I am leaving for Finland this afternoon, for my second visit to a beautiful country. My first was just a drive down from Vaasa to Turku in May 2006 when we were looking for a more adventurous way to travel from the Sloyd Conference in Umeå to Stockholm. We took the ferry from Umeå to Vaasa and then another much larger ferry from Turku to Stockholm for our return to Sweden and it was much more pleasant driving through the countryside of Finland than down through the heavy traffic along the Eastern coast of Sweden. The ferry trip between Turku and Stockholm was breathtaking.

I couldn't help but notice a stark contrast between Finland and Sweden. Many of the farms in Sweden remind me of the farms in Minnesota and Iowa. You drive by and can see so much from the road... the house and barn and other outbuildings, each visible and distinct. In Finland, the farm buildings tend to be arranged in close clusters each opening to a small central courtyard, their backs to the outside for privacy and perhaps also defense.

It reminds that Finland had long been a country under the watchful and controlling eye of others. It was controlled by Sweden for centuries, then by Russia. While it gained its independence from Russia at the end of World War I, Finland was next engaged in Civil War between "Reds" aligned with the Soviet Union and non-communists. Then during the beginnings of WWII Finland fought a war against Russia and reluctantly aligned with Germany to protect itself from Soviet Conquest. There was great caution in how Finland moved from under the concerned eye of the Soviets into the European Union.

I arrive in Helsinki tomorrow evening and will have more to report on my adventure when I get settled in, first in an airport hotel and then at the University of Helsinki.