Found one, but it wouldn't connect. I decided to check a new app called triposo, and the map it had happened to be searchable for the hostel. I duly headed on my way. Then I remembered my phone experience in Cambridge a few years ago, and I tried selecting a phone network manually. It worked, and I had data, so Google maps worked again. 

The hostel is fine, though an hour walk from city center. Wifi is free and good, but there are no lockers and they charge for sheets. The locker thing is a shame, but the sheet thing is more annoying. How many backpackers bring their own sheets? Sleeping bags are not allowed, so I can't imagine many people bring their own bedding. That's an extra charge that's totally unnecessary. 

I explored the city center for a few hours through a constant drizzle. Just some enjoyable wandering, really. One small discovery I was forced to make was how to clandestinely pee with minimal cover. Get up close to a bush, look like I am getting a close up shot of a leaf, undo and piss. Perfect. Later, I found a nice dry place in the park to sit, where I saw some teenagers actually swimming in the cold water.  These Norwegians are brave. I picked up my tickets for tomorrow, discovered just how expensive food is here, and walked home. No buses for me, but I was drenched in sweat by the time I climbed the big hill on top of which lay my hostel.

Wednesday 10/22/2014-Norway in a nutshell

I was quite comfortable in bed, but I woke up several times through the night. Not sure why I don't tend to sleep all the way through the night anymore. Maybe I really do miss my old bed. 

The shower was very nice, possibly the nicest I've had in a hostel. 

I got soaked in the rain on the walk to the train station, but I dry quickly enough.  These quick dry clothes are such a good idea.  I had a nice cinnamon roll at the train station, too. 

I took a circular tour called "Norway in a Nutshell," which included journeys by train, bus, and boat along the most scenic routes in the country.  Beautiful train journey to Voss. English speaking train operators and gorgeous scenery. The bus arrived in Voss well labeled and also with an English speaking driver. The ride through the mountains to Gudvangen was full of lakes and fast flowing rivers. 

The boat through the fjords was fascinating. It was not as long a journey as I'd expected, but the scenery was just what I'd hoped. I saw some tiny villages along the fjords, and the weather was a bit too cold to stay outside the entire time. Luckily, it was warm inside. My lens cloth was wet from my damp pocket, so I should plan for that next time. 

We stayed in Flam for an hour, so I got a snack at the store and even had free wifi in the station. Also had some Norwegian chocolate, which was quite nice. I had an aerated bar not unlike a wispa. 

The train from Flam to Myrdal was quite scenic, including a  big waterfall. The train was big enough that it wasn't crowded at all. It was comfortable. 

The train from Myrdal to Bergen was equally spatious. It was largely along the same line I took this morning, so I rested and wrote. I also charged my dying phone. That backup battery was a good purchase. I realized that I didn't charge my camera battery before leaving London. It's half full. I've never had an issue before, but let's hope this doesn't bite me in the ass. 

Thursday 10/23/2014-Oslo

Met a member of the French navy last night. Interesting random conversation. He said "Americans are really independent." Yep. 

Slept well and had butter and toast for breakfast. Thought I might take the bus into town, but I braved the wind, and the rain wasn't that bad. I saved a lot of money by avoiding the bus in Bergen. I downloaded an app to by an airport shuttle ticket, just because it saved me NOK 10 and was convenient. It amuses me to think about how willing I am to do everything via my iPhone. The airport had free wifi and a comfortable place to sit. I've been relatively relaxed at the airport today and have even done some research on Oslo. The weather will be shit, so museums may be the way to go. Plus, I can see Edvard Munch's work and a Viking ship. Good enough for me. 

My first time flying norwegian. It was a good experience. They have an iPhone app for tickets, so of course I was happy. Smooth app for checking in and making a boarding pass. As it happens, I am flying six times without a single paper ticket. It's a new world.  It was a free for all boarding, but it worked fine. Had a window seat near the front somehow. Don't know how I lucked out there. These ear canal headphones really work well on a flight. Really drown out the outside noise. 

Wikivoyage had me well prepared after the short flight. I saw three ways to get from the airport, and I was out of the plane and onto a train in 15 minutes (one more reason I love to pack light). I'm actually going to edit the article because it said the express train is twice as fast as a normal service. Actually, it's basically the same time for twice the price. I can finally contribute something useful to the wikiverse. 

The hostel is quite a nice one, decorated completely with ikea. Good bed, good shower, lockers, great central location. I took a walk around town for the last few hours of daylight. I saw the opera house, which is a beautiful piece of architecture. It's supposed to be a glacier I believe, which would show a great amount of pride in a geological force. I then headed over to the Nobel peace center. At NOK 90, it was a tad overpriced, but it was interesting. It didn't do a fabulous job of explaining why each one won, which should be the main focus. And I had forgotten Kissinger won one. That seems rather odd. That was enough exploring for the rainy day, so I went back to the hostel where I encountered a man named Darius who is quite autistic and was quite convinced I was in the wrong bed. He had moved my stuff while I was out. He would not shake my hand or call me by name, but he went downstairs to confront the person on duty. He was rude and nearly got kicked out. I calmed him down, at which point he asked if I would switch bunks. I was not really inclined to let him get his way, but I also think this would have escalated if I didn't give him an out. So, I asked for an apology for moving my stuff without asking. He denied he did. I pressed. He tried "you must forgive me," but that's not an apology. I pressed again. He finally said "I'm sorry" in the best way I think he's capable of. I agreed to switch. He then asked me to join him for food, which I awkwardly agreed to. I found out he's a philosopher with a specialization in Nietzsche. That makes sense.  The hour long conversation was as entertaining as it was socially odd. I even attracted the attention of a former colleague from Kings Ely that happened to be in the same hostel. I didn't remember her. Add that level of awkward to things. When I finally left to go back upstairs, I ended up talking with my other roommate who happened to be a physchologist from Sweden. We had a fun discussion about autism and coping strategies. Oh, hostels. 

Friday 10/24/2014

I slept very well last night, owing perhaps to my sleep mask and earplugs that still are the best travel purchase I've ever made. Today is a museum day, and I started with the Viking ship museum. It was fascinating seeing 1200 year old ships preserved so well. They were used as tombs and buried, so they survived very well. I'm convinced one was partially rebuilt due to some wood looking noticeably newer, but no signs indicated this. Still, I was struck by the brilliance of construction. You could really see how they could navigate even the shallowest waters. The use of a steering board on the right, for those who don't know, is why the right side of a ship is called the starboard side. You always docked with the port on the left, so you wouldn't affect the steer board, so the left is called the port side. 

I had lunch at a pizza place called Dolly Dimples. Pretty good pizza for about NOK 100, £10. It's about as good as I will get in Norway. 

I made my way through a park full of statues by Gustav Vigeland, and they were awesome and sometimes creepy. He sculpted all body types, all ages, and both sexes. Some were scenes of romance, some were family moments, some seemed to be scenes of abuse.  The variety and detail made me take a lot of pics. The rain stopped then, too, so it became a beautiful, if cloudy, fall day to see statues in the park. 

I took a break in the day to rest my feet at the hostel. I found myself in philosophical discussions with Darius, unintentionally but enjoyably. It was nice enough to delay my return to the outside. I had one more main destination, the national gallery of art. I wanted to go to the Munch museum, too, but there was a section of Munch at the national gallery, so I wasn't put out. I did plan poorly, though, as the museum closed an hour earlier than I thought. I checked the hours yesterday, and apparently their hours are extra long on Thursdays. Oh well, I still saw the main stuff. I got a selfie with the scream, and I was allowed to take pictures of the works, so I consider it a victory. 

I leave Norway tomorrow, and I've enjoyed it here. The weather has been wet and cold, but people have been running anyway. Norwegians seem to be athletic people. The landscape is gorgeous, so I can understand why they'd like to be outdoors as much as possible. 

Saturday 10/25/2014-stockholm

Before leaving Oslo, I stopped by the Rathaus (city hall) to check out the ornate decorations inside and out. It's a beautiful building that surprised me with just how richly decorated it is. It's more impressive than the national parliament, which seems out of place. One thing I discovered was that Oslo is governed by a city parliament rather than a mayor. I also walked around an old fort, enjoying the surprisingly blue skies before heading to the airport. Again, the boarding was a free for all. It worked fine and went quickly, but there were no announcements. I just looked for when they started scanning boarding passes and got in line. No one checked my passport at any time, but maybe they don't care when you're flying to Sweden. They are laid back in many ways. No one checked on my seat belt or carry on items. They took off their jackets as soon as the door was closed and just gave the safety lecture in a turtleneck. They didn't look bored or disinterested. Just chilled. I like that. 

Stockholm is pretty spread out, so walking to my hostel took a while. I avoid public transport whenever possible so I can take in the sights and save money. However, I don't think this will work here. I am buying a day pass and seeing all I can tomorrow. I walked around a bit tonight, but most of my time was taken up getting to and from downtown, so i didn't see much tonight. My hostel is an old jail. Can't say it's the most welcoming place to stay. 

Sunday 10/26/2014-Stockholm

I got myself the day pass for the subway, and it was agood idea indeed. Every time I tried to walk somewhere, it ended up being farther than I'd anticipated. I wasn't overly thrilled with the architecture, but I saw a couple nice things. I started at the Vasa museum, which houses the Vasa, a 17th century ship that sank right after launch. The story of the ship and its eventual preservation are fascinating. You don't get to see ships that old and intact very often. It's interesting to think that the only reason we have it is because it was very poorly constructed and sank. After the Vasa, I went to the photography museum. It was definitely cool and the kind of stuff I like to see, but there wasn't as much of it as I'd have liked. It was a tad overpriced for 4 rooms of pictures. I tried finding more interesting sights around town, but stockholm just wasn't doing it for me. So, I took the opportunity to check out a hockey game in the Swedish league. It was a good game that the home team won 3-2. They served pasta at the game. Never seen that before. Overall, I made the most of my day, I think. 

Monday 10/27/2014-Helsinki 

Very early flight (6:40am) and the earliest train I could get (the Arlanda express) got me to the airport at 5:40. Still, I made it to the gate by 6:05. I'm getting good at airports. This flight even had free wifi. I appreciate any time I find that. Honestly, I am starting to think that wifi should be provided by any place I am paying to be. Community wifi would be great too, but if I pay to go on a plane or stay at a hotel, I don't think wifi should be extra. Just as at hostels I don't think sheets should be extra. Actually, both hostels that charged me extra for sheets didn't charge for wifi. Odd. 

Helsinki is a more compact city than stockholm, so it proved easier to explore on foot. I got in around 10:00, so I stuck my bag in a locker at the train station, grabbed a bite to eat, and researched more places to see. Fully fueled, I went around to see a pretty cathedral, imperial government buildings (apparently designed to be like St. Petersburg), a church carved into a rock formation, a fun tribute to a musician involving organ pipes welded together, and the Olympic stadium. To my surprise, there was a hostel in the stadium. It's an HI hostel, so maybe I just didn't notice it in my research, but it uses the old athlete quarters (1952 Olympics). Interesting concept, but not a convenient location, so no temptation to change my reservations. The weather was crap, of course, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Large cities like stockholm or NYC or London necessitate long visits, but small cities like Oslo and Helsinki are far more fun to explore in a short period. 

The sun goes down very early, so I decided to get down to the cruise terminal early. Check in starts 3 hours before departure, and I'd never been on a cruise ship before, so I decided to err on the side of caution. Good thing I did, because Google failed me for the first time. I followed it to a location that was clearly not a passenger terminal. When I got there, I looked across the water and saw my boat on the other side of the harbor. That's never a good feeling, as it was a long walk to the other side. But, it was a good feeling knowing that I gave myself time to screw up. When I finally got there, the border official definitely looked at my passport longer than anyone in front of me. When I got on board, I found my cabin, took a shower, and went to grab an overpriced dinner. The steak was very good, the strudel was divine, and the beer hit the spot, so no complaints. I am okay paying a good deal for food as long as it's damn good. 

Tuesday 10/28/2014-St. Petersburg 

I slept very well since I had the joy of a cabin to myself and the complete darkness of it being windowless. I splurged for the breakfast buffet, but it was a bit of a let down. There was bread, but no way to toast it. There were scrambled eggs, but way too runny (which is apparently how Europeans like them). The "sausage" was hot dogs. I longed for Eat 'n Park. Still, I filled up for my journey. The first step was passport control, which took forever, but was completely painless. Once outside, I got into the shuttle bus. I sat there for 20 minutes going nowhere and with a driver hovering outside and not particularly bothered with going nowhere. I gave up and walked into town. It was a 3 mile walk to the major tourist area, which is why I wanted to take the shuttle, but at least it was a straight shot along a main road. The weather was cold, drizzly, and generally ugly. Still, I was walking around Russia. The little kid inside me felt like a spy. My phone wouldn't recognize any signals, and Google maps wouldn't let me save a map of St. Petersburg for offline use (I blame Putin), so I was solely reliant on hard copy maps for the first time in a while. The Alexander column and the winter palace are something to see. Very regal. However, as grand as the architecture is, there is something quite forced and even a bit boring about it. Tons of columns that go on forever and lots of arches that serve no structural purpose. It reminded me of Washington DC, as it is also a planned city, though St. Petersburg existed already before it was built up to be the capital. Still, it is impressive, which is the point. I headed over to the church of the spilled blood, which is far more interesting. It isn't terribly old, but it reflects older Russian styles. It is a gorgeous building. There was also a man outside playing the recorder like a beast. I contributed to the cause. My map went out as far as the summer palace, so I headed out there, through the fields of Mars. About this point, I realized that this city is treacherous for pedestrians. There are very few dedicated crossings, and the drivers don't always care about them anyway. The summer gardens were closed, as I should have guessed, so I braved several crossings for nothing. I headed back to the spilled blood to explore from there. At this point, I realized my map didn't actually reflect the streets I was encountering in this area. I tried the one on my iPad app, but that didn't work either.  Either they don't update these maps often, or the Russians want you to get lost. The fact that they don't even allow Google to operate normally means I can't rule out the latter. Some of the streets are written with letters I can read, but not all. The ones I could read didn't match up with my maps. So, I headed back to the Hermitage, where I knew the map was fine. I was tempted to go into the Hermitage, as its a world famous museum, and I was cold. However, I feared that I would never come out in time for my return trip to the boat (and I no longer trusted the shuttle bus enough to wait for the last one). It was painful to pass up that museum, but this city is large and I like to wander. I tried finding my way to a church the map said was interesting, but I got lost again. I ended up going in circles. So, I just wandered down the Main Street until I came across St. Isaac's cathedral. It was huge, with columns outside that reminded me more of a Greek temple than a church. Since this is an Orthodox cathedral, it makes sense. I really haven't seen many of them, so maybe it's common. I did recognize the Greek cross, though. I did spend the money to go inside this one. It was as impressive inside as out. Also gave me a chance to sit down for a minute, which is tough in St. Petersburg. There aren't many benches that I saw. From there, I wandered down the river until it came time to return to the ship. Again, passport control took a while but was completely painless. My first visit to Russia was a success! Maybe I'll return one day. If I do, I will definitely go inside the Hermitage. 

Wednesday 10/29/2014-Helsinki

I had too much energy and too many thoughts to get to sleep, so I wrote down some more thoughts in my blog. I'm finding this new iPad to be ideal for writing blog posts on the go. My mind seems to work overtime when I travel, so it's a good addition. I got tired of taking my laptop. It was a cold day in Helsinki, but the sun was shining. So, after dropping my bag off at the hostel, I walked around the city some more while listening to an audiobook. I listen to a few books again and again because I enjoy them so much, and "At home: a history of private life" is one of my favorites. One of my first finds was a bridge that is becoming a love lock bridge. For those who haven't seen them, it's when people buy a padlock (sometimes engraved and in the shape of a heart) and fasten it to a bridge. These are starting to annoy me. Not so much because a lock is a poor symbol for love (I tend to think it is), but because they're really dangerous for these bridges. Engineers have started removing locks from bridges in Paris because of the structural damage caused by such excess weight. Everyone's vision of romance is different, I suppose. 

I found another big beautiful church, this one made of red brick, which is unique in my experience. It is another Greek cross, increasingly common as I explore further east. It was free entry, so I checked out the inside, which was beautiful but smaller than it looks from without. That makes it an intimate setting, so I can imagine that the regular parishioners are quite attached to it. The view of the city and harbor made me happy I went for a walk. It was just past noon, and I noticed just how low the sun's zenith was. I even snapped a picture. I really am far north. I followed the water around until I got hungry and stopped for a bite. I had good timing, because checking the weather, I found that it the sunshine was about to end in the next hour. I'd already researched some museums to check out, so I headed for the main one. There was an exhibit telling the life story of Finland's most celebrated composer, Jean Sibelius. I saw his monument the other day, so I had an idea he was important. The audio tour allowed me to listen to his music while I read his story and saw associated paintings of him, inspired by him, inspiring to him, or made by friends of his. It was a unique exhibit, unlike anything I'd experienced before. The life story telling reminded me of the Andy Warhol museum, though. The only thing that disappointed me was the fact that the entire third floor was closed, so the Sibelius exhibit was essentially the entire museum. For €12, I expect a little more. Still, I enjoyed the experience. 

On my way to the hostel after dark, I found a bar showing nonstop ice hockey. I had to stop in. I had a couple Finnish beers and watched yesterday's NHL games. Teemu Selanne has had an effect on this country. 

Thursday 10/30/2014-Copenhagen

Flying Norwegian for the final time this trip, I have found myself growing used to the relaxed atmosphere and speedy boarding and deboarding, as well as the free wifi. The only thing that could add to the experience would be power outlets or usb outlets. Little things make a difference. The train station is literally at the airport, and the price and process worked quite well for me. It was a 15 minute journey to central station and a short walk from there to the hostel. On the walk, I passed Tivoli, which is a small amusement park only familiar to me because Kennywood was likened to Tivoli in a documentary. It was a small thrill. The hostel is apparently the largest in Europe, and they let me check in very early, which is always a joy. I could get all my stuff situated before exploring. The sun was shining bright, so I stayed outdoors to take full advantage. Copenhagen is a great city to explore on foot. I saw a pretty church or two (as always), waterways aplenty, a coastal fort, the little mermaid statue, and several beautiful parks. I wasn't prepared for as much natural beauty as I found. I took quite a few pictures, really playing with the camera settings as the light changed. The sun was setting early of course, so the shadows were fun to work with. The battery of my camera finally started flashing from being low. I started with less than half a battery, so I am happy I've lasted so long. One more day is all I need. 

After resting a bit and grabbing a shower, I headed down the road to search for food. I found a great place for beer. That took priority. I asked for a food menu, and the bartender said "we don't serve food, but I can order a burger from across the street." Good enough for me. I was enjoying the beer too much to move elsewhere. 

Friday 10/31/2014-Copenhagen 

I am at the point now where my feet are tired and I'm looking forward to going home. That's the wonderful thing about travels. I start off excited to explore and I end excited to go home. Right now I am very happy I planned my lessons before I left and that Monday is an in service anyway. This may be the first time I've been happy to have an in service day. 

The weather turned cloudy and damp, so it was a perfect day for museums. I spen the first part of my day in the history museum checking out ancient artifacts. In all my reading about the Roman Empire, there was always mention of the Germanic tribes beyond the border. Now I got to explore the history of those peoples, at least the northern ones. Not surprisingly, they were good boat builders way back in the Stone Age. I saw some hollowed out logs that were used, and I was amazed at just how far they were able to go. They apparently made it all the way to Britain and back, because they traded with the Britons. They must have had other boats for that, but I didn't see them. Either way, they were accomplished Mariners. And they did have horned helmets! I saw them! They were 3000 years old, so way before the Vikings, but they weren't made up. The Danes, or the tribes that were in modern day Denmark, were actually big fans of Rome when it came about. They apparently tried to emulate roman ways whenever they could. They were far north of the border, so I am mildly surprised by that. However, the tribes generally accepted roman ways enough to want to be citizens and even legit emperors, so perhaps it makes sense. Anyway, the Viking age exhibit was far less impressive, unfortunately. They tried to emphasize the cities founded by the Vikings and deemphasize the raping and pilaging. Hard sell. Apparently, the interest in the Viking age was a product of Danish effort in the early 1800's to create national pride. That was mildly surprising. One interesting trend in the museum was to refer to pre-Christian times as heathen times. No mincing words there. 

The second part of my day was spent in the art museum. Everything was in English, but the lack of an audio tour hurt. I like hearing more of the backstory. I needed it, because Danish art was not generally impressive. Some modern work was, but most of everything I saw seemed like a poor combination of Dutch and Norwegian art, not reaching the quality I found in either. I'm no qualified art critic, but I know what appeals to me. Perhaps I just need a good guide next time. 

On the bright side, both museums were free. I had time to head over to the Tycho Brahe planetarium, but when I arrived I saw no English signs. I read the reviews on Google, and I saw exactly that complaint. "No reason to visit if you don't speak Danish." Plus, it wasn't free. So, I went out for a steak dinner to finish my trip. The steak was pretty good, though advertised as Mexican style, which I'd never heard of. There was guacamole on the side, so maybe that's what they meant. Either way, the beer was too expensive, so I walked down to the bar from last night. This is how I end on a high note. 

Random note: Tivoli does indeed look like Kennywood a bit from the outside. I saw the equivalent of the swings, the magic carpet ride, and the salt & pepper shakers. 

Saturday 11/1/2014-back to London

I tend to be a light sleeper on flight days, and this was no exception. Still, I rested enough to feel like I could walk downtown for one last brief stop. There is a place in town called Christiania that is an oddly independent part of town. Basically, it's a bunch of squatters on abandoned land, but they've taken relatively good care of the place and they must not cause trouble, because Copenhagen has let them be. The place is covered in fun graffiti and full of people selling things. There were even multilingual painted signs spelling out the basic rules of "have fun, don't run (it causes panic), and don't take photographs." There was also a reminder that selling hash is "still" illegal. By the smell, I'm not sure how much that one is observed. I just stopped by for a few minutes, but now I want to research it further. How are waste removal, electricity, road and sidewalk upkeep, and other city basics handled? Is there a governmental system in place there? So many questions. 

It was an easy 20 minute train trip back to the airport, and Copenhagen airport is pretty smooth in its security operations. This is about as easy an airport to reach as I've seen in a major city. Still, given the choice, I'll take trains. 

Scandinavia is as beautiful a place as I'd heard. The natural beauty of Norway and the general good feelings I got in most of the cities more than made up for the extra cost of just about everything.  I was impressed by how athletic everyone seemed to be, too.  The weather was crappy and the terrain was hilly, but people were out running and biking everywhere and every day.  Active and friendly make a nice combination, so I hope to meet many more Nordic folks in the years to come.