Abstract
This study examines Finnish travellers’ experiences of travelling across the sea frontier between Finland and Soviet Estonia during the period of 1965–1991. The article focuses on the narratives of Finnish tourists about border crossings and cultural encounters. The analysis concentrates on travellers’ relations and conceptions of the former Soviet Estonia and their descriptions of facing cultural otherness during their travels. The concept of otherness is used as an analytical tool to interpret the narratives.
Highlights
Having lived in Estonia for a while it is especially funny to think about my first trips when many things behind the Gulf seemed to be strange and unusual, even inconceivable
This research focuses on the narratives of Finnish tourists that tell about travelling from Helsinki to Tallinn and encountering cultures in the time of Soviet Estonia, starting from 1965 when a direct shipping lane was established, until the independence of Estonia in 1991
The texts have been written by Finns who travelled in Soviet Estonia and independent Estonia, and take the form of travel writing
Summary
Having lived in Estonia for a while it is especially funny to think about my first trips when many things behind the Gulf seemed to be strange and unusual, even inconceivable. This research focuses on the narratives of Finnish tourists that tell about travelling from Helsinki to Tallinn and encountering cultures in the time of Soviet Estonia, starting from 1965 when a direct shipping lane was established, until the independence of Estonia in 1991. The conceptions of otherness are actualized in the narratives of Finnish tourist’s border crossings from Finland to Soviet Estonia. When travelling to a foreign country, a typical way to conceptualize cultural encounters is to make comparisons and contrasts between the familiar and the unknown This is because people understand themselves, their identity and nationality in relation to other people, groups, and societies. Cultures and traditions connect people to the previous generation’s way of life Because of this fact, the understanding of being for example a Finn or an Estonian includes the idea of a historical continuum which the individual or group can see themselves to be part of. This can be seen in the empirical research material analysis of this article
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