Sokos Hotel Seurahuone Turku

... It was lovely! We sat with Tim, Margaret and Rachel whilst we ate, and then again in the bar after Hope had stood at our table hassling Margaret to stop talking and finish eating her pudding (neither me nor Lisa had pudding as we didn't want Hope to give us that look, which Margaret got instead! It was done with a smile on her face though, and she laughed as Margaret tried unsuccessfully not to go on about how lovely the food was instead of actually eating it ...

Matkustus tapahtuu aina itsekkäistä syistä. Niin tälläkin kertaa. Nyt lähdetään juhlimaan Memmun kolmekymppisiä Ilarin ja Memmun tyyliin. Rinkan, passin ja hammasharjan lisäksi varustelistalla :

2 x Housut
2 x Alushousut
2 x Sukat
2 x T-Paita
1 x Huppari
1 x Puolen metrin rauta kettinki

Eiköhän näillä pärjätä...

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." ~Lao Tzu

Caught the train from Helsinki to Turku which only took about two hours. They have very nice trains. Easy city to navigate. I'm going to check out the harbour and book a spot on one of the ferries heading for ALands. Unfortunately I can't go today because the ferries only depart at 0815 and 2015. So I'm staying in Turku today which is fine because I forgot that I wanted to see the castle. Now I'm just waiting for the hostel to open so I can drop my bag off. It's getting lighter every day.

... I enjoy the turn of the century town. Pretty place.

Back in Turku for the afternoon, I hit some interesting "museums". First was the Luoinstarmaki Handicrafts Museum which gets the international award for worst name. It is actually an excellent collection of buildings starting several hundred years ago, decorated in their respective timeframes and with a few people dressed in period costumes providing explanations.

Second, Alboa ...

... at some of the exhibits. One thing I did find interesting was how initially the general population were not allowed to sail somewhere to trade. Then certain towns were granted trading rights, but the rural folk were not. Then gradually everyone was allowed to trade. Finland was still part of Russia during WW1. After 20 years of "independence", perhaps not surprisingly, she sided with Germany in WW2. When Germany lost, Finland had to give 2/3 of her ships etc as ...

... a small gazebo nearby that made for a pretty viewing platform. There is a bridge to a small island just off from the church. The island has a children's amusement park. In English they call it Muumin World, in Finnish it's Muumimaailma. The pictures of the characters look like the cartoon characters on my umbrella from Finnair. So now I know what they're about. Also across the bay is the summer residence of the president of Finland. The gardens are open to ...

... 1073;ом))Здесь нас ждал паром до Стокг 86;льма)

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We arrived in Turku on the bus. The beautiful port city with a central street, the castle and the quay, which is more like a museum ship in the open air))
Here is the ferry to Stockholm was waiting for us)