First step in Scandinavia...

[N_Architect]

It was great to hear that the person I report to had decided to put my name down for that ‘management seminar’ sometime later this month. You see, I took up my new duties at the beginning of the month and trying to be familiar with all our people, customers and our wide range of operations here (but also in the region/area) would inevitably take few weeks (if not months).

So in the midst of having just signed an agreement for apartment lease and moving in, of still trying to familiarize myself with systematics, procedures and people in the new work environment, and also of getting myself familiar with life in a new (for me) part of this wonderful world, I get to go (for 3 days) to…

Helsinki.

More to follow as pictures are uploaded and text is prepared…

[N_Architect]

Let me tell you this first, before I move on with text and pictures: this TR unfortunately may probably be too short for what you’ve been used to (from me) and also it does not contain at all photos of airplanes or airports. Sorry folks, next time I’ll be more thorough in my ‘documentary’. In any case, I believe that two nights (three days) in one of Helsinki’s northern suburbs is not that representative of a visit so that someone can give you a broad and thorough picture of Finland’s capital.

It was, however, my first step in Scandinavia, and as I know a few more will follow soon, I can only at this moment in time treat it as such – a brief introduction to a part of the world that so far has been unknown to me, and another short stop of the journey I am going through the years, a journey with no fixed end but which has the purpose of getting me to know new destinations and cultures, which in essence is getting to know myself and whole world better...

So now that you’ve all read our disclaimer and have in a sense ‘clicked’ the “I Accept” terms & conditions button in your computer screen of whatever you may be going into in the next few minutes, I think it is time to move on to some interesting descriptions of what I went through and lived during those three days.

[SQflyergirl]

Coming from someone who today alone, has been in Oslo, Helsinki, Stockholm and London, and not really been outside the airports, I look forward to this

[N_Architect]

I had no clue of what this ‘management seminar’ was going to be. Frankly speaking, in the last three weeks I was too busy with work and trying to find a nice apartment, so no time to think about what this seminar would all be about. One day an email pops in, by our ‘education’ division at hq: “Please send this link to as many of your direct reports, and to people you have been reporting as well”. Well, another 360 degree survey… Then I start to read something about the “…7 habits of highly effective people…”, etc. So now I get to put some of the puzzle pieces together.

A book I had started to read this summer, a book that I am sure at least few of you may have read at some point in time. After a couple of days (not highly motivating, I would add) reading this last August, I had indefinitely stopped reading the book and had switched to reading world history. It is true that business books tend to wear you down a lot, especially if you read too many of them. But this book (and the idea behind it) is an interesting one, and the whole idea and purpose behind the whole concept can give you solid practical advice and solutions based on years of research as well as on a collection of elementary concepts of psychology and management.

The book is written by Stephen Covey, and I’ll stop here, as this is just my attempt to talk about my first visit in Scandinavia and not a book review I could well go and submit in Amazon.com anytime later… So I sent the link to many of my ex-reports and to two of my old bosses in order to get their feedback, and hoped for the… best (no, don’t worry, final scores were ok, I may be completely nuts but I take good care of my own people).

Anyway, we were to fly with my boss on a Monday morning. Departure point was RIX (Riga, Latvia airport), and destination Helsinki Airport [HEL]. Flight was with BT (Air Baltic, an affiliate of SAS), aircraft a Fokker 50, flight duration 1 hour and 10 minutes. Check-in was quick at the auto check-in kiosks, the agents at the BT info/help desk advised me to ask the agent at the gate for charging my miles to my desired FFP, but expressed the opinion that points could not be credited to SQ KF. Whatever, I moved on, my co-traveller has a SAS Eurobonus FFP card and when he looks at my SQ PPS card he says “I think you won’t be using that much from now on” (yea, but what he doesn’t know is that I’ll be back one day, even for a short while, cause I just love that special feeling up there, and you guys know what I’m talking about).

So we board the plane, a 2-2 arrangement, fine little bird, takes off really smoothly [SQFG I promise I’ll have pics next time and will also not delay again payment on the royalty fees for the classic™ legroom shot]. Little bumpy at 26,000 ft for a while but all goes well and we land at approximately 8:30am at HEL. Temperature is 16 degrees C, summer for the locals (and here we start the OMG [oh my God] statements, ladies and gentlemen).

We exit arrivals, break for a cigarette, then take the taxi to Järvenpää. Hotel booked was there, and seminar would be held in the same premises. Järvenpää seems to be a pretty quiet and small outskirt of Helsinki, located about 20 minutes north of the airport by car (just to give you an idea of the place, the city of Helsinki is about 20 minutes to the south of the airport). So we get into this Volvo V50 estate, and me being in love with cars ever since I was a kid I notice the nice red leather that car had. Nice interior, nice dials & controls as well, although half (if not more) of that car is a Ford, which by definition does not make it that special (but again, it’s still a Volvo, and we are in Scandinavia, its natural territory).


Arrival in Järvenpää.

The scenery? Green, forests on our right and left, with thin tall trees, cloudy outside, all cars with their lights on of course, the signposts, roads and traffic organization in general are beyond comment (well, it’s Scandinavia here) and we are safely driven to our destination. The taxi driver starts talking. Where are you from, are you here for business, which company, I was in Spain for 6 years, etc. The usuals. But he’s ok, polite and a gentleman. The taxi ride is dead expensive, of course. About 35 Euros (if I remember correctly) for a twenty minute ride… We arrive at the hotel, which in itself is nothing so special to mention about, but does the basic job (it is the “Next” hotels chain, by the way).


View of the hotel from the outside.

[N_Architect]

Still in Järvenpää.

So it happens that I don’t have any pictures of planes or airports in this TR, as mentioned earlier. Hmmm. But it also happens that our hotel is located right next to a train station, through which pretty fast trains pass (not TGV-speeds comparable, of course). This means that for a person addicted to speed and to high-speed commuting, that would be something interesting to attend to. Few hours later, during one of our seminar breaks, I was there, trying to capture a glimpse of a small train station in one of Helsinki’s northern outskirts.


Main office of our small train station.



The tracks, both directions.



The platforms.



The train, going full speed to Helsinki [Helsingfors] station.



More pictures of the station.

[N_Architect]

"Last train home." (to remember the unforgettable track of The Pat Metheny group as well…)

And there’s also a train coming (but not stopping, our little station was pretty small, you see):

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Next: A visit to Helsinki (with pictures); the food in Finland; why the Finns love the sauna.

[kapitan]

Well, I will be in Stockholm on Tuesday......

[jhm]

RIX (Riga, Latvia airport)

I've been to Vilnius and Tallinn (an overnight booze cruise from HEL but I ended up too inebriated to get off) but I haven't been to Riga yet. There was once talk about a BA board Do there but alas, it never materialised and BA have also scrapped the route. Riga has quite a reputation!

[9V-SIA]

Looking forward to the rest of the TR.

Pictures an interesting contrast to Korean ones you took.

I know where I'd prefer to live..

[N_Architect]

On my second day there, after the day’s seminar classes were completed, I decided to skip the sauna and dinner with my colleagues and take the train to the city of Helsinki. The trip with the train takes approximately 25 minutes and the cost was Eur 5.70 if I remember correctly. Weather was cloudy and occasionally rainy, around 16 deg. C, typically Finnish. For the Finns it’s autumn, of course.

Before giving you some pictures, let us briefly mention the importance of sauna for the Finns. It is simply part of the culture, there is a sauna almost everywhere, in some cases even in offices. A colleague told me that in the old days the baby Finns were being born in the sauna, hence their love and respect for it. But he admitted he is fully sure if this is the real story behind their importance of sauna in their lives. Big deals are discussed and finalized in the sauna, naturally. The importance of sauna is also evident here in the Baltics as well. But more about this in the future.

Some pictures now, shortly before leaving our station for Helsinki:






A short walk, before getting the train to Helsingfors station.


Going through a small shopping center.


Parks, special paths/small roads for the bicycles, everything so well organized here. You go out for a walk and you see so many people exercising safely…

[N_Architect]

Boarding the train to Helsinki. There are two types of trains commuting on this distance, the ‘intercity’ type one and a kind of slower one. On the way to Helsinki today it was the slow one:





On the next day, upon departure from the hotel, we decided to take the train again and go to Helsinki, and from there take the airport shuttle bus to the airport. This time our train ride was with one of the ‘fast’ trains:






Approaching Helsinki city train station.


A quick snapshot of Helsinki’s atmosphere.




Shuttle bus to airport. Fare was around Eur 6 if I am not mistaken.

A pretty short TR this time, folks, I know (but weeks are hectic, though very exciting – bought a bicycle y’day, by the way! Riding in these lovely parks here gives you plenty of energy…)

[N_Architect]

Riga has quite a reputation!

It surely does! (more on this in the weeks/months to come... )

I know where I'd prefer to live..

Shall I assume you'd prefer South Korea, then?

[phaleesy]

Before giving you some pictures, let us briefly mention the importance of sauna for the Finns. It is simply part of the culture, there is a sauna almost everywhere, in some cases even in offices.

I was told the proper way to do it is to sit in the sauna, then go out and roll about in the snow, then jump back into the sauna again. Repeat the cycle several times in your birthday suit.

Shall I assume you'd prefer South Korea, then?

I personally would not want to live in Finland long term. It is too cold and dark during winter, that could get depressing. Does it not have a fairly high rate of suicide?

My friends and I think Finnish men are very rugged and outdoorsy. We like! Everyone seems so competent with their skis and snowmobiles. I just couldn't keep up! I was tripping, falling and crashing constantly. Not glam at all. Might as well walk about with a paperbag on my head.

[Kyo]

Thanks for a quick look at HEL - if you have any more around the city area, would love to see more. I'd like to visit one day

Thank you for the TR, sir

[stargold]

Interesting report on somewhere I very rarely hear about. And also, good to hear that:

It surely does! (more on this in the weeks/months to come... )

If one of your previous TRs is any indication, it will make fascinating reading

Shall I assume you'd prefer South Korea, then?

See, I was getting quite nervous as I had not yet found any SK reference until now. Problem solved

My friends and I think Finnish men are very rugged and outdoorsy. We like! Everyone seems so competent with their skis and snowmobiles. I just couldn't keep up! I was tripping, falling and crashing constantly. Not glam at all. Might as well walk about with a paperbag on my head.

Easy solution - get one of the rugged and outdoorsy Finnish men to carry you like the scene in Bodyguard! Very glam, and no need for paperbag.