Our bus drove us deep into the forest and left us at twin waterfalls at the bottom of a mountain. A steep climb, but it was cool and immensely peaceful.
Arriving early on a Sunday morning is always challenging. Train from airport to Helsinki then ... rubbish everywhere ... After Saturday night! Harbour cruise and open top boat in Summer We picked up our car and drove through so much forest...pine and silver birch...wood and paper are a major export. Everywhere we stopped there were beautiful lakes. Old preserved wooden buildings in Rauma, charming river walks in Turku and beaches at Hanko with no-one on them. Finland felt relaxed and unhurried.
Caught the ferry 2 hrs due south from Helsinki to Estonia's capital Tallin. 7 ferries left today with maybe a thousand people on each. Tallin is a beautiful old city with walled sections, alleyways and market squares.
We don't know when we'll be back again!! Japan - to walk the Nakasendo Way ( ten days between Kyoto and Tokyo. A couple of days in Kyoto and Tokyo then Finland - hiring a car and driving the southern coast. then ferry to Estonia - hiring a car and exploring for five days then plane to Oslo and connecting flight to Svalbard. Staying on board a big boat (200 ish people) and cruising the islands for 12 days. Meeting bears whales walruses and otters. I'll post when I can and add a few photos Got to go now, our flight is boarding Ross and Clare
Enjoying following your travels! Looks great..
ReplyDeleteThat looks very calming. Gentle green. 🙂
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