A Nordic Journey
Why a Nordic journey and not a Scandinavian Journey? Who am I to take it upon myself to include Estonia in the Nordic region? Well, because my trip included Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia, I had to group them together somehow. So first, let’s justify Finland because it generally isn’t considered part of “Scandinavia” even though it shares a border with both Sweden and Norway and a long history of Swedish rule. Finland’s exclusion is largely because its language is distinctly different from the Scandinavian languages and is one of 4 or 5 languages spoken in the EU (depending on whether you include Basque) that is not rooted in Indo-European, while Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish are generally similar enough that native speakers can manage to interpret each other (Icelandic is ancient Viking Norwegian). Also, many intellectuals who determine these things feel that Russia has had enough influence over Finland to separate it from Scandinavia. Apparently though, some younger Nordic citizens feel that “Scandinavian” is an elitist, dated relic from a century ago when these nations were trying to establish citizen rule. It seems to me then that since Scandinavia is a relic term, and now that Finland has been independent of Russia for 100 years and joined NATO recently, it’s time to affirm that Finland should be included with its Western neighbors geographically, intellectually, economically, and strategically.
Now for Estonia, which is considered part of the Baltic region of countries (including Latvia and Lithuania). It borders by land Latvia and Russia, has long been ruled by Russia, and has really only had about 40 years of independence in its entire history. However, a few details make it convenient (at least for me) to include Estonia as a “Nordic” country. According to a couple of Estonians I chatted with, besides the Hanseatic connection, Estonia doesn’t have a whole lot in common with Latvia, particularly linguistically. And they certainly don’t want to have a lot in common with Russia. However, Estonia has had considerable Danish and Swedish influence throughout its history. And, they have a lot in common with Finland. Helsinki is only a 3-hour ferry ride away from Tallinn and I distinctly remember being in Tallinn 24 years ago and seeing the town being overrun by drunken Finns on a weekend. Additionally, Estonian is also one of the 4 (or 5) EU languages not rooted in Indo-European. My understanding is that although Finnish and Estonian languages are not as similar as, say, Norwegian and Danish, Finnish and Estonia languages stem from a similar historic root. Lastly, I look at Estonia’s current standing as an EU member, a NATO member, and a very educated populace that is emerging as a leading hub for tech which intricately ties it intellectually and economically to its neighbors in Helsinki, Stockholm, and Oslo.
So there you have it. That’s my definition of the Nordic Region. And now an apology for the poor title to this narrative. Because I’m terrible with titles I rarely come up with a name that is meaningful or leaves an impression. Therefore A Nordic Journey is the title and I hope that everything within is meaningful and leaves an impression.
About the trip…
For the past year and a half I’ve been working on another master’s degree of which the subject, institution, or quality of said institution are not relative to this story. What is relevant to this story is that the program tuition covers an international trip to gain context into the culture and business ecosystem of another country. Before this year’s trip was announced, I only knew that it would be about 10 days and that we’d be meeting lots of businesses and people within another country. My gut told me it would need to be in a stable region of the world. Turns out they chose for this cohort somewhere near and dear to my heart.
Officially, the school trip would visit Oslo, Stockholm, and Helsinki, but we would be allowed to travel on our own before and after the trip, if we like. First, I knew I would be going to Estonia. As I’ll explain in more detail I’ve been yearning to see Tallinn again, and as it’s a 20-Euro, 3-hour ferry ride from Helsinki, I was not going to leave Helsinki on a Wednesday so I could be at work Thursday morning in Utah. One last long weekend was in order. Secondly, the group would be arriving in Oslo on May 19, two days after Norway’s Constitution Day celebration on May 17. How could I not go ahead of the group by a couple of days to witness that? Then, why would it make sense to work a half week before departing? It would be imminently critical to arrive to Norway a few days to get accustomed to the culture before celebrating with such culture. Also, it would be an insult to the great people of Norway to be jet-lagged on their national day. I began brainstorming what I could do for a few days in the land of mountains and fjords. Should I go to Stavanger (an industrial town on the southwest coast where my family had farmed before leaving for the U.S. in the 1860’s)? Should I go see Røros (a mining town made famous by Norwegian artist Harald Sohlberg)? Should I drive the coast of Ålesund? While I still heard a voice in my head questioning whether I should be more responsible, save money, and arrive in country just before May 17, the lure of the Lofoten Islands was too much, and I flew up there to stay in a rorbu, a historic fisherman’s cabin along the coast converted for tourists.