The Baltic Sea and Cognitive Science
The express ALLEGRO left Saint Petersburg station at early morning and arrived at Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, after several hours via coniferous forests area. I’m going to next town, Stockholm by ferry this evening because I’m going back here again after I visited the other Northern European cities. I put my bag in the locker of the central station and went to the downtown. Streets and buildings there look different from and more sophisticated than that of Russia. When we talk about Northern European Countries, we often associate them with how excellent their design of anything is. You can find some designs with playful spirits from the figure of architectures to the arrangement of letters on the signboards. In addition, they make the local’s life more enjoyable.
No.8 Giraffes in Saint Petersburg
When I was a primary school student, I was often confused about Russia and Germany. That was probably because I hardly understood not only the conflict between East and West Germany but also the cold war between USA and the Soviet Union. Therefore I regarded Russia as a “bad and cruel” country because of the wicked impression of the Nazis and socialism. As time goes by and study world history, this misunderstanding had disappeared. However, because we seldom get the information about Russia from TV programs and magazines while staying in Japan, my impression of Russia is still mysterious and the capital city Moscow is the center of mystery. Taking ferry and trains for total 14days from Sakaiminato port, finally I got to there.Different from my expectation, however, the time I got there was the most exciting scene. I put my bag in the youth hostel and went to some famous tourist site, such as Red square and the Kremlin, but hadn’t been thrilled than I had expected. Of course I found some interested things such as Russian style buildings and delicate decorations, I wasn't impressed by them. I have been traveling in many foreign countries as a backpacker and might feel less fascinated by crowded places now. Needless to say, I am one of them who just enjoy foreign cultures and histories and don’t have the right to say such a selfish thing.
No.7 ”Guns, Germs and Steel, and a Strawberry Sponge Cake”
It takes 7days to go Moscow from Vladivostok by Siberian railroad even if you don’t get off any stations. It’s very hard to take it for 7 consecutive days, so I got off at Irkutsk and Omsk station. Of course I had to stay in the train for total 7days. To make good use of free time, I started reading “Guns, Germs and Steel: Jared Diamond”. This is a bestseller of cultural anthropology. Summarizing the book simply, “The human race has lived being affected by natural features. There is no differences in any races, though they have different qualities of their cultures and how much their civilization have progressed” By the way, this simple title that just put 3 words means 3 factors which considerably affect mankind. I think this book is ideal for tourists.
No.6 the Siberian Ground and the Great Mother
I was looking at the blue of Japan sea shone with summer sun from Vladivostok to Khabarovsk, and the Siberian ground were being reflected on the train window after the area. Only white birch and glass lands spread between town and town. when I saw small villages which has only 4 or 5 houses, I thought “How do they live here?”. I will never know the people that I can’t imagine who they are, but traveling in unfamiliar lands might be able me to manage to find out the point of contact of them. When I told her “I will travel in this country”, a middle-aged Russian lady gave me a message by using translation application of tablet, “There is the will of God”. I met some foreign tourists from Korea, France and Uzbekistan on this train. I will never see them again, but I could see them because I started traveling.
No.5 on the Siberian Railroad Heading for the West
I took a 3rd class train of the Siberian Railroad from Vladivostok to Irkutsk, one of the biggest cities situated in the center of Russia. Different from the 1st class decorated with luxurious furniture and the 2nd class that lots of compartments stand in a row, we can see the usual lives of the locals in the 3rd class.
No.4 at the End of the East
When I was a kid, I was often watching the TV program, “Special Mission Research 200X” The contents of the program conducs researches about paranormal phenomena and mysterious incidents to uncover their secrets and go into a new world. I had been fascinated with the variety of pictures constituted like a drama and sitting with excited feeling in front of a TV set at every Sunday 8 PM. Looking back them, there were lots of uncertain phenomena such as UMA (Unidentified Mysterious Animal), the prophecies of Nostradamus, and the Bermuda Triangle, but I was really enjoying knowing the worlds which were totally different from my world. The name of the fictitious company investigating some incidents is ”Far East Research Corporation”. I just found the name “Cool!”, but it means that the drama was literally being taken place in Far East. Eastern part of Siberia and East Asia are called “Far East”. It’s because the name had been made by Western society. Of course there is no center of the world’s surface, but I like this name. In Japanese language, this word is written as “極東”. “極” means the end or edge, and “東” means East. I just find the meaning, The end of East, “Cool!”
No.3 Looking Back on My Life towards the Future
This ferry is operated by Korean company and most of the passengers are Korean. In addition, restaurants and many goods in shops are Korean style. Although this ferry was still sailing in the territorial waters in Japan, I felt as if I was in a foreign country. I had been tired because I took many trains and buses so far, went to bed at early night. In the second day morning, this ferry was sailing in the territorial sea of Korea and got to Donghae before noon. we were staying here for about 4 hours. Except for signboards and traffic signs written in Korean language, scenery here is almost similar to provincial cities in Japan. “Adjoining things affect each other” is not confined to physical phenomena. Human beings, cultures and traditions are not able to be independent forever, and not able to keep itself as it is if they are isolated. I’m looking forward to see how they change during traveling from the Asian side to the European side.
