Time
travel
I
was walking near the Kamppi district of Helsinki. Looking around I
recalled what the area was like in the 1990s. The buses used to stop
in the square. People in T-shirts and blue jeans queued for the long
distance trips. The sides of the buses were adorned with gaury advertisements.
Compared to modern times, with the glass-and-steel shopping centre
and the bus traffic directed underground, it all seemed old-fashioned
back then.
After
a couple of metres I turned left. A park-like road led to a statue
that bordered on a large, dark building. I hadn't noticed the building
before. It was made of stone, smooth like a wall, with no windows.
"What
is this fortress?" I asked myself.
"It's the secret palace of the Romanovs," a passer-by explained.
"It's been there since the 19th century. Most people do not pay
any attention to it because it is deliberately disguised as a rocky
wall. Apparently Romanov's ancestors still live there, with all their
servants. In any case, the palace is going to be demolished in the
near future."
"Why?"
"It will be replaced by a car park."
Silently
I protested. Historic buildings should be preserved. Admittedly, the
palace was not very noticeable, but the greenery and the park around
the statue was idyllic.
I
continued my walk to the next street. For some reason I saw events
as they enfolded in the 1990's. Students sitting in plainly decorated
cafés. Tables laden with flyers, advertisements for events
and concerts. Looking through the windows into a club called Soda
Bar, I could see that it was fashionable back then to sip Mexican
beer from a thin bottle through a slice of lime. Now, this all seemed
accentuated, but I listened with interest to the electronica played
by the DJ. I have to admit that it still sounded good.
