Memories...

As I mentioned in the beginning of this trip blog, I went to all these cities on a family trip in 1967.   What I have retained in my memory from that trip is a series of images and sensations, some precise and some vague.  From Russia, I remember the taste of the soda (there was no cola of any kind in Russia at the time), and the orange paint in the barracks-like building of our hotel.   (At that time, you stayed where the Russian tourist bureau told you to stay.) And there was always a lady at the end of the corridor, who kept watch on things. From Copenhagen, I remember narrow streets and brick buildings, and the pornography that was displayed openly (i.e. explicit images on the covers) on every newsstand and counter.   (OK, I was 16...)   I have since discovered that I was there in June 1967, exactly the moment when Denmark became the first country to legalize pornography.  In Sweden, we were there just before another momentous change, when they switched from driving on the left to driving on the right.  I remember all the signs.    From  Finland, I remember the pleasure my brother and I had seeing the drunken bums on the waterfront in what was otherwise a very clean and orderly city.  There are other memories...

On Our Way Home

So we are at the airport, and our flight is delayed.   Because we fly so much on Air Canada, they let us in to these fancy lounges with free food and drink.   In Canada, it is pretty minimal, but here you have a very nice selection of wines and even scotches, so that you can help yourself to as much Laphroaig as you wish.  Too bad it is the morning with 16 hours of travel ahead of us.  There is also a fire in a fireplace...

Among the many things that are striking in this part of the world is the number of baby strollers, and in particular how common it is to see men walking down the street pushing strollers.  Parents receive a very long parental leave, and babies and children are welcome and taken everywhere.   Comparing that to the US, which is one of 2 or 3 countries in the world that don't require employers to grant maternity or paternity leave.  (I think Liberia and Sierra Leone are 2 of the others..)