On the Road - by Bob Van Leer

Stockholm, 5/14/1989Tour Cut Short After Long Flight

(STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, May 14, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

Dinner at the Operakallaren restaurant was excellent, and so was the price. Dinner for two came to 688 krona which converts to about $110, including tip. Betty dined on breast of snow grouse and I had saddle of reindeer. Tomorrow evening we’ll have to dine at the McDonald’s restaurant across the street from our hotel to make up for it.

We arrived at Arlanda Airport, a 40 minute drive from Stockholm, at 9:18 a.m. after an uneventful flight from the Newark, New Jersey, airport on Scandinavian Air Service (SAS). Betty and I left Gold Beach Friday evening to drive to Medford to be there in time to catch a 6:40 a.m. United Airlines flight to San Francisco. There we boarded another United flight non-stop to Newark. This was the departure point for our tour arranged by the National Newspaper Association, a trade association of small newspapers. A total of 28 are scheduled on the tour from all over the U.S.: Massachusetts to Florida to Texas to Oregon. Of the 26 besides ourselves we’re acquainted with 20, so there are few strangers.

Subway Ride, 5/15/1989Reasonable, Enjoyable

(STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, May 15, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

This was a holiday in Sweden so very little was available. Most shops were closed, as were the post office and all government offices. This left the day free for sightseeing and relaxing.

Across the street from our hotel is a small supermarket and we went in to compare prices. Because of the different language and different brands, some comparisons were difficult to make but some are not. Meats are very high. Beef pot roast (rostbiff) was selling for $7.62 per pound. Beef filets were priced at $17.58 per pound. Salmon was cheaper, $7.62 per pound.

Cruise Ship Silvia Regina, 5/17/1989No Poor or Hungry

(CRUISE SHIP SILVIA REGINA, GULF OF BOTHNIA, May 17, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

At this writing Betty and I are on a cruise ship sailing across the Gulf of Bothnia from Stockholm, Sweden, to Helsinki, Finland. The Gulf of Bothnia is the northern arm of the Baltic Sea. This is only an overnight cruise but it is on a large liner with all the amenities.

We dined tonight at a smorgasbord, featuring too many different kinds of dishes to try everything. As could be expected, the meal was long on fish dishes. There were three or four kinds of herring alone. A band was playing U.S. songs, although our party of 28 is probably all the Americans aboard. On another level there is a gambling casino and nearby a “duty-free” shop that is supposed to save you money but winds up costing more.

Helsinki, 5/17/1989Is Largest City

(HELSINKI, FINLAND, May 17, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

Dinner this evening took more than three hours, not because we had a speaker, or even because of multiple courses for the meal. The problem was because we had a waiter who spoke a half dozen words of English and a menu in Finnish. Betty and I compromised on “house special – very good”, and it was.

Our ship docked in Helsinki at nine this morning after a pleasant cruise from Stockholm. We had a stateroom with private bath. As we were waiting to disembark we saw some of the other accommodations. There was a large barracks-type room with bunk beds. Across from it was the next level down of accommodations, airline type recliner seats. Customs inspection was the easiest we have seen anywhere. We didn’t even have to show our passports.

We were met at the dock by a tour bus and taken for a tour of Helsinki and outskirts. Structures are built almost to the water’s edge. Our guide said there are not visible tides in the Baltic Sea. She said the sea water is more brackish than actually salt. The Baltic is a large sea with only narrow channels to the Atlantic.

Leningrad, USSR, 5/18/1989Doesn't Disturb Russians Much

(LENINGRAD, USSR, May 18, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

Today our party met with Finnish government officials in the morning and then boarded a train for a seven-hour trip to Leningrad, Russia. We have now been in Russia for only half a day but much of what we have heard about the country appears to be true.

But first, a report on our briefing on Finland

Finland is faced with a problem that won’t go away and the Finns can do nothing about – Russia. Finland made a separate peace with Russia, ending Finland’s association with Germany in fighting the Russians. As a result of losing two wars in Russia in the 1940’s, Finland lost a considerable amount of territory and some of its rights to independence. The size of Finland’s army and air force is limited by the peace treaty with Russia.

I said to Aarno Karhelo, Foreign Office spokesman, that Finland seems to be able to have any foreign policy it wants as long as it doesn’t disturb the Russians too much. Karhelo replied, “We haven’t wanted to bother the Russians.”

Leningrad, USSR, 5/19/1989Russians Seen are Well Dressed

(LENINGRAD, USSR, May 19, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

Days are long this time of year in Leningrad. Full dark doesn’t come until midnight and it lightens up again about 4 a.m. This gives us more time to see the city.

The Russians we see on the street are well dressed. Nobody appears to be even hungry. We have heard of long lines to buy things in Russia but the only consistently long line we have seen is at the liquor store. We were told that hours of sale were cut to reduce alcohol consumption. One result is a shortage of sugar, as Russians began to distill their own vodka.

While everyone here is fed and clothed and housed, even the Russians publicly say that the economy is in bad shape. Just how bad we wouldn’t have believed without being here. The official rate of exchange is .63 rubles per U.S. dollar. This means that at the official money changing counter in the hotel, $1.59 buys one ruble. But the ruble is readily available on the black market at up to 10 rubles for one U.S. dollar. And “black market” doesn’t mean going to some dark alley. The bellhops in the hotel, the waiters in the hotel restaurant and even people on the streets exchange money with almost no attempt at concealment.

Leningrad, 5/20/1989Visit Czar's Summer Palace

(Leningrad, USSR, May 20, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

Today was a day for Russian history and culture, both past and present. We were scheduled to go to Petrodvorets, the old czarist summer palace, by hydrofoil boat. Our Intourist guide, Alla, said the hydrofoil trip was called off because “the hydrofoil navigation season has not begun” and we would go there by bus instead.

Later in the day when we were on the Neva River downtown, we saw a hydrofoil loaded with passengers coming up to dock. Even with this evidence right in front of us, Alla insisted that the hydrofoil navigation season had not yet begun because her superiors in Intourist had told her so.

Warsaw, 5/21/1989Few Things Liked

(WARSAW, POLAND, May 21, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

Our Polish airliner arrived in Warsaw just before midnight after a one-hour flight from Leningrad.

The day began with a two-hour tour of the world-famous Hermitage Museum in downtown Leningrad. The museum was built next to the Czar’s Winter Palace in 1764 to house an art collection for Empress Catherine. The museum has since spread to the Winter Palace and both buildings front on the Neva River. The palace itself would be a museum if there were nothing in it, but it houses one of the greatest art collections of the world.

Warsaw, Poland, 5/23/1989First Stop, Radziwill Castle

(WARSAW, POLAND, May 23, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

Today was a day for sightseeing and visiting famous places. This is a relief from the long schedule of meetings yesterday.

We left Warsaw heading west on Highway E 30 across the flat Polish plain. This is the classic invasion route. And Poland knows a lot about invasions. Poland has the misfortune to be located at a strategic spot necessary to cross to get to somewhere else. Some of the invaders didn’t really want Poland, it was just in their way.

Napoleon marched along the same route our bus is taking. A roadside inn along the way is named for him. The Swedes invaded before him. In more recent times the Germans marched through Poland to Russia and the Russians marched across Poland chasing the Germans back. Poland’s periods of independence have been brief. Even now, when Poland is nominally independent, Russia calls a lot of the shots for Poland.

Copenhagen, Denmark, 5/24/1989Two Ways of Life

(COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, May 24, 1989)

by Bob Van Leer

Today our party flew from Warsaw, Poland to Copenhagen, Denmark. It was only an hour’s flight but it is the distance between two ways of life. Poland, while in a political ferment, is still a Communist ruled country and it shows.

One of our party characterized the change between the two countries as “a breath of fresh air”. Poland was better than Russia. Still, it is refreshing to be back in a country where we can drink the water and the normal small items we are used to having are readily available. Simple things, such as toilet paper that is soft and is perforated into sheets. If another roll of film is needed, just buy one at a store in the next block.