[WWI] Back from Finland visiting museums

[Knut Erik Hagen]

Hei,

Since it is quiet on the list and there might be some time untill 
I get around to write an article for IM, here is the short version:

Tuesday
Flying Finnair Oslo-Helsinki arriving 13.30 (no earlier flights in summer).
Walked from airport terminal straight to Suomen Ilmailmuseo
http://www.ilmailumuseo.fi/info/koneet.html

I have been to the museum earlier, they had re-shuffled some aircraft
and there were some new items like the unrestored Thulin D fuselage.
The balcony overlooking the Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 was closed for
refurbishing, asked the girl in the reception said she could follow
me there to make sure I did not walk into danger.

Bus to central Helsinki, found the hotell and tried to access internet,
was told that the new system so advanced that nobody knew how to make it
work.   
Went to the Central Station to buy a three-day tourist ticket which allows
unlimited travel on VR - the Finnish Railways.


Wednesday
Train 06.30 to Jyväskylä to catch the bus to Tikkakoski and Keski-Soumen
Ilmailumuseo
http://www.k-silmailumuseo.fi/?action=etusivu
(Avro 504K, Martinsyde Buzzard, MS.50C & Thulin D present, Breguet 14A2 not
seen) 
Short of space and very crowded display area, the P-39Q had just been replaced
by a Bristol Blenheim.
Return to Helsinki, trying the Indian restuarant at Jyväskylä station,
most authentic was the feeling of Bombay-belly during the evening/night.


Thursday
If Tikkakoski could be considered to be in the middle of nowhere,
todays target is Hallinporti Ilmailumuseo in the outskirts of nowhere.
Another three hour trainride in the morning, alighting at Jämsä.
First problem is locating the town of Jämsä as there are no signs of other
buildings next to the station.  Finds the harbour (250km from the coast),
tourist office (limited opening hours because it is summer holiday) and
eventually the taxi rank.  Shows the driver a description in Finnish on
the museum and he sets off after confering with the other cabbies.
He has problems locating the museum, but there is fortunately a sign.
http://www.museo24.fi/?action=56(2065)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallinportti_Aviation_Museum
The little barn/hangar has complete Rumpler 6b, Caudron G3, Aero A.11
and a couple of other aircraft as well as a lot of parts scattered around.
Spends more time than expected so I have to drop the visit to the Karhumäki
display nearby in order to catch the evening bus back to Jämsä.
(only 2-3 buses pass there each day).


Friday
No aircraft museums today, take the train to Hämeenlinna 
and bus to Parola to visit the Finnish Armour Museum
http://www.panssarikilta.fi/Museo/kehys-e.html
Impressive collection of armour from the little WW1 Renault and onwards.
Run into the barrel of a T-54 in the new exhition hall that was opened that day,
my scull is thick enough but I am sure there will be more headaches following 
as it is just inside the door when you enter from the sunshine outside.  

Most of the WW2 armour is outside, I struggle with camera settings as 
the light is different from what I am used to, looking up I see that it is 
because of the partial solar eclipse.

Take the bus back to the town along with another foreigner, we speak English 
for a while untill figuring out that we are both Norwegians!
Find I have time to spare in Hämeenlinna and visit the Artillery Museum there.
http://www.tykistomuseo.fi/piilosivut/artillery_museum/
A lot of WW1 guns there, need to find out if Artillery-Bob is interested in
a DVD.


Saturday
Check-out time, takes the ferry to Suomenlinna fortress from Salutorget.
http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25996

Walks around the fortress, admiring the view and goes inside the Vesikko
submarine
and the Artillery Hall - more guns and armour, but the C.24 fighter plane
is not to be found, only a poster describing it.
http://www.suomenlinna.fi/index.php?menuid=26&picid=29&lang=eng

Ferry back to the city centre and a tram ride up to the specialist model shop
http://www.kolumbus.fi/martti.kuivalainen/engindex.html
Manage to spend a fair amount of money, return to hotel to stuff my purchases
into the spare bag.  Disaster strike as the box of fresh cloudberries break up
while being placed in a protected position, it can not go as hand luggage.
(Cloudberries/chicoutée are the truffles of the Nordic countries,
quality berries are expensive and difficult to find).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudberry

Got the mess under control and to the airport.
Board an Airbus 320, about half the passengers Japanese.
Briefings given in Finnish, Japanese and eventually in English / Swedish,
One aircraft engine fail before take-off so we have to return to gate 
while they locate a spare machine with two good engines.
Late arrival in Oslo airport to find that there are problems with the trains 
running towards central Oslo - does make it home eventually.


Travelled more than 1500km by train, visited 6 museums and filled up more than
15Gb of memory cards in my cameras.
No major problems, found that I have missed out on one important museum in
Lahti,
http://www.lahdenilmasilta.fi/museo.html
Lahti is only one hour by train from Helsinki, but I had not planned in advance
how to get from the station to the museum - otherwise I may have been able to 
go there on Saturday.



English worked most of the time in Finland, my Norwegian/Swedish only in
Helsinki.
The museums were usually staffed by students who spoke good English and helpful,
but not able to answer questions about the exhibits.

For a "trekkie" did it feel a bit like visiting the Klingons, being surrounded
by a language totally different in writing and speaking from the ones I know.
There was a lot of shouting from drunk Finns any time of the day
and black heavy metal outfits with nails popular with the young ones in the
streets. 
Having seen the use of Nokias and Vodka by the locals am I surprised 
there are any of either left over to export.



  Eders
Knut Erik
(Going to Borneo two weeks from now and heading for Texas in early October)



>Mikko wrote:
Six?? I did not know that we even have so many!
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Knut Erik Hagen" <knut.erik.hagen at eunet.no>
>> Just got back from Finland where I covered six OT museums in five days and
>> 1500km by train.