September 6, 2013
Helsinki: And the rest of Finland
Saying goodbye to Karin was really sad. This time it really did feel like the end, like we wouldn't see each other again. She was going back to her life working for a renewable energy company in Mainz, I was determined to continue towards Australia. She didn't like flying much more than I did, so there wasn't much hope for us. I don't remember what the last thing we said to each other was (probably "bye") but in the movie, Megan Fox will look at Ryan Gosling and say "I have to go. The world needs wind turbines" and Gosling will look at her and say "I know, but I need the world."
And then Karin got on her ferry.
I cycled alone into Helsinki. I should have been in a very bad mood but I loved the city and it raised my spirits somewhat. I locked my bike up at the old harbour, which was filled with big old sailing ships and walked to the centre, up to the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral and to the new harbour/market square area. On the way I found interesting things like a restaurant on a boat and a bridge where couples had put padlocks on the railings with their names inscribed or written on as a sign of enduring love. Great timing once again of course.
As I walked south I went past a port where ferries came in from somewhere else in the Baltics, and I noticed a 'Finland' sign. Because I had not been able to get a photo with a sign when I entered the country, I decided to try and get one now. Only problem was that the sign was quite high up, there was nowhere to put the camera, and nobody coming by that way to ask to take the photo. Also, because I had gone the wrong way through a gate I wasn't entirely sure I was supposed to be there and so I had to hurry. The result of all this is, I think you'll agree, the best country sign picture to date:
It is difficult to exactly say what I liked about Helsinki. It was just the atmosphere, something about it. It was certainly 'nice' in the same way as the rest of Scandanavia, but it had a certain edge to it. Maybe that was best summed up in a park I found in the south of the city. It was a huge green space and had lots of interesting people. There were hundreds of students dressed in different coloured jumpsuits, some sort of freshers week event I think. And amongst them a most unusual sight - a man walking his cat. The cat was on a leash and everything. I don't know exactly why this was happening. The cat stopped at a tree and looked up at it like it really wanted to climb it. Perhaps it was looking for a way to escape its crazy owner. Perhaps that was why it was on a leash. Maybe it kept climbing trees and getting stuck so now it could only be let out on a leash so it could climb trees and get yanked back down again instead.
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2 years ago
It wasn't really until the next day, after I'd left Helsinki, that I realised Karin was gone and that she wasn't going to be cycling with me anymore. I felt pretty empty, it all seemed quite pointless to be out cycling alone. I found the most amazing public swimming place at a lake. It was the kind of place where we had been camping and swimming and this one was so beautiful and the water so clear and was full of fish and I thought about how Karin would have loved it and I had a little cry. I needed to get out of Finland. Everything was reminding me of our time cycling together and it just felt stupid to be doing it alone.
I consoled myself with the thought that this movie is suposed to be 'action-adventure' not 'soppy-romance' and luckily for me, Russia was just a day or so away. Crossing the border I knew was going to be taking me into a completely different world. It was probably exactly what I needed. Finland had of course been wonderful while Karin was with me. A clean, safe, secure country, modern and developed with good infrastructure. The nature was beautiful, the cycling easy and enjoyable. What lay ahead of me across the border, I had no idea.
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As I got near to the Russian border I stopped at a supermarket to get a few things and I noticed two men in uniform. I wasn't sure if they were police or border patrol or what. One of them was wearing black and was very tall and looked mean and tough, the other was short and stocky and wearing bright green. They made an odd pair. The one wearing green eyed me suspiciously in the car park, possibly because I was eyeing him suspiciously.
A kilometre or so up the road, as I neared the Russian border on a cycle path, a police car was parked blocking the cycle path. The two men I had seen were standing next to it and beckoned me to stop. The big man in the black uniform (played by Arnold Schwarzanegger) addressed me from the clouds and asked me a few questions about where I had been and what I was doing. He was incredibly tall and had an incredibly flat head. I knew this from the picture of him on his badge which was on his chest and therefore at about my eye level. The top of his head was literally a horizontal straight line. I wondered how that happened, and decided it was probably due to a lifetime of walking around with his head scraping against the ceiling.
"Aren't you worried about crossing the border and cycling alone in Russia?" he asked me, carefully examing my passport and Russian visa.
"Well yes I am actually. I was expecting this kind of thing on the other side, not here." I said and they laughed.
Arnie made some crack about the Russian police stopping you but asking questions later and the little green man (played by Danny Devito) laughed. I didn't really understand it, except that it didn't really install confidence in me. My passport was handed back to me and I was wished well.
And then there really wasn't much left to do except go to Russia.
7/9 - 89km
8/9 - 93km
9/9 - 82km (61km in Finland)
Today's ride: 243 km (151 miles)
Total: 5,188 km (3,222 miles)
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