March 20th would be the day we finally get back on the road in Finland.

March 20th would be the day that the War in Iraq would begin. And,

March 20th would have been Ronald Jerry Patterson’s 42nd Birthday!

As you read this chapter of our journal you may think they are the writings of an anti-war activist. Not so, you are reading about Ronald Jerry Patterson, my first born child who only lived to the middle of his 19th year. Nothing heroic or special, he just got dizzy, fell down and never got back up. It was an aneurysm, a weakened blood vessel that burst in his chest. That was way back in 1979.

I went through all the phases of sorrow and grief that any parent would. Anger, guilt and despondence. As all things do, the feeling passed or at least receded to the back burners of my mind. Then, in 1981 I found myself in Washington D. C. at the slab of black granite known as “The Vietnam Wall.” It was strange, I felt such sorrow as never had before. I watched others touch the names there and thought of Ronnie. Did you know that the average age of casualties in Vietnam was 19 years and 3 months?

Here was a whole wall full of 19 year old kids who, like Ronnie, would never laugh again, dance again or love again. Here was a whole wall full of 19 year old kids who wouldn’t grow old gracefully. That moment changed my thinking and my life!

Five Days in Helsinki, Russian Visas, the Flu and a Fall

The Ferry leaves Stockholm for Helsinki at 4:50 PM. I felt like HELL. We got there at 3:00 and had to wait. At first we stood outside with the cars. We were in the shade and it was cold. Cat walked down to the ticket office and lounge. I remembered or maybe Cat reminded us the, “It is easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission.” I pushed the bikes one at a time until she got back. No problem, we were soon in, out of the cold, and sitting in the sun.

At 3:50 we had to go back out and join the line of cars. A guy in the cold weather gear that indicates authority told us to go to the front of the line. We thought we had just been given priority but it wasn’t to be. I was coughing and wheezing. The pharmacy drugs weren’t doing it. The man made us wait while all the big trucks drove aboard then he started loading vans and station wagons. Finally he wave us on, we were at the end of the line. After lashing the bikes to the bulkhead we struggled past all the trucks and cars to the doorway. Once inside we were subjected to truck drivers puffin’ and indecision. Cat scouted the way, we got on a crowded elevator and up to floor six. The bike bags that work so well when on bikes are always a challenge, especially in crowds. We have and inside cabin, no window but our own toilet and shower.

I hit the sack. Cat went exploring and let me sweat and sleep for a couple of hours. We had dinner, a Garden Burger, we thought that meant vegetarian. It tasted too good, it was a good ole Burger. We both ate every morsel. Sleeping was no problem for me, I was out like a light, Cat slept light. She doesn’t like the rockin’ and rollin’. It was a sweat it out night for me.

We had breakfast and watched the ice break up and flow in large pieces past the boat. Entering Helsinki Harbor we could see that Spring hadn’t been seen here, yet. The ice was so thick that cars drove on the edge over the water. Unlashed, we rode out into a cold, crisp Finnish morning. Everything was familiar, we went directly to the Tourist Office. There weren’t many rooms available. We chose one in a moderate price range for Helsinki and pedaled to the door of Hotel Anton. The clerk Harri, was a great guy. The computer was included and so was a decent breakfast.

Our room reminded us of a hospital. That was appropriate, I felt terrible. The cough was bad but the wheeze when I breath out was so loud it kept me from sleeping. Harri sent us to a Doctor. She saw me that same afternoon and prescribed antibiotics. Her diagnoses, Bronchitis, also needed a steroid inhalant. The Apteekki was on the ground floor, so was the Alko Store. I got the drugs while Cat lay in a store of Vino.

We only left the room to go to the Russian Embassy. The first day we were too late, only open from 9:00 to Noon. They are only open on weekdays. Today is Friday. I went right back to the bed. Cat did the errands. She got things mailed to the Grandkids and Daughter Lori. I did get an e-mail from Igor saying that the invitation would be there Monday and we would get confirmation via e-mail.

Saturday was sunny but I wasn’t. I started the Meds and felt them as well as the Bronchitis. I really just lay around again in our Hospital room. Today would have been our pal, Terry’s 60th Birthday. The band, Acadiana, will play today in Solvang, the Danish town in California. It was fun and we always celebrated Terry’s Birthday after we played. I composed an e-mail to Judith, his wife. She has been missing. She hasn’t answered our recent messages. I was fairly insistent and talked about Terry, the band and the good memories. She did answer the next day. Still pretty shaky, she is back to counseling. It is strange, I was as close to Terry as any member of my family, maybe closer for the 10 years we worked together and played the Music. Perhaps that’s why we felt compelled to hear from Judith. Was it for us or her? Both we think!

Cat did more exploring and chores. She drug me out for lunch at a local place. We enjoyed trying to get the order from the nice lady and watching the locals drink their beers, smoke and talk. After, we walked through a Market Place, the kind that Cat loves. I lay back in and Cat walked for Chinese Food. We ate in, again.

The included breakfast, Internet and it was afternoon. Cat walked for a sandwich. That evening neither of us felt like leaving the room. We ate leftovers from the past two nights.

Monday, March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. Cat had no green to wear but my only clean shirt is the green one. We bought an all day trolley pass, thanks to Harri. Back at the Embassy, actually the Consulate, around behind the Embassy. A strange scenario, you have to wait in line and a little speaker at the gate allows you in, one at a time. Well, it seems to be someone comes out then the next in line is allowed in. Finally our turn, we got inside, past the cameras and guard and filled out a request form. Stood in line inside, too, only to find that they didn’t have our invitation? Back to the Hotel and a check of the e-mail but no word from Moscow?

It was a busy day, though. We took the trolley to a Laundromat and put the wash in. Lunch across the street, Chinese again. Also we got the theft claim form for the computers completed and faxed to our Insurance Adjuster. Another quest was completed when we found the cold weather face masks we wanted. Cat also connected with a guy we have been e-mailing to since last October. He is our connection in Laihia where we stopped cycling last October. He had some bad news for us. The only Hotel in town was closed so we had to change our plans. We would go back to Vaasa and start our 2003 journey there. Another slow day of healing and staying in. Cat bought food at the nearby Grocery Store and we watched the War in Iraq begin to take shape.

Another day, off to the Consulate, we started to jog to catch the trolley and I went down. So weird, I just sort of collapsed. I think I twisted an ankle but the result was embarrassment, a torn pant leg and skinned up palms on both hands. Ouch! I jumped back up and we waited for the next trolley while I inventoried. The pant leg was ripped and my knee was bleeding, yep I torn my underwear bottoms, too. The palms had some gravel embedded but I was sure that I would survive. Onward, we stood our time in line again only to be disappointed, again.

Pauli, the new desk clerk at the Hotel had urged us to see Suomenlinna, the Island Fortress. Since we had bought another 24 hour pass that included the boat we decided to go for it. He told us that some Portuguese people that we had seen at the Hotel loved the boat ride through thick ice. The ride was unique, the ice was more than a foot thick in places but the little boat crunched right through. The Island was fairly anti-climatic, cold and icy. We did walk to a Restaurant and have some wonderful sausage and potatoes. Hot and tasty! After a quick stop at the Suomenlinna Tourist Office we went directly back to the boat and Helsinki.

 

Plowing Through Ice	Red Boat on Ice

I did find a pair of pants to replace the ragged ones then we walked to the Train Station. We found that we can take the bikes on the 3:00 PM train but didn’t buy tickets, we will check with the Consulate first.

Back at The Anton, still no e-mail from Moscow. We were disappointed and decided to call Igor. The clerk, a different young guy, used to work with the Telephone Company. He called the main office and found the correct number to dial for Moscow. Voila, I found Igor at home and he told us that the Invitation had been faxed this afternoon. We were elated, we celebrated, we had Pizza delivered to the room.

The next morning, Wednesday, March 19, we got up and went directly to the Consulate. As we waited we talked with a couple who have been living and Preaching their Christian beliefs her in Russia for almost three years. Very nice folks from Ohio but on a mission that I tend to disagree with. It always seems that trying to sell ones belief only leads to discord. The families of those being led away must hate to see conversion from the beliefs they were born into. Doesn’t everyone think that their beliefs are the only true beliefs? Awe, enough of the religion thing. We stepped to the window and started to introduce ourselves again but the gal there knew who we were and immediately said, “Your papers are here.” She was really helpful, she took our Passports and we told her we would come back in a week. We were elated, we were going to Russia!

Next stop, the Tourist Office for anything they have to help us route back to Helsinki. Then the Railroad and our tickets then back to Hotel Anton. With bags crammed full we cycled to EATZ, the restaurant where we had lunch before we flew out in October. Soup was terrific. I ran across to a bank and paid for our Visas to Russia. The fee is 156€ for both plus a bank fee of 4€. We really were on our way!

Sitting inside the Train Station we watched the flow of humanity come and go. Our train departs at 15:04, that’s 3:04 on the twelve hour clock. We pushed out early and waited then caught the Conductor. He led us to car 14 where we could leave the bikes. It is a strange system where you hang them. Obviously not designed for touring bikes, we had to take the bags off and store them in lockers.

The ride is 4 ½ hours. We went through small hills, wooded areas and then a real snowstorm, wind and snow that was sticking on the ground. Something we didn’t really need to see. O

nce in Vaasa we pushed the bikes out then carried bags. We were completely de-trained when it pulled away. I leaned my bike on a post. It fell in the wind and the mirror broke off. We were in blowing snow and cold as we loaded the bags. The choice was simple, we could see the Radisson, where we stayed last October. The clerk was cordial but firm, their best rate was 110€. I told him about our stay before at 99 € rate. He said, “Okay, 100€”. We had a place for the night. One disappointment was that the Internet Access that was included had now changed to 23€ for 50 minutes. We passed on that one. Why, we wondered, do Hotels try to make such an inexpensive and basic service a BIG profit center?

Of WAR and ICE
March 20, 2003
Vaasa to Iskyro

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday Dear Ronald Jerry Patterson,
Today You’d be 42! WE STILL MISS YOU!!

Our plan was to lay in and prepare because our pal at the desk had said that it would be – 7 this morning. We awoke at 7:00 and Cat pulled the drapes back. It was a beautiful, cloudless, sunny morning. I called down and he confirmed sunny and – 6 Celsius. It looked too good. We decided not to shower, just go to breakfast, see how cold – 6 feels and decide whether to ride or slide. When we flipped on the TV we knew that we would have another memory of this day, our troops have begun the destruction of Iraq and/or the removal of President Saddam Hussein. Bombs fell and President Bush made it clear that the diplomacy was definitely finished. Not that we’re against war, we’re just against killing any living thing. “Thou Shalt Not Kill!

 War & Ice

It was cold but the winds were light. Our friend at the front desk took the map and drew a route. We reorganized the bags, dressed for success in cycling, in the cold and headed out the door. Since Nina at Tourist Info had been so kind to us we decided to start from her office. She was off today so we took a pic with the two other girls, Tove and Katja. Nina had told them that we might be by. It was now 11:30 and we were under way. WorldRiders2 were headed for Cape Town, South Africa.

It was cold but the wind was on our backs, that helped. We had gone about 3 Km when I rode onto a patch of ice and hit the deck, hard. The bike slipped out to the right and I went down on the left. Oh boy, I’m gonna be sore tomorrow. That was a wake up call. From that point on we took it easy and walked through the icy patches. That really slowed progress. Our route was a little out of the way but took us off the main road and most of the day we were on Bike Paths.

At 1:00 we were both feeling hungry and there was no place to stop. We continued looking for a restaurant or store. No luck, so we pulled over, left the bikes on the right side of the road and crossed to an old house. Standing, in the sun, on the leeward side, we ate the sandwiches and drank our water. Amazing, it was frozen in the bottles.

Finally at a little after 2:00 we stopped in the village of Vahakyro at a Grocery Store. As we sat in a couple of chairs and ate a few things we bought I begin to explore options. We were and an oddity. I asked for a toilet and the owner showed the way. Then I asked if there was a hotel in town. No, but he had a friend with a furnished house that he rents. He called only to find that it was taken. Other options, a place 20 Km on down the road. We knew that we had had it for the day. Then a nice lady told us about another possibility. Isokyro, a place off the road that has a guest house.

The guys at the Grocery Store, the owner and the girl both took us to heart. We had forgotten how great people are and how they really want to help. Finally we decided that we would take a cab to the guest house and leave the bikes there at the store. Markku, the owner, had us bring the bikes around the building and he stored them in the compressor room. It was spotless, I complemented him and he told me it should be, he had just had all replaced 1 week ago. I knew that he had spent some money and commented. He said, “Yes, 200,000€”. He has owned the store for 2 ½ years so I said that he must know that he’ll get his investment back. He shrugged and said, “Maybe”. I knew the feeling, I’d been there. Back in 1965, I swaggered into Boron, California and bought a little Grocery Store. Little did I know that 7 years later I’d have less than I did when we started the thing. I did learn a lot of lessons, about life and business.

The cab was a huge van. He was happy to accommodate, at 20€. It was further than we though and further off the road than we had pictured. The place is called Vieraskoti Liisesa. The owner was there to meet us. What an accommodating guy he was. He carried bags, gave us a tour of the place then offered to set up a coffee machine since they don’t do breakfast. He offered a microwave but we though it wasn’t necessary.

It was a cold wind a blowin’ as we walked the Km to the grocery store. There is no restaurant, only a bar and it is further down the road. We decided to eat in. Visited both grocery stores in town and got a chicken, bread and cookies. Pretty light and of course you noticed that we left out wine. Not by choice, the nearest Alko is 20 Km away. As we walked back the owner drove up, jumped out and gave us his old Cell Phone so that we could call the Taxi in the morning. What a nice guy, so nice that I asked if he had taken the coffee machine over yet. When he answered no, I asked if he would bring the microwave. He understood the problem and said that he would. Somehow, maybe the loaned phone, reminded us of Aidan, our landlord in Lagos. He had gone those extra miles, too, including letting us use his cell phone.

That microwave was a lifesaver. After a warm shower we heated our chicken, pulled off pieces of bread and enjoyed a banquet. We were here alone, solitude and ice!

It is almost 8:00 PM now. The thermometer tells us that it is –8.2 degrees outside. The weather news, at least the pictures, said that it would be a little warmer tomorrow but cloudy and windy. WE watched TV, picked up a little CNN News on the Finnish station, not much new since this morning. What a Day!

March 21, 2003
Isokyro to Kesti Iivarian

The day started early, cold and early. I awoke at 6:00 AM and looked out the window. There was an unbelievable sunrise reflected in the ice on the river. I checked the outside temperature, -9.1. Back under the covers and we just relaxed until 7:00.

The fruit and food we picked up was at least enough to fuel us for a while. Thanks to our patron we enjoyed hot pastries. I called the Taxi at 8:30, the guy handed me off to one who spoke some English. I asked him to pick us up at 9:00 but her said, “Too early,” then he struggled until we worked our 9:30. He got here just a little early.

Our friends at the store, Markku and Krista, turned out to be husband and wife. We got the bikes out of the compressor room and I loaded them while Cat shopped for lunch things. Again we talked about my experience, bad checks from customers who would then go miles out of the way to avoid coming in. He agreed, they have had that problem, too. You not only lose the money on the check but you lose the customer, too. The guy I met yesterday, a painter working in the store took our picture together then we pushed off at 11:00. As we started to roll they came out and handed Cat two big Finnish Chocolate Bars, for luck and strength.

Marke & Krista

During our conversation Markku told us that his Mother and Father are retired and live in Malaga, Spain so we told him about our time there and at Marbella.

It was a tough day on the trail. Cold and wind from the south east that pressed into our right temples and impeded our progress. We were both stiff and sore, too. Out of shape? Yes we are!

After struggling for 15 Km we turned off the street toward a store called Tolkin. Though we thought it was groceries it turned out to be Hardware. That would have been a problem for us except for the clerk. I looked around a little while Cat stood in the sun near the door. They did have some fruit drinks so I took a bottle and asked if it was to drink. The girl, Anne, said, “You’re from America?” I was surprised then she told me that she was Scottish, married to a Finn. I asked about sitting on the patio chairs that were for sale. She was excited, “Yes, come in and I will get someone to take the register so we can talk.

We relaxed and unwrapped our lunchmeat and cheese. Anne came over and told us she has lived here for 3 years and loves it. Cat asked about the cold and she said that she must be a local now, she found herself taking the dog for a walk in –15 and thought it wasn’t that cold. I told her about my friends, Paul and Nancy who I helped buy a house. When I told her that they now have 3 boys and a bigger house she volunteered that they had a house, 7 rooms, and she is pregnant. What a nice person, she also filled our water bottles and then gave us Salmiakki, the Finnish salty licorice candy. Wow, three nice new friends and two kinds of candy.

It was just head down and push the pedals for another hour and a half. Our dream of reaching the big city of Seinajoki were fading, fast. When we finally reached the cross road and our turn from Highway 16 to 18 we knew that we could go no farther. The young girl in the service station was a God Send. She spoke great English and really helped us find the only room in town. The owner of the place stood by and smiled as she hustled on the phone.

After securing the room we realized that we were short of cash. The Bank, the only Bank, wouldn’t accept our ATM Card. I went in and waited then finally one of the two clerks told us we could get cash from our Visa Card. We tried for $250 and it wouldn’t work, she couldn’t get approval. Just when I thought we were in deep trouble she suggested $100. It went through, we would be able to pay for our room.

We pedaled off down Highway 16 BOUT 3 Km and took the turn where we saw the sign. Off across a muddy, icy road then lost. I went to the door of a farmhouse and the lady was wonderful. We couldn’t understand a work either was saying but she new the Guest House. She stepped out on her porch in stocking feet then onto the ice to point back down the road. As I returned to the cross road Cat was talking with a guy in a car. He had chased us down, he was the owner of Kesti Iivarin Majatalo. He asked us to follow then took off as though we were riding motorcycles. I saw him turn in so we did find the place. It is an old farmhouse. He has no garage but decided that we could keep the bikes in his shop. Cat checked the room, not bad for the ONLY room in town. We were at home for the night.

Viljo was really helpful. He took Cat’s bike and I followed him across the sheet of ice that is the driveway and around the house on the extension of the ice to his shop. It was tough work, his boots are better suited for walking on ice. My bike shoes are like a fish out of water, on ice. The bikes do not handle at all. The weight makes them want to slip away to the right as you struggle and push.

Hot showers made us feel better. The eldest of four children, Tina, gave us a ride into town. She told us that she is 21 and the youngest is only 3 months old. When we came in her father told me that he wanted to cycle tour Europe someday. That looks like it will be 15 or 20 years, now.

A couple of glasses of box wine at the Bar next to the bank then we enjoyed salad and split a pizza at the ABC Restaurant. (They have no Alko Store in this village, either.) ABC is actually a gas station, truck stop, hamburger place. The pizza was good but rich. Good and rich. We taxied back to Kesti Iivarin, I journalized a little then we watched TV. Unintelligible TV for us as it was all in Finnish.

March 22, 2003
Kesti Iivarian to Seinajoki

Today is Glenys, Cat’s Mom’s Birthday, a young 82 years. When I talked with Viljo about finding an Internet Connection in the village to send her a Birthday message he said, “Jo, I have here one.” He offered to let us use their computer.

More unintelligible reports of war on TV. No English but the orange fire balls spoke international sentences. We were up before 7:00. Slowly we dressed and packed. We were pretty much ready at 8:00, our appointed time for breakfast so I went down and knocked. Vikki, that’s Viljo’s nickname, stuck his head out the door and said, “Five minutes.”

Breakfast was porridge with toast, juice and coffee. They offered a small tray of cheese and meat. We packaged part of it for a snack along the trail. As we finished Vikki came up, poured a cup of coffee and sat. Cat went down to use their computer while we did our best to have a conversation. He is a Carpenter, they prefabricate log cabins with what he called power saws. Most of his work is in the summer. No wonder the old house looks so good inside. He has lined the entire upstairs with rough sawn log. There is a breakfast room and 4 bedrooms that open off of it. The guest book didn’t look like they have that many guests, hopefully lots of them don’t sign in. It was interesting that several of those signed in were from the USA. Most here, tracing their family roots. Vikko said that a lot of people immigrated to the US from this area. In fact one signer was a cousin of his who lives in Seattle, Washington.

Cat’s attempt at the computer failed. It is old and slow, like me. She could get to AOL but couldn’t send the message. She was a little nervous and stopped trying because Vikko’s wife and baby were sleeping, the computer was in the master bedroom. Cat said the wife apologized that the computer was so slow and her English was better than Vikko’s.

We were pleasantly surprised when we brought the bags down. Vikko had already pushed the bikes across the ice. We chatted, or tried to, while we loaded the bags, took a picture on the ice then cycled away. The wind was blowing in our faces andit was cold. Today was supposed to be warmer and in fact it was before you factor in the wind chill. We had to ride hard to make the 3 Km back to the cross roads. When we turned the corner we still had heavy wind resistance on our right temples. It was going to be a tough day.

The bike path was clear most of the time but when we approached ice we walked it. We only stopped a couple of times to rest a little and drink some water. At one point the wind was howling across the icy farm fields at about 25 Km per hour. (15 MPH) It took most of the fun out of cycling and slowed us to a crawl. We only averaged 12 Km per hour. We both knew that Seinajoki was the end of our ride for today. It was just 28 Km from Vikka’s place but we were out of shape, out of gas. To go on would be to turn the corner into the wind and plow another 33 Km. At the rate we were traveling it would be dark before we got to the next town.

Slippin’ and a Slidin’

Like a magnet, we were drawn to the Alko Store for a bottle of wine. While Cat shopped I kept an eye on the bikes. A guy sidled up and sat next to me. He tried to have a conversation. The only words I understood were “Money, money”, which he repeated often. As he talked he would point toward the Alko Store. I was getting it, he wanted a drink and he wanted me to give him money. He had the look of an alchohloic and strangely, when he held his hands up to accentuate his point I saw that he had no thumbs. Cat came out with her bag and he really rattled. We told him, “Bye bye” and he answered the same, smiled and waved.

The City Hotel, Best Western was just around the corner. They had a room, just 76 € including breakfast. We grabbed it. The lady resisted our request to take the bikes to the room then shrugged and turned away. We pushed them into the lobby and one of the housekeeping ladies rushed over and spewed words at us. The only one we understood was Hotelli. When we told her we were staying in Hotelli she rushed back toward the front desk as if to complain. Too late, we were in.

The elevator is small, Cat thought we would have to take the bags off. I had her open the door and I pushed hard then pulled the front wheel up and pushed it in on the rear wheel. We made a bit of a mess, the tires were muddy. Cat went back, after we had them both up, and wiped up a bit. We were in for the night.

Lots of war news, over and over and over. Yes, in English, too. We showered then went down and used their computer. That was the best deal of all, FREE. There is a problem getting money for shipping Lil’ Scotty and over 100 other messages. We got a Birthday Message off to Glenys and cleaned up lots of others. One piece of happy news, Todd, the producer of LandRider’s Infomercials has arranged to get a DVD video camera for us. We will be able to take shots and send them to him from the road. We are still hopeful that he will be able to come to Moscow or at least get a crew to do some shooting there. Dinner at the Hotel Restaurant, we thought we were going to be the only guests but a big group came in and partied. Back in the room we caught a subtitled movie that looked good but couldn’t keep our eyes open. Lights out at 9:30 PM.

Sunday, March 23, 2003
Seinajoki to Jalajarvi

I woke up at 3:22 AM according to the digital clock on the TV. Couldn’t seem to get back to sleep but I rationalized that we had already had almost 6 hours sleep. The sounds of a party breaking up drifted up to our room as I drifted back off to sleep When I awoke at 6:30 I had to get up. I bugged Cat by typing until she turned the TV on to, MORE WAR. It is starting to look like it won’t be a cake walk and more friendly fire casualties. So far 3 helicopters have crashed killing fourteen Us and Brit Soldiers. They play a clip of the Father of one of the first fatalities holding a picture of his son and saying, “President Bush you took my Son away, you took my ONLY son away.” Then, a news flash, a US Soldier, possibly a Muslim, went nuts and threw a grenade into a bunch of colleagues. He killed one and injured 25. Well, war is nuts!

I caught up the journal then we did the included breakfast. I was really good. Cat put some new friends into the web-site while I finished my coffee then we cleaned up the e-mail some more.

By 10:00 we brought the bikes down, got an interesting picture of Bike and I in elevator. It was 10:30 as we rolled away from Seinajoki but pulled up in just a few blocks. The lady at the Hotel told us to go right but it didn’t feel right? Cat got direction from inside a service station while I talked with a young guy about our trip. He too confirmed that we would find the road to Tampere, E12 just continue onward.

Somehow we took a round about route but did find the Highway and pedal out on a wet street lined with a forest of small trees. The road undulates up and down, slightly but is pretty flat. We started on the bike path but soon gave up and hit the street. The gravel that covers it has piled up after being put on each layer of fresh snow. Now that the path is dry it feels loose and unfriendly.

It is warmer but our toes are running cold. At 17 Km out we stopped for a bite of food. Sitting in a cute little bus stop we munched and froze out. The floor was ice and the slight breeze blew through, around our feet. Our cloths were a little sweaty, too. That began to cool, it was a little after 12:00 noon, we had to roll.

The landscape is pretty much the same as the first 3 days. Tall skinny trees, some conifers and some white barked like birch. Open areas where the fields lay fallow under the snow and ice allow the wind to kick up a little more. Anne had said that there were only a few very small villages between Seinajoki and Jalasjarvi, our target for today. We began to plan on going to the next little village then came a little cold rain and it sort of quashed that idea.

On the outskirts we stopped to take a couple of pictures of the famous windmills of this area. We were in Jalasjarvi 35 Km and 3 hours from our starting. Yes, we are still moving pretty slowly but we feel stronger. The Restaurant and Hotelli Valtatie drew us in. Just a bowl of soup and info, we felt good enough to ride on and the rain had stopped. The soup was really pretty good, and the guy is very helpful. Yes, there is a place to stay about 15 Km on down the road. Unfortunately, no Restaurant or store. The guy at Valtatie did tell us that the store in town, another 2 Km, was open. We decided to ride on in and see about taking enough for dinner, calling the place and riding on. The whole idea unraveled when the stores, all three of them, were closed. We stopped a nice gal and she confirmed what the guy at Valtatie had said. She even stopped a couple of other people and asked but all to no avail. It was back to The Valtatie for the night.

The room is ground floor so we rolled the bikes right in. A hot shower, a little English language television. We were in heaven. Oh yea, the show was Touched by an Angel so it was a tear jerker with a good message. Hot showers, Finnish style, where the water comes out directly above your head. No door or curtain but a giant drain in the middle of the floor. And dinner, we both had Spaghetti Bolognese. Trying to Carb up for tomorrows first longer ride, 62 Km.

March 24, 2003
Jalasjarvi to Parkano

“When it’s Spring Time in Alaska, it’s 40 below!” Johnny Horton.

It will be 40F above today but the words of Pauli still ring in our ears, Helsinki is farther North than Fairbanks Alaska. We’re still pretty close to the Arctic Circle here.

It looks like 6:30 is time to get up, now. I peeked out the window and Cat stirred then asked what it looked like. Beautiful, some high clouds and a sunrise of orange and gold. We stirred then turned on the TV. Of course the news was Irak, that’s how they spell it here. The first pictures we saw were of three young American Soldiers, Prisoners of War. It was awful, one of them was wounded but sat up and talked. One was a girl, a black girl who looked scared as heck, who wouldn’t be? Of course the news is all in Finnish so we just had to guess what was happening. Then G. W. Bush came on and said, “ I expect that the Prisoners of War will be treated in the same way that we treat Prisoners of War.” Next an Iraqui Officer stood in front of a bank of microphones and said that Iraq has always treated POWs well, even before the Geneva Convention established rules. Obviously a jab, intended to say that Iraq is an old and civilized nation. The last news we saw was live from California. The Oscars were being given out, live, at 7:00 AM, well that would be 9:00 PM at home. One guy, Michael Moore said, “ Shame on you Mr. Bush, Shame on you. We’re against this war and shame on you. Any time you have the Pope and____.” We didn’t hear the rest because of the over dub but I thought he said, “The Dixie Chicks, against you, you’re gonna lose!”

What a way to start the day. Breakfast was okay. We have re-established our like for boiled eggs. After coffee we loaded the bikes and wheeled out a little before 9:00 AM. A recent record for us. We rode directly to the center of town and bought groceries. Bread, lunch meat and cheese. Back out to the Highway, E12 but when we crossed the bridge it was obvious that we couldn’t jus ride around and onto the roadway. Off to the right we could see the bike path. We took a chance that paid off. However, when we joined the path it was all ice. We had to walk, slip and slide.

About half of the day was on bike path, the other was a wide shoulder, most of the time. The scenery really looked familiar. Finally I decided that it was like Alaska. Thin trees, most conifer, and wide open spaces. There were very few cars on the road most of the time. I remembered looking at the map of the world at Veiraskoti Liisesa, the guesthouse back three days ago. Though we’re south of the Arctic Circle by 300 Km or so, we were farther north than Anchorage, Alaska in Vaasa. (Somebody check that, okay?)

The Alaska Look

We stopped at a Truck Stop for juice. It is also a tourist place with a cheese maker and nice restaurant that is probably busy in the summer but not today. The temperature was +7 when we left Jalasjarvi. It felt like a wonderful spring day. Sure, there is snow along the side of the road and the rivers and lakes are frozen over but it was warmer than we have seen since we arrived here. We even saw some guys ice fishing, sitting on the lake with their lines lowered through holes, hoping.

Our second stop, for lunch was in Kuivasjarvi, it would turn out to be just a Service Station and Mini Mart. There was a Grill but it was closed. We bought two apples then sat on the patio of the Grill, in the sun and enjoyed. Our little thermometer, laying on my black jacket in the sun, registered 22 degrees. We were in a heat wave, at least until we started to ride again. As we sat a car pulled in and the guy began to fill his tank. He yelled out to us, “How far are you going?” We had seen him, his wife and son at the Hotel in Seinajoki. Nice guy, Italian yet named Mustaffa. They live in Sweden. He and his Father have a Persian Rug Business. He is visiting salespeople and taking a little vacation at the same time. I pointed out the fact that the way he dressed looked more Italian that Swedish. He always has a nice jacket and silk tie on.

The real temperature was about 8 degrees most of the day. As we neared Parkano the traffic picked up and the shoulder narrowed. The terrain had started to roll and undulate. It was slow ups and rock and roll downs. We turned the corner, into Parkano at 2:15. This will be our longest day on the seat since we re-started, 5 hours, and our best distance, 65 Km. We were back in business.

We stopped at the Super Market, I bought bananas and asked where the Hotel Pesti and the Alko Store were located. The gals there took great care in pointing and directing. We walked up the hill to Alko then coasted back down and around the corner to the Hotel. Cat checked us in then we tried to push the bikes up the driveway. It was a sheet of ice. We slipped and slid until my bike went down. Then the lady who works here came out and showed us how to find the best places to step.

When we got inside we realized that she had booked us upstairs and the elevator was tiny. Cat asked if they had a room on floor one. The gal took the keys and dashed away. When she returned we were in Room 104. It is small so we had to leave the bikes locked together in the hallway.

Cat showered then hit the Tourist Office while I soaked up the hot water. We went to the Library and used their computers. This really capped off our best day of cycling yet in 2003. The first message was that, even though they hadn’t received the payment, Lil’ Scotty was aboard the good ship Trieste and headed for Port Hueneme. Then another piece of great news, after almost a year, Le Classique, our old Cortez Motor Home had sold. We would net almost $6,000. Well we paid $6,200 for her and we spent more than $8,000 fixing her and keeping her running but we wouldn’t take a $1.000.000 for the fun times she had given us. We used her for our Real Estate Business, taking up to 14 agents with us to look at new properties on the market. When she was a Real Estate Bus we had “Patterson & Tintorri, Your Real Estate Home Team Advantage”, sign on her. When we were playing music we had another set of signs and she became, “Acadiana, Cajun & Zydeco Band, The Gator head Express.” So, one big piece of memorabilia leaves us and another takes it’s place.

Dinner was pretty good, another deserted restaurant save for us. We are beginning to wonder if anyone travels here in the winter?

March 25, 2003
Parkano to Ylojarvi

Though we were up fairly early we seemed to bog down. Breakfast, the included then off to the ATM, the Apteekki (Pharmacy) and Library to try to get an e-mail to Bengt Bengtsson, our Lil’ Scotty agent to forward the message from our Pal, Charlie, our Base Camp that he would wire the money on Monday. The ATM rejected us. Cat went for the drugs and I rode to the Library but it wouldn’t open until 10:00.

It was 9:45 when we finally straddled the bikes and pedaled. Based upon advice from the gals at the Pharmacy we went back to the main cross street, up the hill past the Alko Store and out across a bridge over the highway. It was like a freeway overpass with no way to get on the bike path. We took a turn to the left based upon blind faith and rolled down a dirt, muddy road. There was a small path carved between snow banks that led to the bike path. Though the sun was shining brightly it was still pretty cold. Several times we had to walk the bikes through fields of ice.

The road continues its ups and downs. Most of the day would be out on the highway. For lunch we rolled into a fast food place called Rolls. Burgers and fries, how Californiaish. As we were readying to leave Cat asked about the phone number for the Hotelli in Ylojarvi. Analie, who works in the adjacent store took her to heart and researched until she found it. They didn’t have a public phone but she told us we would find one further down the road. Later we stopped at a place that used to be a service station. No gas but a small café and store. We bought a container of orange juice and split it into our water bottles. We tried to phone Ylojarvi to confirm a room at the only Hotel. It will be an 82 Km day and we may get in late. The nice lady finally got our question and stammered out an answer. “No telephone.” We were really out in the country,

It’s Like Camping?

She did say there would be one in 2 Km so we rode on. Another Rolls Burger joint pulled us in and the nice girl let us use their cordless phone. The guy at the Hotel spoke very little English but got the point that we were coming and he took our name.

Most of the afternoon was spent on the Highway, E12. As the day wore on the traffic thickened and a lot of it was trucks. Big trucks, many pulling double trailers. Each time one came by they very courteously pulled away, across the center lane and raised a huge cloud of dusk. My tickle in the throat hated it. We both began to hack and cough. I started to wonder what might be in the dust, they use gravel and salt for traction during snow and ice. There is also a liquid that is used on windshields, I could only imagine what other chemicals we might be sucking in with the dust.

It’s a Dangerous Business!

We both were becoming weary of the heavy traffic. Cat said that she could feel herself scrunching down and tightening up each time a one of the monsters bore down on us. Every time we jump on board the bikes we know there is some degree of danger in doing what we are doing. Today was one of the days that brings the point home. We circled in a round-a-bout then were caught in a narrow lane. We decided to lift the bikes up on the sidewalk to get out of the traffic. A truck with a set of doubles rounded the circle and sped into the narrow area as Cat was lifting her front wheel onto the curb. I yelled but the noise of the truck buried my warning. As the rear wheels on the trailer cheated in the turn it came closer and closer to Cat. She sensed the danger and yanked herself and the bike up and fell over backwards. I thought the truck had hit her or the bike. Her head smacked down on the walkway, on the back of her helmet and her little light broke in two. I rushed to her but she was already getting up and cursing the truck driver. She didn’t even realize how close she had come to getting her bike or worse yet, her leg crushed. We were lucky! The driver probably didn’t even realize how close he was?

On the brighter side, there are fields where the grass is starting to show through the snow. The trees were getting taller and the Evergreens are getting ever greener. It really feels like a spring day. At one point we stopped and shed one of our layers of clothing.

The hills seemed to get steeper and the pulls up them longer. We even had to walk a few times as the day wore on. Cat remembered our first days on Highway 1 along the California Coast. It was the only real training we had done. This too was training, slowly getting our bodies back in shape for the distance that lies ahead in the next almost two years. The bike path presented hazards, too. We found ourselves headed away from the road and decided that we should cut across the snow, back onto the highway. Suddenly, I sank, knee deep and shoes full.

We caught a bike path in a village but it was veering away from the Highway. Concerned and not wanting any extra distance added to our already long day, we pulled up to ask directions. Two women passing sort of ignored us but must have figured out we were trying to talk to them. When they stopped a girl, Rita, on bicycle almost ran into them. She stopped, they all listened to our question then the two indicated that they couldn’t speak English but Rita pulled through. She dug out enough words to tell us to go to a horse place then further 2 Km then to the right. We had seen lots of trucks and horse trailers with sulkies on top or hanging on the back. I asked if it was a racing place and she said, “Yes, little wagons.”

When we saw the race track we pulled in, got fresh directions and a couple of pictures of the horses and sulkies. It looks like a lot of ordinary people are involved in the sport. Glenys and Earl, Cat’s parents go to the races at Santa Anita almost daily during the season. We usually join them at least once. The Sport of Kings there is really just for the very wealthy to own and race their animals. Here we saw every thing from retired couples to young people grooming and preparing their ponies. The trucks that bring them here range from trashy trailers to huge and expensive horse haulers. These are farmers and wanna be farmers and horse lovers having fun and betting they will lead, down the stretch.

Trotters, Pacers and Everyday Racers

The three guys at the gate worked out enough sign language to get us to The Sport Hotel. The girl who checked us in was really great. Unfortunately she couldn’t accept any credit cards. The nearest ATM was a 10€ cab ride away, 20€ round trip. We scraped together enough to pay for the room but had no money for dinner. A shower, that’s what we need then we’ll work out the details.

Surprise, we even had Euro News, in English. The war continues to grind along. Many are starting to wonder why it is taking so long. As one commander put it, they just drove in, without any resistance. Now they were at the edge of the cities and the Iraqis were there, waiting for them. He complained that they were trying to avoid civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. As though the Iraqis should come out and fight like men. He even said they were playing dirty by dressing like civilians when being captured. Well what would we do against the world’s most powerful army if we were little David up against Goliath? The woman announcer said it was looking less and less like a cake walk, we agree. One callous commander when asked how many enemy casualties there were, he said, “We’re not accountants, we’re fighting a war. We kill em’, bury em’ and move on.” I have heard that it is easier to kill if you de-humanize your victims?

Though the girl had called the restaurant we saw when we rounded the corner and told us it was closed we decided to walk there and see for ourselves. Maybe it would open after 6:00 PM? Wrong, it was closed until March 31. Back at Hotel Sport Restaurant we suggested that, though we want to hold onto them we do have some US Dollars. The gals talked mongst themselves then told us that we could go to the bank in the morning and pay then. That is trust, that is hospitality. We had the Finnish Hash. It is 5 Euro per person. A real pile of potatoes, sausage, ham, onion and a fried egg perched on top. The salad bar was included, too. As we were finishing our favorite gal brought dessert, a bowl of strawberries. The entire meal including a bottle of okay wine was 25€. What a bargain.

Back in the room, we watched the rotation of Sky News twice then caught subtitled movie. Our legs are a little stiff but we basked in the feeling of accomplishment.

March 26, 2003
Tampere to Helsinki

That pesky dry throat had me up and sippin’ the cough syrup at 4:00 AM. I lay awake for a little while and thought about our plan and how tight it was going to be. We are about 2 ½ days from Helsinki by bike. That puts us there on Friday. The Russian Embassy closes at Noon. When my coughing awoke The Cat we talked about plan B. We decided that we would get into Tampere this morning then take the train to Helsinki and get the Visas. We will leave the bikes here, spend the night in Helsinki then get back the next morning. This new plan would allow us to cycle from Tampere to the Russian Border. That will cut 2 days cycling so it made sense, dollars and sense.

Breakfast is only served from 6:00 to 8:00 AM. Who made that rule? We rushed across the slippery ice only to find the door locked. My watch said 8:02. Were they that tough? We pounded, tried to get the other customers inside to open the door. Finally I discovered the night bell and lay on it. The morning girl opened the door, spewed a stream of words foreign to us then pointed at the sign. I pointed at my watch to show her that it was less than 5 minutes after 8:00 and we had been at the door since 8:00. Reluctantly she allowed us in. Her attitude was 180 from the ladies last night. She was almost huffy.

Breakfast, the usual which by the way we had paid 7 Euro extra for, then we began to pack and plan how we would find the village, the bank then get back here. Two field decision in one morning! We will just take off leaving the bill unpaid then mail cash back from Tampere or Helsinki. We even left a note for Harri, the owner, to make sure he knew. I slipped the bikes out of the garage and across the slippery ice, we loaded and hauled for Tampere.

Just down the street we came to another moment of decision. Which way to go? A gal in colorful cold weather gear stopped for the light and we asked her. She spoke very little English but got the gist. It was still below zero and there was ice on the path. We stopped and walked. She soon left us as she hurried to work. Another stop and shuffle across slippery surface then we crossed under the railroad tracks and to a fork in the trail. As Yogi Bera said, “When you come to a fork in the trail, take it.” We would have been lost except for the sight of that colorful girl, Kiia, standing, waiting to let us know which way to go. This kind of hospitality seems to be the rule rather than the exception here, in Finland.

It was about 15 Km to the Centrum. We followed signs then asked when we felt insecure. Easier than we thought, the main street dead ends at the Train Station. Yes, there were several trains to Helsinki, yes they could store the bikes there. We backtracked and got maps directions and Hotels for our reroute. One of the gals husbands at tourist works with the newspaper. She asked Cat if we would do an interview. We would love to but not today. We promised to call or stop in when we get in, tomorrow. Back at the train station we off loaded the bags we would take with us and checked the bikes. Sure we would miss the next train we bought tickets for the 12:22 departure. When we got up on the platform the 12:07 was still there. We were under way.

Two hours riding backward and eating our pilfered breakfast food and we were back in Helsinki, again. Oh Lord, stuck in Helsinki Again! We bought a trolley pass and went directly to Hotel Anton. Our pal, Pauli was on duty and happy to see us. Yes, they had a room, we were home in Helsinki, for the night.

Our plan was to see the Doctor, have her check my wheeze and Cat’s rash and fill several prescriptions. We fear going to Russia and running out of drugs. The second most important item was laundry, we would see the Doctor then go to the Laundromat. Well, it seems that half of Helsinki is sick. We had to wait an hour and a half to get in to see Doctor. That took up the desperately needed laundry time. The Doctor, Jorma Ohisalo, spoke great English. He had lived and worked in Texas and Pennsylvania. He really questioned whether Cat had actually suffered a heart attach. We hated the wait but loved talking with him. He wrote the prescriptions, checked my lungs and elbow as well as Cats rash. Nothing he could do about the elbow or rash. Though I do have a little rattle left over we decided that I would get back on the steroid inhalant again.

Cat sat out the wait for the drugs at the Apteekki while I posted the 25€ in a thank you card to Harri. No laundry but we did get wine and decide to dine in. Chinese sounded good but it was a long walk. The store is just across the driveway. We took the easy way out, chicken and salads from the Market. We both worked hard cleaning up the more than 100 messages we had up on e-mail. More of the same ol’ war news. It seems to have stalled out? Definitely won’t be a flash in the pan kind of thing. We did find two interesting comments. The first, a US Sergeant, said that it was like cracking a walnut with a sledge hammer. The other, an anti war activist who said, “You promise to save the village but you have to kill half the village to do it?” Next, we got lucky and caught a rerun of The Academy Awards Ceremony that was held last Sunday. Finally lights out at midnight.

March 27, 2003
Helsinki and The Russian Embassy

Late to bed, early to rise. We enjoyed what we hoped would be our last breakfast in Helsinki for a long time. Packed and ready to roll, we checked and worked with the e-mail, said our goodbyes and took the trolley to the Railroad Station. Rather than drag the bags around we left them in a locker and went to the Russian Embassy. The lady there had told Cat just to go to the speaker and say, “Ready Visas.” That didn’t work so we stood in line and waited. It is a cool 8 degrees and breezy but our spirits were soaring. We had been a little nervous about whether to say we were traveling by bicycle so we devised what is known as a plan of “Creative Truth.” If asked, as we have heard some others, we would say that we were meeting a friend from the Russian Cycle Touring Club and they have arranged transportation. Of course the friend Alexey, who we’ve yet to meet, is on a bike and will guide us. When we were next up the lady asked the guy ahead of us if he was taking his own car and he responded, “No, I’m traveling by Train.” Cat looked at me and whispered, “We better be honest”. Finally, it was our turn at the double glass window with little speakers. The nice lady just looked at us, smiled and handed both Passports to us with Visas inside. We quietly walked out into the street, out of camera range then let out a little yelp and hugged. We were going to cycle Russia!.

Pauli, our pal at Anton had urged us to walk past the harbor. What a surprise, as we rounded the corner from the Embassy we were shocked to see water, no ice? This is the same place we took pictures of with ice a foot thick on it. This is the place that we rode the little boat through the ice, just one week ago. What a mystery, how can it disappear so quickly? We could only speculate that a warm current made it’s way under the thick ice.

No Ice in the Harbor?

Back at the Rail Station we collected our bags, got tickets and were soon on the 11:04 headed for Tampere. On time arrival, of course, that’s the Finnish way. Within a half hour we had the bikes out, the bags loaded and were rolling back to the Info Center.

The people there were glad to see us but Olga had misunderstood Cat yesterday. The reporter for the local news came to meet us at 1:00 Pm but we were already in Helsinki, we don’t mess around. We cleaned up the few remaining e-mail messages, got maps and directions then made our third field decision, we would stay here in Tampere tonight. It is too late to go the 40 Km we must complete because the next day will be almost 100. Olga, whose husband works with the newspaper, called and got us a hotel for 60€. That is cheap, for a large city. We were concerned about the location and how bad it might be.

Before going to the Hotel we decided to try to find mirrors to replace those we have lost. Olga circled the three stores nearby that might have them in stock. We pedaled up the main street then stopped to look at the map. A guy walked up and asked if he could help then showed us exactly hoe to find the bike shop. No luck there so we set off for the Sporting Good Store. Again we stopped to study our map and another guy walked up and said he would like to help us. A third time, the same thing, we were beginning to love these standoffish Finns. Our guidebook says that they don’t usually speak unless spoken to. That may be true but they are right there when you need to be rescued!

We had to pedal back to and under the Train Station then up a steep sidewalk. When we turned the corner we saw a plain looking building with a dirt/ice/mud parking lot. Once inside we were more than pleasantly surprised. It is called Homeland Hotel and it is an efficiency apartment. Yes, a range/oven and refrigerator, even a sink and coffee maker. The TV held another pleasant surprise, BBC. And we can’t forget the washing machine and dryer downstairs. We hadn’t washed our cycling clothes in a week. What a treat!

We’re at home, Cat is cookin’ and I’m typin’. Salmon, new potatoes, salad, Home Cookin’ in Homeland. I was able to bring the journal current and insert more of the pictures in the Spain to Stockholm story.

BBC continues to bring us semi live accounts of THE WAR. An American General has said that this is not the war that they had prepared for in their war games. We also saw several wounded Marines and one of them said that they were that there would be little or no resistance? George, what were you and Tony thinking? If the UN Inspectors were still there nobody would have been injured or killed. Maybe, just maybe they would have completed their job, ferreted out any weapons and destroyed them, without casualties.

March 28, 2003
Tampere to Palkane

I woke up at 5:00 AM, maybe because we hit the lights at 9:30 last night? We did a typical “at home” breakfast, bananas, orange, toast and coffee. Though we were up early we got a late start. I took the bikes out back and oiled the chains. A decision to ride back to the Tourist Info wasn’t that popular with Cat. She wanted to get on the road. Our ride today is only about 40 Km and I wanted to check the e-mails and get details of the route we should take. The young man, Mathias, who is a Trainee was there. Olga was off and the other girl had finished her work here. Wally e-mailed the news that we were back on the bikes and we had lots of news from friends. Of course we love to get these messages but they take time and Cat was still anxious to get on the road. A lady came in that we hadn’t met yesterday. She did give us a route that turned out to be a good ride. It was a small side road all the way to the town of Kangasala which is about half our ride today. Most of the day was on bike path and we had several very icy areas that we had to walk the bikes through.

It was 10:45 AM by the time we pedaled up the bridge and over the railroad tracks. We were on a bike path of some sort or other most of the way to Kangasala. We stopped at a large shopping center and had a great chicken burger at Hesburgers. Cat was concerned about a room in the small town of Palkane. It is Friday night and we thought that the small Motel might book up so she tried to call. One attempt led to a conversation in two languages and a hang up on the other end. Then there was no answer so we continued on blind faith.

The shopping center wasn’t in Kangasala. We still had 5 Km to go and the gal at the Information desk there told Cat that we should take Highway 12 from that point. We started on the north side of the highway then came to a tunnel under it. Thinking that we would turn to the right we took it. There was no path on the south side but we thought the road would circle round and join Highway 12. WRONG! We had to push through a snow back and across a muddy field to find it. I stepped up on the snow and sank almost to my knees, again. It was good for a laugh until I realized that my shoes were full of snow. I held each foot up and did all I could to shake the ice out but my socks were soon wet.

Highway 12 is a lot busier and there was no bike path. The shoulder was fairly wide and marked with a white line most of the time. The road is little ups and downs but it is a beautiful, sunny day and we have a light tail wind. We passed water, well, ice over water, on both sides of the road at one time or another. We saw a couple of ice fishermen and one cross country skier out on the lake. Late in the afternoon we rode through fairly tall trees that blocked the sun. There is still plenty of snow on the ground and it was pretty cool in the shade.

Palkane fell under our wheels at 2:15 PM. We had met a guy who looked like he had already had a few drinks at the Shopping Center. He told us that Palkane was a nothing place. It reminded us of Pucker Brush, Nevada. Remember the story of our friendly family that helped us weather the storm there? No storm here, thank goodness but it is just a truck stop and travel center. The Store, Café and Motel are all one. It was a small room and the beds are bunked up like those in the Ferry Boat. Hey, home is home.

March 29, 2003
Palkane to Lahti

The included breakfast also provided a pilfered lunch. We rolled out the drive at 9:40 AM. The sign tells us that it is 91 Km to Lahti. It is cold and the road rolls up and down. The first little town we passed is Hauho and we wanted to make sure that we would have a room because we will get in late. Cat went in the combination service station/restaurant and tried to ask for a phone. The people working there couldn’t understand but a guy with close cut hair and a little pony tail stood up and told her that he would help. He stepped outside, she followed then he dialed the number from our pamphlet and handed his cell phone to Cat. What a nice gesture. Anth Hyytia is a carpenter, he builds houses in Helsinki. Living in this small town is good for his family. He travels and stays in Helsinki all week then back home on the weekends.

On down the road a short Way we came upon a really strange sight. The car looked like a dog with its leg up from a distance. Up close it was unbelievable! The lucky people, for some reason, veered across the lanes and hit the end of the guardrail. Instead of rolling over three or four times the car caught the rail like a train and rode right up and on it.

We stopped for soup in a wide spot that sported three restaurants. We chose the cute one that turned out to be a bakery. The ladies were nice but refused to help us choose the best of the two across the road. We went for the one with the swarm of big trucks parked around it. The server has jet black hair and a nice smile. She reminded me of an old real estate pal. They would probably be about the same age, too. We looked at the buffet and each chose a different entree. After I paid her Cat discovered a pot of soup and changed her mind. It looked good so I changed, too. Our black haired friend continued to smile as she wrote the credit. The soup was good, full of potatoes and soft meat, like bologna. The only thing we didn’t like was that it had whole clove seeds floating and flavoring.

The sign across the street told us we still had 38 Km to go and it was 3:00 PM. We just pedaled. Cat saw a sign, Keskura and said she thought it meant Center. We turned and coasted down into the center of town. Lost, we stopped a well dress, well groomed looking couple and asked directions. They conferred in Finnish then he used most of his English to tell us 3 blocks up then left. We thanked them and rode to the stop light. Suddenly he was yelling and running toward us. Huffing and puffing he said we should just go one block then left. What a wonderful gesture.

There was a huge statue in a little park on the corner. We had seen signs all day, in fact since leaving Vaasa, to be careful for Moose crossing. It was a moose, okay, a bronze moose but a moose. We were setting up the camera on Cat’s bike when Klaus walked up and said, “Can I help?” he took the picture then I took one of him. He is a Male Nurse at the hospital just across the street. He also pointed out our hotel, just around the corner then hurried off to work.

It was after 6:00 PM by the time we got to our room. We really needed a warm shower! Dinner and a glass of wine and we were sleeping by 9:30. Oh yes, the war rages on. No count available on how many of the enemy Iraqis have been killed and buried but they are saying that 49 Americans and 26 Brits have paid the ultimate. Also the Americans missing numbers have swollen and they know that 17 are POWs. That news should make a few Vietnam Vets roll over in their graves. Damn I wish they hadn’t started, even the brass are saying it will be a longer and I’m saying much more painful war than most thought before they started shooting, killing and dying.

Sunday March 30, 2003
Lahti to Kouvola

Surprise, when we went to breakfast Cat noted that the two clocks in the restaurant read 9:30, an hour ahead of my watch? Yep, the waitress confirmed, they changed to daylight savings time at 3:00 AM.

I took a couple of shots of the fairly un-photogenic main street of Lahti then we rode. That is the sum of the day, we rode. It was cold and some head wind slowed our progress. The bike paths always got very hilly or icy so we took to the road. It was tight, at times then we enjoyed a wide lane or a decent bike path until late in the afternoon. It is 65 Kms on the map but we must have done more than 70 with the back tracking and cutting over snow banks to get out of the traffic then back onto the road. Lunch was pretty non-descript, too. While we ate a little girl ran back and forth in the parking lot. She was wearing a pink snowsuit, probably 3 or 4 years old. For some reason she chose the bikes as her tag for the run away from her parents car. She would run, touch, turn and laugh. We probably got as much fun out of the exercise as she did. The Mom and Dad must have loved to see her expend all that energy before stuffing her back into the car.

With just 15 Km left to ride the road thinned and the traffic thickened. We struggled in a clod wind and a swarm of trucks and cars. It was 5:00 PM CEDST (Central European Daylight Savings Time) by the time we got into Kouvalo. There were three hotel possibilities. We chose the first we would come to. Lost, I went into McDonalds and got excellent direction from the manager. As we checked in the Desk Person, Mari told us the room would be 79€. When I told her that was more than we usually paid she apologized. I asked about Internet Access and she said we could use the computer for 5€ per half hour. When I asked if we could make a deal on that she smiled and said, “Yes.” I asked what the deal was and she almost laughed as she said, “Free, is that a good deal?” How could we pass on that?

March 31, 2003
A Day Off in Kouvola

A cold windy snowy day off. We were tired and tired of the cold and wind but it was the snow that stopped us. This would be a day of rest, Internet and TV. Yes, we have BBC and when the news began overlapping we found several shows in English, dubbed in Finnish. In the late afternoon we walked to the shopping center. The wind whistled around our ears and through our clothing. It is still very cold with an extreme wind chill factor. Toiletries, CDs and floppy disks were our goals and we met every one of them. A picture with our friend, Mari, who had checked us in and shared so much good information with us. We had hoped to have one with her and the bikes but she is off work tomorrow.

April 1, 2003
Kouvola to Lappeenranta

First stop this morning is the Post Office. We mailed a package of maps and back up materials home then rolled out of town in cold, dry weather. The road rises and falls, the shoulder is narrow much of the way. We tried to ride on the bike path a couple of times but gave up at patches of ice and another dead end that required a backtrack.

A light snack in the early afternoon at a truck stop. The gal there was extremely nice, spoke English and was talkative. She told us it was her first day on the job. She had owned a Boutique for 22 years so she had experience. OJ and cookies then back on the road.

Just crank, slow long ups and downs, all of the time in cold air. Our lunch was ham and cheese leftovers. We just stood in the sun, move around to warm ourselves and wolfed it down.

It was late and very cold when we finally rolled into Lappeenranta. Lost, Cat tried to ask directions from a guy. At first he was hesitant then pointed straight ahead and motioned for us to go ahead three blocks. The light changed and he walked across as we stood and talked about whether he was correct or not. We had to wait for another green and as we did he stopped and stood looking back at us. We wondered what he was looking at and why he was just standing there when he had seemed in such a hurry before. The light changed and we pushed. As we reached the opposite curb he stopped us and apologized then pointed to our right. There it was a couple of blocks away, Hotel Sokos. What a nice man, it reminded us of all the people who stopped when we were trying to find the sporting goods store in Tampere.

At the desk we both choked when they told us the price. We told them that our price range was much lower than 120 € per night. Then I mentioned that we had chosen the place because of our stay in Kouvala and that it was 79€ with unlimited use of their computer. She said, “That’s very cheap, the best I could offer is weekend rates, that would be 80 €. Delighted but not wanting to show it I asked about Internet. “Unlimited, of course, it is included.” We were in for the evening.

April 2, 2003
Lappeenranta to Vyborg

There was no hurry to get started this morning. It is –8 and windy outside. As we ate our breakfast we had the ladies at the desk try to book two rooms at the Druzhba Hotel in Vyborg., When we stopped back they said they had no luck. When they did get through on the phone the person there didn’t speak Finnish or English. Oh boy, a sign of things to come. They did suggest a travel agency that specializes in Russian travel.

The cold seemed to cut right through our layers of clothing as we rounded the building and headed down the street. It was already 10:30 AM and we still had to try and book the rooms. What a disaster it would be to get there and not have a place for us or our guide from The Russian Cycle Touring Club, Alexey.

The lady in the second desk took us in and began her work. Paivi Hyttinen told us she was new to the company but had travel agency experience. With the help of Alina they did get in touch with Druzhba and finally reserve the rooms. Then we paid them and they gave us vouchers. It was all done on trust but what other choice did we have?

When they finally understood that we were going to ride our bicycles across one of the gals listening in the back came out and said that we wouldn’t be allowed. “You will have to get a ride across, the Russians won’t allow you in on bicycles.” That started a flurry of phone calls to the border. Paivi and Alina really got involved. In the end they spoke with both sides and both confirmed the other gals story. No bicycle will be ridden across, we would have to make an arrangement with a bus or truck driver to have them hauled over. What a disappointment!

Another stop that we wouldn’t have made without Paivi’s help was a money changing office. They wouldn’t take a credit card so we had to find a cash machine. It was just around the corner and it worked. With a hand full of Euros we went back and emerged with a bucket full of Ruble. The rate is 31 Ruble to 1€. 200€ became almost 10,000 Ruble.

Finally, at 12:30 PM, we rode away from Lappeenranta and our last Finnish town. Finally we were leaving Finland. It seems like years ago that we froze out in October. Speaking of frozen, the wind whistled round our ears and through our jackets. Cat put every piece of clothing she had on and still shivered. No telling what the temp was with the wind chill factor.

It was a 7 Km ride to the north east then we turned toward the south east and Russia. Our map had indicated under 30 Km. to the border. The signs made it clear that it would be 40 Km. Our map showed us that we were riding along the Saimaan Kanava. We think that is the Saimaa Canal, Saimaa is what we think Russians call Finland

In the tiny village of Nuijamaa, very near the Border, we stopped for a bit of food. They called the soup Borscht, it was a cabbage soup but it had those darned clove seeds in it. We again worked around them and had two bowls each. There were a lot of trucks and truck drivers coming and going. A couple of hot looking Russian girls seemed to be flirting with some of them? (Their car had a Russian license plate.) We were excited and in a hurry to get back on the road, cold or no.

Down a fairly steep hill then up and we were at the Border Guard Station. It wasn’t clear to us if the soldiers were Finns or Russian. When we went inside for Passport Control we found that we were still in Finland. They were nice, even allowed a picture with them in front of the building. Then we asked if they were through with us, they nodded yes so we just started pedaling. One guy called out, “Take a deep breath, it’s the last real freedom you’ll breath until you leave Russia.”

With those words still echoing around in the trees and cold air we pedaled out into the no mans land. There is a sign at the actual Border and we really wanted a picture. The Finns had warned us not to even take our cameras out. We heeded the advice. There were cameras on poles keeping track of our progress, we could see them move as we rode slowly up the hill toward the rough looking Guard House on the other side. There were 4 soldiers there. We leaned the bikes and presented our Passports. Sure that they would send us back or make us wait for a truck or bus, we said nothing. The Commanding Officer called someone, slammed the phone down and called again. Finally he leaned out the window, took the cigarette out of his mouth and said, “You go!” We went!!

Our celebration was short lived. Ahead we saw a long line of trucks and cars. We rode to the front of the line then stood by the window. Finally another Officer looking asked for Passports then picked up his phone, closed the little window and chattered about Americanskis. Slamming the phone back into its cradle he gave both Passports to a green uniform guy and he walked off to another building with them. We just stood in the sun, tried to stay warm, and smiled. Those were the longest held smiles we’ve ever tried to maintain.

It must have been more than half an hour when the guy came back with our Passports. The man of authority took them then got back on the phone. This time he left the window open and we could understand tow words, Americanski and Velocipede, Americans on bicycles. Another half hour of smiling as he shuffled papers then he motioned us to the window and shoved the Passports across the window frame.

That wasn’t all though, our next stop was customs. We had to wait but they did let us stand inside a small room with a window where we could keep an eye on the bikes. The room was heated and the forms they provided even had English questions. We had to declare our cash, cameras, even the computer. There were a couple of guys from Finland waiting, too. They told us that they were going in to buy cigarettes. “They are really cheap there,” he told us. We wondered if he was just supporting his habit or stocking up to sell them?

Finally, our turn with the Customs Officer. A young man not quite as serious as the others had been. He looked over the forms, had me sign one of them, glanced out the window at the bikes then motioned for us to go on. Uncomfortable, we pushed to the barricade arm that was still in the down position. When I called out to see if he was going to open it he motioned for us to go around. We were off in a flash, we didn’t have to be told twice. Just as we began to feel like we could start the celebration we found ourselves in another gated line. We passed the cars again and went up to another window. This time a nice looking women with a tough look on her face took our Passports then looked us over, made us take our sunglasses, studied our faces then began the stamping process again. Finally she handed them back and with a stone face pointed toward the road. Another false start of celebrating, another guard station. This time three guys including one who we had seen at the first stop on the actual border took a look at our Passports then smiled and waved us on. The entire process had taken more than 2 ½ hours.

We were on a little down hill run when we ran into a huge lineup of parked trucks. Thinking that we were going to be subjected to another level of bureaucracy we pulled up and tried to ask. No one spoke English, we tired of the game so rolled out and on up a hill. As we started a group of Russian Soldiers entered the road, walking ahead of us. The hill was steep enough that we were moving at the same pace. We thought they may have been hunting as they were armed and had a couple of dogs with them. They were stone faced as we huffed and puffed past them, they didn’t respond to our “Hellos”.

Finally, alone in the forest we let out a cautious yell of victory. Then an Army truck passed us and the same soldiers we had just passed walking were in the back of it. More sure of ourselves, we yelled out a big “hello” and they all smiled, waved and yelled back. At last, a real Russian welcome.

The road rolls up and down but follows what is now called the Siamenski Kanal. We crossed several bridges and lockes. It looks like the Canal could be a busy place at some times of the year but today it is completely frozen over. We are alone with the exception of tiny groups of cars and trucks that finally made it through the difficult path of Guards and checkpoints. It was cold and dusk was a threat. At almost another 40 Km we took a turn to the right and away from the Canal. Another 12 Km of bumpy road and we were on the outskirts of Vyborg.

The place looks pretty dingy, the road is bumpy and traffic heavy. We had to push over the bridge above the railroad tracks. Then we realized that we didn’t know where Hotel Druzhba was located. I remembered one of the girls in Lappeenranta saying it was close to the train station. From the bridge we could see it so we took the right turn after the bridge and pulled up in front of the station. There were a few taxis there so I asked and the driver pointed toward a great looking building. That seemed like good news.

At the door of Druzhba, which means friendship, we were welcomed by a big guy who was obviously the security guard. He spoke no English but made it clear that we were not going to take the bikes inside his Hotel. Cat stood in side the first door and watched the bikes while I went in to negotiate with the desk. When I walked up the woman there said in perfect English, “We have no rooms.” I told her my name and she pulled a note out and handed it to me. It was all Russian but the name Alexey made it clear that he was here somewhere. She told me that he was at the Telegraph Office and we could call him on his cell phone.

I was tired, Cat came in and sat with a row of men in black. She was the only one in the line that wasn’t smoking. It was 8:30 PM until I looked up at the clock above the desk. There clock was set at 9:30? Yes, another time change. The woman at the front desk wouldn’t let me use a phone to call Alexey, she said that they have no lines out.

I made another run at the room then remembered that we had a voucher. When Cat pulled it out the lady was indignant, “Why didn’t you tell me before?” (Wow, we owe it all to Piani and Alina.) We checked in and I went to the room to call Alexey while Cat continued to guard our goods. The phone was terrible, full of static and it refused to work. I called the desk and the curt woman said that she would send a man up to show me how to use it. Of course it was the same big guy who held our bikes captive outside his door. He tried and tried then gave up and made an attempt on a cell phone he had. That didn’t work either so he called the desk. He left the room, I followed. At the front desk the cranky woman called on her phone, the one without and outside line. I was able to get the point across to Alexey that we were at the Hotel.

We sat in the “Men in Black” lineup until he showed up. Once there I complained that they wanted us to keep the bikes outside. I was very vocal about our baggage and the value of the bikes. Big guy took us to the parking lot and showed us a power pole where we could lock them. I really complained about the lack of security and we all went back inside. After a huddle with Alexey the bug guy motioned us to the front steps. There he grabbed my bike and started pushing it through the doors of the Hotel. Alexey took his bike so I grabbed Cat’s. Inside we made a quick right and went into a back room to a freight elevator. So, we would sneak them past the bitchy clerk. Oh dear, the elevator wouldn’t work. The big guy gruffly pushed out into the lobby with Alexey and I on his tail. The woman just stood and stared as we pushed to the elevators then inside and up. We would keep the bikes in our rooms. When I tried to tip him, Big Guy shook his head, he wanted 600 Ruble, almost 20€. I objected but paid, it was worth it!

Alexey knocked on our door at 11:00 PM. We invited him in and the three of us huddled near the not so hot heater and ate leftovers we had on board the bikes. He couldn’t understand a thing we said and vice a versa. He did have a dictionary and phrase book but they were slow and difficult. The best tool we had was a picture book that our friend Igor had given him. It is full of pictures of food, rooms, trains, buses and all sorts of travel things. It was to be a point and sound affects conversation.

We sent Alexey off to his room and the beds finally met our heads a little after midnight. We were tired.

April 3, 2003
A Day Off in Vyborg

Planning on breakfast at 8:00 AM with Alexey, we drug ourselves out of bed at 7:30. There was sun shining on the buildings across the ice. A guy took the path across ice and I said, “This guy likes winter, it’s a closer walk to work for him. Down by 8:00, Alexey stood us up. Well he did mention that he only eats twice daily. We received the same, not very cordial, service as we had experienced at the front desk, last night.

Walkin’ on Ice

Bundled up, we walked to the train station for a look. Pretty plain. We circled around the water or should I say ice, across from Hotel Druzhba. There is an open air market with ten stalls. An old guy latched onto us and just kept pulling fun things, like tiny tool kits, a magnetic screwdriver, finally maps of Vyborg and one that covered the roads from here to St. Petersburg. He asked for 5€ and I told him nyet. He continued to follow us and talk then pulled a 2€ coin out of his pocket, pointed and held the map toward me again. How could I resist?

An indoor market with meat, produce, dried fruit and candies caught our attention. We bought some hand sliced ham, cheese, prunes and dried cherries. The dried fruit lady was great. She would open a bag hold it out to us and say, “Nummy, nummy?” She was inviting us to taste. Cat bought the prunes then the gal insisted that we try the cherries. What a salesperson! Of course we bought. We found bananas, too.

Back at Camp Druzhba, we found Alexey’s bike leaning near the front door. He was sitting inside. We had decided to call off today’s ride due to cold. It is –7 degrees and blowing. I got the girl, a different one that last nights Queen of Mean, to let us keep the rooms. Alexey was a little confused, he asked through her, where he would stay. The smile was ear to ear when I told him, you stay where we stay. Guides probably have to go to cheaper rooms on normal group tours.

We had him follow us to our room and we tried to call Igor. The hotel phone proved to be as worthless today as it was last night. Finally Alexey pulled his cell phone out and made the call. I discussed how we pay Alexey with Igor. We reimbursed him, 1000 Ruble, about $30 US for the train fare. We will also pay for a phone card so that we will be able to call for help, even Igor when we need him. That cost an additional 700 Ruble, just over $20 but that seems a bargain if the cold and snow continues. We are thinking we can call for the St. Bernard with the keg of brandy.

The three of us walked to the Post Office and found that they do have an Internet Connection. Alexey went his own way looking for the phone card while we tried to get on AOL until frustrated. The guy was quite nice, he tried to help but in the end it wouldn’t work. They didn’t forgo the charge but it was pretty cheap, 15 Ruble for a half hour. Cat was even more frustrated that they charged.

We thought we had arranged to meet Alexey in our room at 1:30 for lunch. We spread the ham, cheese and bread out and waited then jumped in at 1:45. Maybe we thought we said one thing and he heard another? I even started drinking his soft drink when he knocked on the door. He had been to every shop in Vyborg looking before he finally found a phone card. He ate what was left and I poured the soft drink in a glass. We spent more than an hour trying to communicate. He is interested in our bikes and wants to work on them. I discouraged that, at least until we get to St. Petersburg. During the walk it started to snow, small granular flakes at first then bigger, softer fluffier flakes floated past our window. And it’s sticking, the streets are covered.

At 4:30 we told Alexey that we needed to take a bath. Well, we showed him the word “bath” then played charades until he got it. We made a date for dinner at 6:30 and called the desk to have them tell him in Russian.

We decided to wait until in the morning then decide whether to take the train to St. Petersburg for sight seeing then come back in a few days when the weather and roads clear.

Dinner out, we chose a place, the round tower, that was advertised in the Info Magazine. Taxi was the only way to go in the cold, wind and blowing snow. The tower was a disappointment. There was a party going on in the restaurant and the music was in the ear splitting decibel range. We listened, as Cat took a look and did the thumbs down. The girl in the cloakroom suggested a place just across the street. It was dark like a bar but the music was manageable. We ordered a bottle of Italian wine and assorted food.

When we asked for the bill the girl brought a hand written list to us. It seemed like a pretty good deal. I wanted to make sure she had included the wine. It was there but as we looked it over she came back and took it from me, increased it by 350 Ruble and handed it back. Now I really wanted to know! She played as though she couldn’t understand but we felt that someone could. A guy behind the bar, probably the boss, urged her onward. Several burley guys hovered around the bar and watched. I asked to see the bottle of wine, we wanted to compare it to the menu. I was sure that it had been listed at 350 Ruble. Alexey said “Not nice people.” He seemed worried.

I demanded to see the empty bottle but she acted as though it was gone. Then I went to the bar and asked to see a bottle of the same brand of wine. She resisted then said, “Different, red.” I insisted so she handed me the bottle. The menu had both and they were the same price, 350 Ruble. The boss faded into the back room, the burleys mumbled and moved down the bar. The girl took the bill and changed it back. I felt badly for her, she was being used, by a guy who thought he had an easy victim. Alexey urged us to get out of the place. Not one person said a word as we left but all stared at us.

April 4, 2003
Vyborg to St. Petersburg

Sneg and more sneg. A look out the window made it clear that we wouldn’t ride today. There was at least 5 inches of snow on the ground. The more it snowed, the colder it got, the closer we came to a decision to take the train into St. Petersburg. There we could wait out the weather for a couple of days then come back and cycle. Our plan always included days off there to explore the city. Now we would just do it before we begin riding. When we told Alexey he was genuinely disappointed, he wanted to ride bike.

Alexey and I walked through the snow to the train station. Tickets were a problem. He may have been in control of the situation but he couldn’t relay that to me or let me know what the problem was. We were bounced from window to window in the dank old station. Finally he connected and we had them. We rushed back and finished packing then pushed the bikes through 5 inches of fresh snow.

Getting on board was simple, we just lifted over from the platform to the car and pushed them inside. They let us line them up and I lashed them to the seats. It was cold and got even colder when the train started to move. Alexey checked windows and couldn’t help. Cat hunkered down and bundled up. I went to the toilet, it was dirty and the toilet was metal. I was glad that I only needed a stand up job. It was a cold hour and a half then more blowing snow and cold greeted us in St. Petersburg. Alexey wanted to cycle but we vetoed the idea. We pushed around to the other side of the station and up an icy ramp looking for information. Finally we had Alexey call Igor in Moscow for help. At first he told me of a place that was reasonable but 18 Km from the Center. I told him that we wanted to be near the Center so we could walk or take buses. Then he suggested Hotel Oktiabrskaya, it is near Moscow station but a little expensive.

I asked Alexey to find a taxi van that could take the bikes. The driver was pretty helpful, he even took some of the seats out so that we could cram the bikes in. It was cold, snowing and blowing when we got to the Hotel. Cat went in to get our rooms while Alexey, the driver and I off loaded. We stacked the bags on the snow covered sidewalk and leaned the bikes on the building then he stood guard and I went in to see how we were doing. Bad news, they only had suites available and they were $125 US each. The girl there was very nice and suggested Hotel Moscow but wouldn’t call to see if they had rooms. We told her that we would stay three nights if we could move to a less costly room tomorrow. She was certain that we could. We bought the Suite Deal.

The staff was of no help in moving the bags and bikes. They did hold the door open and unlock the baggage room for us but that was it. I loaded a baggage truck they had and Alexey got the bikes up the stairs and into the storage room. We were ready to explore but lunch came first.

The nice young girl at the desk suggested lunch at a buffet Café across the street. It was a great spread of food. Alexey was preparing to fast so he wolfed down a ton of food. He has some voluntary program, sports related we thought, that has him fasting at times from sundown to sundown. The rest of our day was spent writing journal and getting back in touch with the world via e-mail. They have a business center here with fairly fast Internet Connection. We had more than 140 messages to sort through.

Alexey joined us for dinner at the small restaurant here in the Hotel. When he eats, that boy can really eat!

April 5, 2003
Tourists in St. Petersburg

Our day started with the included breakfast, Alexey is fasting today. We met a couple, she from Singapore, he Texas. They work with an oil company that is having staff meeting is Moscow. The have sneaked away for a day of tourist and fun here before going back to work half way around the globe from each other.

There is an Intourist desk near the front door of the Hotel. The lady, Helen, was a gem. She offered maps and in depth info about St. Petes. We enjoyed talking with her. She cautioned us about being aware as there are thieves and pickpockets. Then she told us about being robbed by a group of young guys in Rome, Italy. She said they circled around her and grabbed her purse. She was screaming, “Don’t rob me, I’m a poor Russian woman,” but it didn’t help. The story was to illustrate that bad things can happen anywhere. We had to agree and told her about our loss of the computers in Portugal.

Alexey joined us and we walked down Nevskiy Prospect, the shopping street. It was too cold to really stay outside but we walked, looked inside stores and shops then saw the roof line of a fantastic Cathedral. As we walked toward it we decided to have a bite to eat. Cat and I had Chinese soup. Alexey watched, he is fasting today. So the big cost of yesterday’s lunch is diminished as he begins not eating.

 

		Steep & Deep
		Armenian Voices

The fantastic Cathedral is called the Blood because it was built by Alexander II in honor of his Father Alex I who was stabbed to death. It is a true expression of early Russian architecture recreated in the early 20th century. Maybe I should say a study in ornate Cathedrals. The interior is similar to most Cathedrals except the walls are covered with larger than life murals of the Saints. I enjoyed watching the tour groups and taking pictures of some of the people. There were girls on horseback riding around the Cathedral trying to sell rides to tourists. It was blowing snow yet some kids could still talk their Mom into spending a few Ruble for a ride.