A BALTIC TOUR

Franklin Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 22, 26 February 1940, Page 6

A BALTIC TOUR

IMPRESSIONS OF FINLAND Mi' Bernard Newman, who lias made a practice of riding about Europe on a push hike and writing books on his experiences, found on consulting an alias before selling out on the tour recorded in his latest book, “Baltic Roundabout,'’ that he had visited every country in Europe except Finland. He knew that Finland is in many respects an interesting country, but lie thought that a book about it would not prove of much interest to British readers, l'or Finland did not figure much in the news at the time. The centre of European interest was Danzig and the Polish Corridor. He decided to visit Finland, but only as part of a round tour of the Baltic. Starting from Copenhagen he crossed to Sweden, and cycled through Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, East Prussia, Danzig, the Polish Corridor and Pomerania. When his book was completed the dispute between Germany and Poland had not reached tire crisis which led to the invasion of Poland in September last, and the possibility of a war between Russia and Finland had never been mentioned. “1 wonder why British people are so little interested in Ihe Baltic Stales?” wrote Mr Newman in the introduction to his book. Since that was written Russia's aggression against Baltic States and her war agahist Finland have brought these countries into special prominence in the news, and as a result Mr Newman’s chatty book is of greater interest to the general reader than he expected it would be when lie wrote it.

Mr Newman in his journeys mixes with the common people, and puts up at village inns and peasant cottages. I-lis transport charges are almost nil, l'or his bike takes him everywhere he wants to go. He tries to keep down his expenses for hoard and lodging and incidentals to an average of five shillings a day. Sometimes he has to put up with very primitive conditions. His worst experience on his Baltic journey was in that part of Estonia occupied by the Setus tribe. He spent a night in a wooden cottage consisting of one room, in which there were two beds, covered with dirty rags as bedding. These beds accommodated an elderly couple, their son and his wife, and a baby. Mr* Newman was offered a share in one of the beds, but preferred to sleep on the floor. Bui not until after he retired did lie discover that he was to share Hie floor with an old sow and her litter, and Dial a couple of dozen fowls were roosting on perches overhead. In Finland Mr Newman was introduced to Ihe saunas, or steam hath, which be describes as a national ,i----stitution. in the villages almost every cottage lias its steam bath in an adjoining hut. In the hut is a cairn of big stones built round a grate, and as the stones become heated by the fire in Ihe grate water is thrown on lo them and steam arises. This process is repealed until 1 lie temperature of the hut rises higher than that of a Turkish bath. Male and female members of a family use the bath at the same time. In fact, it is quite a common tiling to see nude men and women in the village streets going lo or from llieir steam bath. “I knew Ibal Finland was a clean country, but hitherto I hadn’t realised how clean,” writes Mr Newman. “In mind, as well as body,’ for restrictions and inhibitions are unknown. I saw more of the human body among Scandinavian people than any others in Europe, hut a cleaner and more moral outlook I never knew.”