Mariehamn, Aland, Finland
We arrived at Mariehamn, the capitol of the Aland Islands archipelago, on a sunny but windy morning. After breakfast we heard an interesting summary of island history from Ruben Orjens, a local expert and author. He emphasized the complicated politics that began with the island as part of Sweden, then Russia and finally Finland. Despite the changes in nationality, 90% of the residents still speak Swedish. Currently the island is self governing and demilitarized, even though it is supported by lump sum payments from Finland that are distributed by a 30-member parliament.
After lunch, we split up into guided groups to tour the Aland Maritime Museum and the Pommern—a magnificent example of the late, great steel sailing ship genre. The museum building housed a large, nicely presented collection of ship replicas and marine paraphernalia. However, the real experience was going on board the Pommern. Although small by cruise ship standards, it seems huge on a human scale. This was a ship that hauled grain around Cape Horn from Australia to Great Britain and it seems like a cargo load could sustain a large city for a year or more. The Pommern had a reputation as a “lucky ship” because it survived so many perilous routes at sea and twice won the “Great Grain Race” for the fastest time for its trip with wheat from Australia.
An extra added attraction of our visit to the Pommern was a performance by Christian Ekstrom who played the role of Gustaf Erikson, a shipping magnate living in Marieham who acquired the largest fleet of iron-hulled sailing vessels in the world. When steam-powered vessels took over the shipping trade he donated the Pommern to the city and it eventually became part of the museum that is a big part of the tourist industry that supports the Aland Islands along with shipping, farming and fishing. This has made the Alands one of the most prosperous regions in the European Union.
Before dinner we learned a lot about the Russians in a talk by Olga. This was followed by a preview of the video chronicle by Beau that left us all wanting more. The last events before dinner were recaps by Vinnie and Ian. As usual Vinnie focused on the lurid—this time bodies in bogs, which we will visit tomorrow. Ian, of course, gave a very clever presentation on the derivation of nautical terms that have crept into our language, like a “square meal” or “between the devil and the deep blue sea.”
