This and That July 2009

Just got home from work in time to watch the ninth inning of Mark Buerle's perfect game. Fortunately, I went to the TV before I went to my computer, so I didn't know the outcome (it's 1pm here, so it's a replay of last nights game). Anyway, great catch by Dewayne Wise in center to save the day--good theatre. I enjoy football, hockey, basketball; learning to enjoy cricket, rugby, and soccer; but Baseball will always be the best game there is. No matter what Bud Selig, striking and cheating players can come up with, the game always rises above it. Now if someone can just cool off the Phillies.

Humidity has kicked in for the summer in Dubai. As the monsoon season swirls thru the Indian Ocean and India, some moisture is pushed up into our desert region. May and June were hot, 105-115 EVERY DAY. But it was a dry heat. Now in July, temps are down, 95-100, but with the humidity it can feel pretty nasty outside. Really, it's no worse than back home where I can remember bending over a putt and sweat dripping from the bill of my cap onto my golf ball. Guess this will be status quo for August and September. If I had the choice, I would take the heat over the humidity.

Someone pointed out to me that the soft drinks out here use real sugar...even Coke. Probably better than the high fructose corn syrup that is fattening up America. Brings back memories of New Coke in the 80's when they went back to the Original Coke, but with substituted corn syrup instead of sugar. I'm still drinking the yucky diet stuff most of the time anyway.

Here are the results of a search for flights between Atlanta and Dubai leaving Sept 13, returning Sept 27.

British Airways $716 fare $591 tax/fees $1307 total

Luftansa $856 fare $479 tax/fees $1336 total

United $832 fare $411 tax/fees $1243 total

Delta $1102 fare $45 tax/fees $1147 total

Now, if I look at these figure (keeping in mind, figures lie and liars figure) it looks like the cost (fuel, depriciation, salaries, and other services and expenses) of flying one seat from Atlanta to Dubai appears to be roughly $800; yet Delta can take advantage of a lower tax structure and charge $300 more...pure profit! Even a Delta flight connecting thru Amsterdam is only subject to $90 tax (+1102=$1192 total)

Considering most Delta flights between ATL and DXB are mostly full, there is no incentive for them to be more competitive (Ok, even though they have the lowest fare and it's non-stop, something doesn't taste right). Perhaps they can add another daily flight and lower their prices! It's just not much of a free economy when one player has a $300 advantage.

I brought a dozen books back from the US this month. Barnes and Noble is much cheaper than anything over here...typical paperback is $12-13 (and almost nothing is ever on sale). Anyway, a dozen books eats up alot of my wieght allowance in the luggage, so I took the books out of the boxes and bundled them in saran wrap (every ounce helps). Well, turns out this was a great move. I was flying from Boston and changing planes at ATL for Dubai (I know 2 hours of backtracking...but it was cheapest--see above). Our flight from BOS landed just before a Thunderstorm hit the airport but not before they closed the ramps due to lightening. We sat just outside our gate for about 2 hours waiting for the weather to clear. When we did pull in it was still raining and the luggage got a good washing. When I unpacked in Dubai, all the clothes were wet, but my books were dry! Sometimes you get lucky.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki was a wonderful place to spend a few days. The waterfront is beautiful and alive with boats and open air markets. The downtown Esplanade Park softens a lively, contemporary city. A transport system of ferries, trams, and a subway line make the city very accessible.

I stayed in a hotel that used to be a prison, third floor of the cell block. The cell doors were small, but opened into very nice accomodations. There were still bars on some of the windows in the common areas and the perimeter wall surrounded the hotel. They also sold handcuffs at the reception desk. The Tram stopped right at the front gate, so escape was easy and convenient.

Helsinki has a couple very nice museums. The Kiasma Contemporary Museum had some mind boggling displays. They also had alot of art created behind the iron curtain last century which was very interesting to see. Lot's of dark themes, worker themes, but also other's celebrating communism. Unfortunately, alot of the commentary about the artwork was not in English--it would have been cool to know the back story to some of the pieces.

The Finnish Museum had an awesome collection of art celebrating the Kalevala, the collection of Finnish mythology. These stories, set in verse, are held sacred and tell about how the world and Finnish people came to be. From what I gathered, it's a colorful story. There were also a few Picasso's and Van Gogh's on display.

Other sights around the city included Sibelius Park, The Church in the Rock, the Helsinki Zoo (an island of it's own) and Suomelinna (which means Fort of Finland), an island fortress set in the mouth of Helsinki Harbor. The Fort, mostly constructed in the 1700s, consisted of over 6 miles of fortress walls and more than 80% are still standing. It was considered an impenetrable Gibralter of the Baltic--but the Swedes and Russians both dispelled that reputation. Today the island is a beautifully presevered UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site and still home to about 800 residents who live in many of the original barracks and commute to Helsinki by ferry.

I guess the oddest sight, was the Carnival Samba Parade through downtown Helsinki which was loud, festive, colorful, and lasted for over 2 hours. There must have been 2000 dancers with accompanying floats and bands. Apparently, the weather in Finland isn't agreeable for a Mardi Gras parade in February, so they hold it in June, sponsored by the Brazillian Embassy and peopled by the hundreds of dance clubs throughout Finland. The costumes were incredible and would rival anything you would see in Rio. I have photos on my cell phone and if I can figure out how to get the downloaded I will post them.

I do have other photos if you want to take a look.

Tallinn, Estonia

I took a trip to Helsinki in June. I couldn't find a reasonable hotel room for the first few days of my trip, so I flew in and a few hours later I was on a boat across the Gulf of Finland to Tallinn, Estonia where rooms were available and reasonably priced. The ferry was a hydrofoil capable of crossing the 70 mile Gulf in about 90 mins...little slower this trip since the seas were a little rough (nice Six Flags ride for a good part of the trip).

Tallinn is the Capital of Estonia and has been around for over 700 years. There is still a wonderfully preserved Old Town area still surrounded with the original city walls and gates and a Castle area overlooking the Old Town on a rise known as Toompea. Toompea is now used as the seat of the Estonian government.

Old Town was wonderful for walking and was filled with shops (from your modern Gap store to shops selling homemade leather-bound journals and other medevial crafts), restaurants, bars, nightclubs and casinos. The main square was surrounded by outside cafes and with sunlight til 11pm at night it stayed busy til the wee hours of morning--I should know. Estonians also enjoy breaking into spontaneous song--I ran across this a number of times. Sadly, the food was pretty bad. Remember when you order a pizza with sausage, hot dogs are a variety of sausage. I also had a meal with a large hunk of Wild Boar on the plate--it was very tender and tasty, but sure could have used some southern BBQ sauce.

Estonia has been independent from Russia since 1994 and there is alot of new construction too. There is a very lively town center with restaurants, bars, and malls.

There is also a wonderful park area just a short tram ride from Old Town (or I actually wound up walking back). Kadroig Park borders the Gulf of Finland and is the site of one of Alexander the Great's Palaces, now a preserved estate and museum, and the Estonian Contemporary Museum, KUMU. There is also a popular memorial dedicated to a vessel and sailors lost at sea in the late 1900s.

The Estonian people were very friendly, helpful and easy to talk to. I also met one American who worked at the US Embassy, some Irish men who were building a conservatory at a nearby estate, and a couple Latvian high school students on a working weekend (no, I didn't do business with them).

Tallinn was beautiful and fun from the minute I stepped on shore until I left. It's probably a well kept secret for most Americans (I'd never heard of the city until last month). If you are in the area, do yourself a favor and plan a few days.

Sorry, there are alot of photos...enjoy!