Page 330
Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2025 6:36 am
– I don’t remember.
– Well, how could you forget, my dad has a hotel there.
– No way, wow.
And I realize that this is a sign. So I was still thinking, maybe I won’t go next week, maybe I will, and then the weather there, it’s autumn. And all of this once again confirms that it’s coming from all directions. You know, everyone’s talking about this Karelia, and I had only been there once or twice in my life. Once for fishing in 2003 or 2004, and the second time just passing through because I was driving through that border to Finland, to Joensuu. So, the next week, I arrive with my friend, the tour operator, in Karelia, straight to the city administration, and we ask:
– What properties do you have, what’s for sale?
– There’s not much,- they show us some things, slip us a piece of paper with some properties listed. So, I look at it and ask:
– What’s this?
– A military base. Well, a disbanded border guard unit, abandoned.
– Oh! How much does it cost?” – she names a price, it’s not much.
– Why is it so cheap? What’s the catch?
– There is a catch. It’s not suitable for a hotel.
– And why? What’s the reason?
– It’s a border zone, and tourists and foreign nationals definitely won’t be allowed in. Only Russians with passes will be allowed, even then. So it’s a big problem, no one’s really interested, and the buildings are old, it would take a lot of money to fix it up, it’s easier to build something new.
– I buy it.
I ask what else is available, what other properties there are, and she doesn’t understand — why am I buying, what’s with the excitement, and why am I still interested in buying everything up? And somehow she said:
– Are you waiting for the Iron Curtain?
– I am.
– Well, how could you forget, my dad has a hotel there.
– No way, wow.
And I realize that this is a sign. So I was still thinking, maybe I won’t go next week, maybe I will, and then the weather there, it’s autumn. And all of this once again confirms that it’s coming from all directions. You know, everyone’s talking about this Karelia, and I had only been there once or twice in my life. Once for fishing in 2003 or 2004, and the second time just passing through because I was driving through that border to Finland, to Joensuu. So, the next week, I arrive with my friend, the tour operator, in Karelia, straight to the city administration, and we ask:
– What properties do you have, what’s for sale?
– There’s not much,- they show us some things, slip us a piece of paper with some properties listed. So, I look at it and ask:
– What’s this?
– A military base. Well, a disbanded border guard unit, abandoned.
– Oh! How much does it cost?” – she names a price, it’s not much.
– Why is it so cheap? What’s the catch?
– There is a catch. It’s not suitable for a hotel.
– And why? What’s the reason?
– It’s a border zone, and tourists and foreign nationals definitely won’t be allowed in. Only Russians with passes will be allowed, even then. So it’s a big problem, no one’s really interested, and the buildings are old, it would take a lot of money to fix it up, it’s easier to build something new.
– I buy it.
I ask what else is available, what other properties there are, and she doesn’t understand — why am I buying, what’s with the excitement, and why am I still interested in buying everything up? And somehow she said:
– Are you waiting for the Iron Curtain?
– I am.