Brussels Trip

Continuing on the theme of travel, your correspondent, in his role as a 'union man,' spent a few days in Brussels/Bruxelles at the beginning of June. 

The aim of the trip was to learn more about the functioning (or according to some, malfunctioning) of the European Union. There were various meetings and lectures at the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European School, and the East Finland EU Office. 

The visit was effective in that I left with a better understanding of the logic behind the structure of the various institutions. The logic is impeccable. It would seem that the problem lies more with the practicalities of balancing the interests of all the parties involved, especially in  a world of propagandistic media manipulation. The latest example being the  (deliberate?) mistranslation of the words of the Finnish finance minister, Ms Jutta Urpilainen, by an AFP journalist (subsequently fired as this would appear to be not the first misdemeanour), which was picked up by the international media for further (deliberate?) minsinterpretation. Consider, for example, the contrast between the headline of the article from the eurosceptic British newspaper, The Telegraph and the contents. Maybe 'the markets,' the precise definition of who they actually are being somewhat nebulous, would be less nervous if they had a good understanding of languages other than English - every student knows that if in doubt, go to original sources. Mind you, if 'the markets' are worried about a statement made by the minister of an obscure, geographically isolated country with a mere six million inhabitants then they should seek medical help for their state of their paranoia.

The trip was not all work, there was some time for sight-seeing. Below, a few photos.

A rainy Atomium.

A rainy Grand Place.

Group sight-seeing in the rain.

 

My room-mate at the European Parliament.

 Evidence that I was there.

European Parliament building.

 Three smart colleagues.

The entrance to the Berlaymont building, home of the European Commission.

Grand Place at night.

 Grand Place at night.

Statue on Rue du Midi.

The statue is of a figure, Madam Chapeau (Mrs Hat) from a famous Belgian play. In the current circumstances, it would seem to be an apt symbol of poor citizens having to pay the price for the world's mighty financial industry's hubris.

Sakura

This post is just a teaser for the highlight of Elk's Street's summer.

Cherry blossom from the Elk's Street garden.

Girls' Cultural Trip

As mentioned earlier, H-M and Tiina went on a cultural trip to London at the end of April. This was the second such trip, and by all accounts they had a good time.


The themes of the trip were museums, vegan food and theatre. One museum, one play and one vegetarian meal was planned for each day. They stayed in a bed-and-breakfast in Kensington, the Vicarage Hotel. The hotel was chosen mainly for its central location and the girls would use it again, although I suspect they might prefer something like The Dorchester or Claridge's. Those considering staying at the Vicarage Hotel be warned, the stairs are very narrow and very steep, so don't bring heavy suitcases.


Unfortunately, there seem to be very few photos of the trip, so evidence of the truth of what went on is rather limited.

Tiina about to tuck into a vegan meal.

H-M, Sarah and Stephen.

The travellers met Sarah and Uncle Stephen for an evening out at the show, 'One Man, Two Guvnors'. Sarah and Stephen are soon leaving London and moving back up North, to the Harrogate area.

Not snow, but petals!

Two engineers outside the British Library (Isaac Newton and Tiina).

Hockey Weekends

As many Elk's Street followers will know, the Ice Hockey World Championships were recently held in Helsinki and Stockholm. After much prevarication it was decided to visit a couple of games - Tiina being the prime mover of this plan.


Weekend 1


The first hockey weekend was a trip for Thomas. Henry couldn't come as he was trying his hand at dinghy sailing.

The Hockey Bird mascot (a part of the Angry Birds family)

Thomas enjoying a pre-game hot dog.

Tiina

The teams, Switzerland and Kazakhstan, lined up for the national anthems.

The cheerleaders doing their thing.

An out-of-focus Thomas delighted at meeting the Hockey Bird.

Those looking carefully at the photos will notice the dearth of spectators. This was perhaps the major scandal of the tournament. The organisers, blinded by Finland's success the previous year, sold the tickets in packages of games and at prices that were far too high. The audience voted with their feet and the organisers eventually offered concessions. 

Weekend 2


The second weekend involved Henry, with Thomas staying at home this time. Henry's main task was to revise history with Tiina - 16th century Finnish history. With various members of royalty squabbling, it is easy to forget that the most important event of the era was the arrival in Europe of the potato.


The game we went to see was the semi-final game, Russia vs Finland. An Evgeni Malkin hat-trick saw Russia run out winners, 6-2. Finland went on to lose the bronze medal game to the Czech Republic and the Russian team beat Slovakia to take the gold medal.


In view of the ticket prices, this hockey game was an adults only affair - Henry went instead to Heureka Science Centre, a bit further down the line from the stadium in Pasila.

 Sesse and Tiina looking forward to the game.

The end of game ceremonies, with a rather glum Finnish national team.

The next day, after breakfast-buffet at the German Café Crustum, Sesse set off back home to Kotka, and Tiina and Henry went to do their history revision, leaving me to wander the streets of a sunny but chilly downtown Helsinki.


Below, a few photos.

 Central Helsinki (near the famous Cafe Strindbeg).

A museum tram at the Market Place.

Two vessels moored in Helsinki harbour in front of the Palace Hotel.

The sharp-eyed will note that the vessel on the right is M/S Brahe, which was moored in Lappeenranta over the winter and shown in the previous post. The vessel on the left is a private yacht,  Lady Kathryn V.

 

 The view from the bow.

For those of you planning a celebration, this 61m vessel, tax-efficiently registered in the Cayman Islands, is available for hire. There is room for 12 guests and the current rate is around 395,000 Euros per week. (Your correspondent will spare readers the sermon on the link between this kind of thing and current troubles in the world economy. )

 

On the Tähtitorni hill.

Tähtitorni.