hiidenkonttibeta

In an IC train from Turku to Helsinki. The railroad between the old and new capitals was supposed to be a beautiful scenic route, but all I saw on the way here was nice hilly fields with small forests and cliffs here and there. Now that I know it should have been a route with a view to the sea I’m sitting on the other side of the train.

On Monday, after wandering around a while and eating (in ShamRock Cafe) I checked the Castle of Turku:

I may have been a bit tired, or generally not in castle touring mood, but it felt a bit boring. Too much brand new repairs, too many blocked stairways – dark, narrow stairs going somewhere deep down or up to some tower. Much more interesting than the well-kept rooms that were open for the public.

On Tuesday I asked my cousin, who was my skillfull guide, about Turkus pet cemetery and she took me there. A hour or two passed quicky. After lunch we checked the Tuomiokirkko. An incredible amount of heavy, black cast iron bars blocking all the side alcoves.
Walking around the park outside, watching the trees:
me: too bad there are no oaks.
my cousin: you’d like to see oaks? Then let’s go to Ruissalo, it’s the biggest oak area in Finland.
me: …!
And towards Ruissalo we drove.

A wonderful, a magnificient place. It’s a big forest with a lot of old, big oaks (for Finland, that is) and other trees. Two hours passed quickly, and we only checked a little area of the forest. I could easily spend a whole day walking around.

It’s a lot more pleasant place than their prison of stone and iron.