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.
