Nordic Skiing World Championships in Lahti - 1st day 02/03/2017

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Departure from Helsinki at 12:35. My train wagon is full of Norwegian fans, while since the morning I met Swedish ones. Back in Lahti after 16 years I had been there for the previous World Championships in 2001 and also earlier to ski and watche World Cup races. I recognize it enough, although something has changed. For the venues it's 1800-1900 meters on foot. At the entrance no personal search, and kiosks sell  drinks in closed bottles without problems: the football world is really far away (and other threats)!I have just the time to eat a reindeer sausage before taking a seat: I find out  that they are standing places, and moreover there is a free one only on the steps. I should better have equipped myself better, with my battered knees. The race goes as it should, Norway-Sweden-Finland: the only surprise is the resistance of the latter, which gets to the final sprintwith Sweden. Italy makes its job and arrives 9th. At the end of the race,  cold begins to be felt. I enter the sport arena, also to sit down. I sit on the stairs and I almost fall asleep. Inside people sing and dance (in addition to eating and drinking) they also sing the Finnish version of  the Italian song "Guarda che luna" (lit. "Look, what a moon"). I knew that there are Finnish versions of Italian songs, including "L'italiano" (which becomes "I'm Finnish"), but I was missing that. The break before the jumping competition seemed very long, but eventually flies away: it's time to set out to the stands of the jumping hill, but I would still have rested a bit very willingly. Upon arrival, no one even checks that one is in the right sector.During the race, I have more the feeling of being at a party with the background of ski jumping than at a jumping competition. Each jumper has his song, sometimes one of his country of origin (for Italian they play "Volare", but it bring no luck: he is out of the 2nd round, like the other two), sometimes one of his favorites. Sometimes the speaker (who speaks almost exclusively in English, although at least 75% of the attendace is Finnish) is so into music that he forgets to announce jumpers. So, the 2nd round started, I do not even notice, als because it started earlier than announced . After the Finns, the most represented nationality is definitely the Norwegian: then you see some Polish, a few Germans and even fewer Austrians: you see some flags only after they won gold. The Swedes, out in force at the cross-country race, disappeared: I am Always surprised that someone gives up something for which he paid, even if he may not be interested so much. You see two Italian flags, including mine: in the breaks I met some Italians, especially from Gressoney.Tomorrow another day, but with an eye to Belgrade for the European Athletics Championships: When I found out I could not come last week, as I would have preferred, I was a bit undecided whether to come here or to go to Belgrade.