A Finland Diary

A Journey into the Religious Past & Present of Finland

by Jim Forest

Friday, May 8, 1998 / New Valaam Monastery: There’s thunder in the distance and a waterfall-like roar all around the building. I’ve opened the window—three layers of glass—just to better hear and feel it. It’s cool outside but not freezing, though there is snow here and there on the ground and the adjacent lake is still under ice. I’m a lot farther north than I was when I put on my spring jacket and flew out of Holland this morning. This is the Finnish part of Karelia. The nearest city with an airport is Finland’s easternmost city, Joensuu, 375 kilometers northeast of Helsinki and 65 kilometers west of the Russian border. Ten years ago I was on the other side of the border not far from here.

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