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There is one word in the Finnish language that’s known throughout the world–sauna. It’s the word that’s associated the closest with this northern nation, and an experience that is shared by all Finnish people. No apartment is complete without a common sauna, nor is any house complete without the built […]

Tonight I joined a local couple, Deepa Panchamia and Ivan Kulvik, for a beer at their local pub in Fiskar Finland. Over dinner we had discussed many of the topics that always interest me when I travel. I love the contrasts between people’s lives around the world, as well as […]

Today we met a host of very interesting local people in Turku who are pursuing great ideas and blazing new trails.  First we visited Logomo, which is a large event arena and workplace just outside the city center. Janne Auvinen, the events director, took us on a tour of this […]

We flew into Turku to face what we left behind in Mass–the chilly breezes and cold temps of early spring.  Turku is Finland’s oldest city with about 189,000 inhabitants on the Baltic sea. Here, the biggest industry is a German-owned shipyard  builds the largest cruises ships in the world. Carnival […]

I told a  friend who I play music with that I was going to Helsinki over the weekend. “Oh the music club in Hudson, NY?” he asked. “No, actually, Helsinki, Finland,” I replied.  It’s a new city and a new country for me, and Paul Shoul and I can’t wait […]

Pink Talking Fish blew me away last night at the wonderful 2-story Hinge, with me looking up at the band as they torched the place with 1980s hits from Talking Heads and famous jams from Phish like Bathtub Gin, Possum,  and Down with Disease. They segued seamlessly to through their […]

The title of this movie starring Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts is a riddle. When We’re Young, as in, they still are young. But the whole point of this funny and poignant movie is that nobody stays young, and no amount of young hip friends will ever make you young […]

I’d heard about Annapolis Maryland for many years, and made my first visit there this week. I now know what everyone has been talking about. What makes this small capital city such a great destination?  Here is what I found. One thing that makes a place better is to have […]

If you want to know where the best crabs can be found, and other fun facts about Annapolis, you have to get a haircut.  We met a popular barber named Faraj Capistrano today, who runs Capistrano Barbershop, a hang-out for men who want a place to relax, have a beer, […]

train We showed up at the Greenfield MA train depot for a 1:07 departure for our long train voyage down to Baltimore. Not surprisingly, we were told that the train was running 20 minutes late, so we got a coffee at the little cafe there and waited. When the five-car […]