I might have written before about my Scandinavian roots as well as my English roots. Of my four grandparents three were born in England and one was born in Finland.
My mom had never travelled there. My dad went first. Then after my dad died my mom and I went to Finland together and then I went on to Sweden.
My mom’s second cousin - their dads were first cousins - is from Finland. I still keep in touch with her at Christmas time.
My dad came home with a fur hat that I still have and wear. On a cold winter day in Ottawa it is very cozy.
I have a Scandinavian painting and a carved wooden picture of the same part of the country. I also have a wooden shelf with some of my mom’s small mementoes on it.
I was trying to remember without hopping down to my basement what is on that shelf. I think the items that are closest to that part of the world are two little dolls from Holland that my dad sent my mom during the war.
Showing posts with label Scandinavia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scandinavia. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Russian influences
I am planning to travel to foreign countries - the U.S. - and now I need to acquire a passport. I checked out my old ones that were filed away. One of the interesting border stamps was from Poker Creek Alaska - a very tiny place.
My mom were taking a tour through northern areas. We went to Dawson Creek and Whitehorse and Juneau Alaska. From there we took a cruise ship down the coast to Vancouver. It was beautiful scenery.
We stopped at Sitka Alaska where the Russian influence is visible in the buildings especially the churches. The Russians sold Alaska to the U.S. in 1867 - the same year Canada became a country.
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Many thousands of miles away my mom was with her cousin near the Finnish Russian border. My mom was interested in visiting Russia. When you look on a map the major border crossing city of Vaalimaa Finland is across from St. Petersburg. She asked her cousin about this but she said there was no way they would ever go to Russia. Finland is a small country and Russia is a large one. Finland was Russian for over 100 years. During WW II Finland was on the German side.
*****
On a related note I worked with someone whose background was Russian. When her mom died I went to the funeral. It was quite a different experience because the service was so unfamiliar.
My mom were taking a tour through northern areas. We went to Dawson Creek and Whitehorse and Juneau Alaska. From there we took a cruise ship down the coast to Vancouver. It was beautiful scenery.
We stopped at Sitka Alaska where the Russian influence is visible in the buildings especially the churches. The Russians sold Alaska to the U.S. in 1867 - the same year Canada became a country.
*****
Many thousands of miles away my mom was with her cousin near the Finnish Russian border. My mom was interested in visiting Russia. When you look on a map the major border crossing city of Vaalimaa Finland is across from St. Petersburg. She asked her cousin about this but she said there was no way they would ever go to Russia. Finland is a small country and Russia is a large one. Finland was Russian for over 100 years. During WW II Finland was on the German side.
*****
On a related note I worked with someone whose background was Russian. When her mom died I went to the funeral. It was quite a different experience because the service was so unfamiliar.
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