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People have always longed for eternal life and have organized pilgrimages and other religious voyages. Also carnivals and the bacchanal belong to the longing for an eternal life and for extinguishing or expelling death. Tombs are popular tourist attractions. A German tourist wondered a few years back where Väinämöinen’s tomb was located. If the Austrians could find Mozart’s bones, their tourism and economy would double overnight. The same concepts are also involved in tourism in other countries, for example, Fidel Castro in Cuba and the kiosk keepers in London. Che Guevara's remains are buried at a suitable distance from the Cuban tourist sites, and Lady Diana's mugs and t-shirts are available everywhere in London. Why travel to buy a Lady Diana-cup? Why would the tourist buy a ticket to see Lady Diana's grave? The tourist longs for immortality, and travel professionals respond to this longing by preparing modern-day relics as souvenirs.
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Picture: Doll exhibition at the Crafts Museum, Jyväskylä. Photo Kari Rouhiainen, 2010 |
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Picture: Advertisement by the Finnish National Rail that invites tourist to come to explore in which Savo town the best fish pies are made. Fish pie, pies, and rye bread are the best souvenirs from Eastern Finland. Source: VR's advert for a Pendolino connection opening of Iisalmi and Kuopio in 2005 |
The Finns are seeking their energy from the nature and from the magic drink Koskenkorva vodka that is the main ritual drink in Finland. The strong spirits of freedom speak in Koskenkorva, The Spiritus Fortis is entwined with a sense of nationality.
In Finland, the green door of the forest opens to receive the tourist who yearns for immortality. Silence, listening to the old trees and seeing the twinkle of the Big Bear of the northern sky put things in right order. Understanding the natural cycle offers real genuine experiences in a sustainable way.
Finns speak Finnish, the language which is particularly suited expressing the major Finnish issues. Therefore, we Finns may sometimes seem silent or sullen or lacking communication skills, or even being angry. When getting to know Finns better, they reveal their true nature. Finns are quite able to speak other languages and they are happy to tell stories and jokes. Finns are a friendly people, not bad tempered, moody or angry Väinös from Kalevala. The melancholic mentality is like a partly cloudy day, which is well suited for a restful holiday. Finnish words may work well in nature magic and the drinks made from pure ingredients, berries and herbs from the nature make excellent souvenirs and might even encourage to learn a few word in Finnish.
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The journey does not exist. Before departure, the journey is just imagination that is based on knowledge, an image of the future route and its target and maybe hopes for future experiences.
During the trip, the passenger passes along the journey and lives in the present moment, he cannot go back over the journey, he cannot go back to the beginning. "There is no return beyond this point" - it is written on a sign at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Schengen Departure Hall.
The passenger tramples a step at a time. Are his feet moving, when he steps one foot in front of the other, or his foot is in one place at each location during the movement of the arc of his step? Is the world full of places, times, and movement, in other words on a journey, or is it an illusion?
Passenger can never be guaranteed upcoming experiences.
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Beer mats in the pocket of a rucksack |
After the journey the goal is achieved, at least the passage ends, or we come to a stop. The journey has left memories and other materials or documentations, photos, shopping, the pressed flowers between the pages of the book, a napkin or beer mats in the rucksack pocket. Memories gradually settle down and the entire duration of the trip begins to resemble the earlier trips, things forgotten, and the travels are related to other life experiences.
"Darling! Did we buy this candlestick from Rome or Venice?"
"We bought it in Milan."
"Well, it was not in Milan, because when we were in Milan Mark was seven."
"Well, We were in Milan also on our ski vacation, remember? When we were skiing in Madonna, so it's from that trip."
"You remember absolutely nothing. It seems to have no matter at all to you where we have been."
We often think that the creativity is creating a new form from scratch, we have to get an inspiration out of nothing. Or that creativity is "standing on the shoulders of giants", where some of your own insights are added to previously researched information. These definitions will hold true.
A famous Dutch artist and architect Piet Mondriaan said: “We must not adapt, we must create.”
One form of creativity is also to identify and show the facts as they are, breaking the conventions, change the perspective to understand the reality again. The reality probably takes it, because it is built on stories.
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6.3.2. The Tourist Wants to Experience Art | Questions |
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