FINLAND, second time round - TURKU



After our short visit to Estonia we have now travelled to Turku on the western coast of Finland. This was the original capital of Finland, until Russian rule when the capital was moved to Helsinki - because it was closer to Moscow. 

Turku is a lovely spot, a big winding river runs through the centre of the city with boardwalks and cycleways along both banks & a massive archipelago with bridges & roads meandering round the shorelines.



River Aura in Turku city centre

Our first day here was a day of rest, such a hectic schedule is tiring. We did however wander to the Tourist Information office after lunch to pick up a few maps & brochures then we walked back to our hotel via the riverside, enjoying a double scoop of icecream on the way. The weather has warmed up nicely, fine & sunny, 26 degrees every day this week...just perfect...everyone seems to be out enjoying it too, shorts seem to be the uniform and for the girls the shorter the better!

An example of the gorgeous timber buildings in Old Rauma

Less than a hundred kilometres north of here is the World Heritage Town of Rauma, that was our plan for Monday. An enjoyable ride on the express bus got us there in short shrift. Fantastic classic timber structures and craftspeople practicing traditional skills. I have always wanted to give bobbin lace making a go and it was great to see & chat with a lady as she worked on a circular doiley edging. I couldn't resist had to buy a couple of small pieces, at least they are light to post home. There are 200 members in her bobbin lacemaking group most of whom are local to Rauma, I doubt there are that many in all of Australia.

Bobbin Lace making in Old Rauma - One quick lesson, now I am a 'know-it-all'

Tuesday we opted for a bit of walking and a 2 hour city bus tour. In the morning we went to the Turku Cathedral which is the home of the Lutheran Church in Finland and was built in the 1300's, naturally it has been expanded since then and burnt down a couple of times but they still have a museum of original wooden carvings, gold & silver plates, robes dating back into the 1600's and there are tombs of a Queen, her grandchildren, a couple of war heros & famous people to boot. The cathedral was just lovely and despite its trials and tribulations over the years there were still remnants of the original fresco wall & ceiling paintings.


A magnificent wooden carved case (photos done't really do this justice) for holding religious relics,
dates back to 13th Century and thought to contain bones of the first Bishop

We picked up the tour bus at Tourist info (who would have thought it?) and because Turku is a European Centre of Culture for 2011 the trip was discounted to only 5 Euro each which I thought was dirt cheap since it lasted 2 hours and we had a lovely lady guide whose english was really good. Saw castles, churches, community buildings like the old prison, the outdoor swimming pool (wonder if they skate on it in winter) which was quite popular since the weather had turned so warm & lots of other interesting places. An example was the historic public sauna that is over the river and has a glass floor, you get the keys from the Museum but it is available free of charge to anyone who wants to use it. Earlier in the day we had walked past this black timber structure about 2 metres square, out over the water with a chimney sticking out the roof & we had debated what it might be, now we know.

That's it for Turku, a nice dinner at a local restaurant then a  good night's sleep  before our 8.15 am ferry ride to the Aland Islands......bet you had to look them up on a map, most people have never heard of them.....