Rauma Wrap Up

August 2, 2011 

It is exactly two weeks since I left Finland.  I've already spent a lot of time sorting my hundreds of photos!

My flight home was uneventful. My Finnish friend, Anne picked me up promptly in time for my bus to Helsinki & we both were a little teary saying "good-bye." I don't think we ever had spent this much time together before, not even when she lived with us in 1999-2000. Our adult friendship is now, certainly, cemented. I look forward to sharing my photos of her children and town with my family. I hope to show Aleksi & Jenny our town and WNY area when their parents visit us again.

This (return) FinnAir flight felt shorter than previous trans-Atlantic flights. Good thing, because my excessive wait at JFK for my connecting (Delta) flight was extended & I didn't leave NYC until after 11pm. Mark, my loving husband of 31 years, was patiently waiting at the Rochester Airport and I finally got to bed after 2AM (9AM Finnish time) on July 20th.  I'd been up since 6 AM Finnish time on July 19th which, I think, made my total trip time ~ 25 hrs.

The big negative for me about arriving so late was that Mark was scheduled to leave for a business trip by noon on the 20th. So, we did not have much time together before we were separated by our schedules, again!  But, as several Finnish friends observed, that gave me a few days to (very quietly) "transition" back to life here in Conesus, NY.

Here are my (almost) final thoughts about my adventure in Finland this summer.

Lasting impressions: Finland is a very "family-friendly" country and I would not hesitate to recommend it for a vacation for tourists of all ages & abilities. Except for the medieval-era buildings, it is generally super accessible for those with disabilities as well.

What I loved: the small towns and the forests. Although I am a museum-hound, and I saw a couple of nifty ones in Rauma & Turku respectively, it is the smell of the sea air and the trees I will remember most vividly. Finns REALLY do love their well-managed forests and every housing complex or "development" in Rauma, anyway, had some "woods" incorporated into the neighborhood. That was how my friend Anne could actually (for real!) pick mushrooms, for her pizza, a block from her suburban house.

I loved how the little churches (in the small towns I saw in south-western Finland) were perched close to & within view of the sea.

I loved how well the cemeteries were cared for and the other public garden projects. Every little town had a big flower bed close to the town entrance arranged to look like their town coat of arms or other municipal, floral "logo." They must use greenhouses extensively: I saw thriving, established-looking annuals in full bloom (mid-June through the 3rd week of July) planted EVERYWHERE in cities & towns, on light posts, in flower boxes, in plots on lawns.

I loved how Finns embrace BOTH supermarkets AND outdoor, farmers' markets for local produce. Every town I saw has, if not a historical market "square", a central, accessible area where farmers' produce is sold.  Their supermarkets are generally owned by just two large companies: Prisma (the "S" chain) or CityMarket (the "K" chain.) The "Prisma" chain also owns & runs the largest department stores in the country (like "Sokos") as well as a hotel chain and god-knows -what-else. Anne told me you can tell which company runs what by the presence of an "S" or a "K" in the names. It took me most of my time there to get the drift of that.

I loved how their supermarkets are a lot like mini-malls, with clothing, liquor, hardware, and jewelry stores clustered in the same building complex with the food stores. The ones in Rauma also had florists, family-restaurants, and cell-phone company stores. The Post Office I used for 5 weeks (with the helpful, mostly English-speaking staff) was located at the CityMarket within easy walking distance of my B&B.

I have to say, I REALLY loved IKEA.

The old churches I saw in western Finland rivaled the decorative detail I remember seeing in Italy. The decoration was different, hand-painted rather than mosaic, but often as old, and very well cared for. The Finns' reverence for wood was obvious everywhere, in contemporary furniture and floors in private homes, as well as in public spaces of all eras.

I LOVED Vanha Rauma. I loved the architecture and the cobblestone streets. I loved the marketplace and Café Sali (thanks for the free wifi!) I loved getting lost in a place where the same buildings were there 500 years ago.

So, now it's time to bring this blog to an end. I'm home now & already boring people with stories of my trip. It was nice to go to church today & hear everything in English. I'm making plans for a busy August.

"Kiitos" to my Finnish friends for a wonderful experience. Thanks to my family for indulging my vacation fantasy. My daughter Kate said that 5 weeks was "a little" excessive. I don't think so. I'll just have to take her with me next time...

Remembering Helsinki & Suomenlinna

It is Sunday, July 24 2011, almost a week since I was a tourist in Rauma, Finland.  After returning I realized that I've neglected to "blog" about my time in Helsinki & the island park at Suomenlinna with Anne & her friend (from university) Eeva.

Eeva graciously offered us overnight hospitality (and accommodations!) on June 30th, the afternoon & evening before we were to catch the Allegro train from Helsinki to St. Petersburg (SPg.)

Anne & I took the bus from Rauma to Helsinki, a 4+ hour trip, but uneventful, that morning & arrived in downtown Helsinki shortly after noon.  We had some lunch & I got Eeva some flowers.  We took the streetcar to Eeva's apartment.  They reminded me a bit of the streetcars in the oldest part of Toronto, but these cars are more accessible.  Eeva lives in a fashionable but quiet part of Helsinki on an upper floor of an older building.  She works from home frequently and apparently her wireless access is good, a nice perk in an older building, but apparently pretty common here.

We had coffee & cake with Eeva & then set out for a brief "sightseeing" tour with her as our native guide.
Because I had requested to see the "Rock Church", Eeva took us straight to the Lutheran Cathedral in central Helsinki.  That's Eeva & I on the steps in front of the biggest Lutheran church in Finland.

(The "Rock Church" is actually another structure, closer to Eeva's apartment, but we didn't get there on this trip.)  Next, we tootled down to the open air harbor market, closing up for the day at about 7 pm.   Since it was a lovely evening, weather-wise, we took the ferry to Suomenlinna

As the link above will tell you, Suomenlinna is the island fortress near the Helsinki harbor.  It is an actual town, with permanent residents, but it also serves as a summer playground for urban Helsinki.  There are restaurants, museums, theatre, a beach & lots of green space.  Quite a few people ride their bikes to the ferry as well.

I just loved this place & I hope Anne & Eeva had as much fun as I did!  After returning on the ferry we went to dinner at a Nepalese restaurant near Eeva's apartment.  I had never eaten that Asian cuisine before & it was very good.  Stuffed to the gills we retired, to chat, until nearly midnight.

Eeva had to go to work the next morning & we had to catch our train, so we had a quick, but very Finnish breakfast of open sandwiches (with sliced meat, tomato &, of course, cucumber) and good coffee.
Kiitos, Eeva, for your hospitality & giving me a little taste of the best of Helsinki!

Näkemiin to Rauma

Monday, July 18, 2011

The past 4 days have been emotional & full of family-oriented events.  My friends Anne & Saku celebrated the 1st birthday of their twins, Aleksi & Jenny, on Sat. July 16.  I was happy to be included in the family fun.

Friday, I helped Anne get their house ready for the party and took the twins for a walk while she got her hair cut & colored.  The weather here has been very nice & summer-like, but not too hot.  My husband, Mark, would love the climate here in the summer!

Saturday, Rita & Lassi (Anne's parents) picked me up from the B&B and took me to the party at Anne & Saku's house.  Most of the people I've met here were at this party, so it was nice to be able to say "Näkemiin" (Good-bye) and "Kiitos!" (thank you.)

Aleksi's 1st Birthday Cake

Jenny's 1st Birthday Cake

Jenny opening gift from Mummu (Grandma) Rita

Aleksi's 1st taste of his birthday cake

 Sunday morning, I went to the beach not far from my B&B, but there was a cold wind, despite the bright sunshine, so after a couple of hours I decided to go to see the last Harry Potter movie at the theatre in Vanha Rauma.  Anne picked me up after the movie & I spent a quiet evening with their family and their friends, Pieter and Hannah, godparents to Aleksi.


Today, Monday, I spent with Anne running errands like returning books to the Rauma Library, picking up some gifts (& mailing some stuff) at the Post Office and returning borrowed items like Rita's bicycle and Sanna's electric outlet converter, and generally tying up "loose ends."  I took advantage of my favorite wifi "hotspot" at the Cafe Sali and took these pictures outside & inside:

Cafe Sali

I took Rita's bike back to their house and spent the next two hours soaking up the atmosphere of Vanha Rauma.  I said "good-bye" to my favorite waitress at the Cafe Sali and took care of some small errands.  I had trouble finding the  Lace Store in Vanha Rauma but Anne & the twins came through for me again, guiding me by cell phone, block by block.  We went and had some ice-cream after that.

Then Anne, the twins & I shopped for stuff for dinner at Rita & Lassi's tonight.  All together it was Rita & Lassi, Anne & Saku, the twins, Anne's youngest sister, Minna & I.  Anne cooked the dinner & it was delicious.  After dinner, Minna, a physio-therapy student, gave me a head & neck massage (wonderful!)   Then Anne, Minna & I went to the sauna.  Generally, sauna is not recommended after a heavy meal (like we just had) but since the twins were being watched by Saku &  Rita & Lassi, Anne could relax in the sauna for a change!  I LOVED it.  Kiitos to Anne or Lassi or Rita, for starting the wood fire for us in the sauna stove.

After the sauna we all relaxed with the twins, which may sound like a contradiction, but really was pretty good.  Around 10 pm they finally had their last bottle of milk, falling asleep & staying asleep while Anne & Saku loaded them into their car.

Tonight I said an emotional "good-bye" to Rita, Lassi & Minna and Saku.   Earlier Anne gave me a lovely traditional Finnish gift of "Heart of the House" earrings and a necklace made by Kalevela.  I am going to wear them home tomorrow.  My bus to Helsinki leaves at 8AM so I'll be up early.  Jussi Hyppölä left me a note to call him & so we are going to have coffee in the morning at 7 AM.  I'll pay my bill then too.

I won't have to say "Näkemiin" to Anne until she comes to take me to the bus (with my three pieces of luggage) at 7:30 AM.

1311 Must have been a good year...

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Today I visited several beautiful structures in and around Turku, three of which are estimated to be about 700 years old:  Turun Linna (Castle at Turku),  Turun Tuomiokirkko  (Turku Cathedral) and the much smaller but equally significant historically, Pyhä Martin Kirkko (St. Martin's Church) of Raisio.  We also made a quick visit to St. Bridget's and Blessed Hemming's Parish also in Turku, one of only 6 Roman Catholic Churches in ALL of Finland.

Stained glass mural at St. Bridget & Blessed Hemming Church

 Turku, founded in the early 1300's, was the medieval capital of Finland and remained so until Russia won Finland from Sweden in 1809 .  Turku, the oldest city in Finland.

The first stop this morning was St. Bridget's and Blessed Hemming's Roman Catholic Church.  A very modern structure set among what look like office buildings, The church is named for Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden and an early  Bishop of Finland, the martyr, Blessed Hemming.  This parish has an English liturgy on Sunday evenings and I looked it up on the internet before I left home, but had not yet visited, and probably would not have found it, if not for Leena.   It has a beautiful wall of stained glass and some lovely modern, but not awful, religious art.

The  castle was our 2nd stop. The Castle & Museum at Turku

Built  to defend Sweden's claim on the territory, it only gradually and then only briefly, became a Renaissance-style palace.

Turun Linna (Turku Castle)

 It reverted to a fortress and a prison in the 17th, 18th & 19th centuries.  Heavily damaged in WW II, it was restored in the late 20th c. and currently serves as a museum and center for cultural events.  I took the English language tour of the medieval (the oldest) sections of the castle.  It was well worth the admission price.

St. Nicholas Statue, Turku Castle Museum

We took a break from touring to have lunch at IKEA in Raisio and shopped (duh!) but Leena whisked us back to Turku to see the Cathedral.  Also 700 years old (dedicated early in the 14th c.)

Main Altar, Turku Cathedral

This cathedral began as the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Finland in the early  1300's and remained an important religious center after the conversion to Lutheranism in the 16th c. continuing to the present day.   Blessed Hemming (namesake of the current Roman Catholic Church mentioned above) is buried in this cathedral, as are several important figures in Finnish religious and secular history.

Listening to piano music in front of the Turku Cathedral. 

The cathedral continues to host art and music shows (there was an art show displayed while we were here) and appears to be a vibrant community with services held several times per week in Finnish, Swedish and English.

As we left we were charmed by (what appeared to be) an impromptu piano concert held in the square in front of  the cathedral.  Someone had moved a grand piano and set it down in front of the cathedral in the brilliant sunshine.  We learned later he was playing his own compositions and selling CDs.  Anu & I both bought one!

Music by D.Martello@MusikschuleKonstanz

Aura River.  Turku, Finland

My hosts continued my tour of Turku by driving me around to see the university buildings and more of the river front.   It was a beautiful day and the city looked good.

Leena wanted me to see the Russian Orthodox church in Turku and Sami found it for us but it was not open.  We stopped and had coffee in the nearby market square instead, enjoying the warm sunshine and the cosmopolitan atmosphere of that neighborhood, different from the cathedral.   We decided to stop at one more church on our way home:  St. Martin's Church in Raisio.

Model "Votive" ship (c. 1786) St. Martin's Church, Raisio

Main Altar and commemorative clock.  St. Martin's Church

Painting of the Prophet Obadiah.  Unusual for its time, the text is written in Finnish.

St. Martin's Church is also one of the oldest church communities in Finland, commonly understood to have begun in 1305.  Two of the oldest documented tomb stones in Finland are located here and were found during a renovation in 1969.   This is a functioning parish as well, with a beautiful church yard, memorial groves for cremated remains, and meditation gardens.  Like almost all the churches Leena found for me to visit, this one also had a knowledgeable and English-speaking guide who happily produced an English language version of their church history brochure.  That guide told us the prophet paintings (c. 15th) were unique for their day because the biblical verses inscribed below each were written in Finnish.   At the time almost every thing in these churches was written in Swedish or Latin.

St. Martin's Church, Raisio.  One of the oldest greystone churches in Finland.

My compliments to my friend Saku's mother, Leena, who did the internet research to find the church addresses and to his brother Sami & sister-in-law, Anu, who chauffeured us all over Turku, and Raisio and translated for me.

After touring St. Martin's we decided to head home to Rauma and dinner with the whole family, or as much of it as we could gather together:  Saku's dad Simo, his mom Leena, brother Sami and his wife Anu, and Anne and the twins.  Saku, unfortunately could not join us as he was at their summer house working on (what else?) the sauna!

My Turku guides:  (L to R) Anu, Leena and Sami

So, we had a great dinner at the Black Cat Cellar Restaurant in Rauma.  The almost-one-year-old twins were excellent children, eating their Cheerios patiently while the adults ate and then eating some fruit and yogurt for Anne & Leena like little angels.  Tomorrow will be a quieter day for me;  I plan to help Anne around the house to get ready for the BIG birthday party for the twins on Saturday.

Pori Jazz Festival Revisited

Wednesday July 13, 2011

This will be just a short post.  Anne & the twins picked me up this morning at 10 AM and we headed to Eurajoki for a quick trip to the bank where Minna (Anne's youngest sister) works.

Minna: Service with a smile!

Play Corner at the bank

 I exchanged some U.S. dollars there for Euros.  While I did that at Minna's window, Anne & the twins hung out at the bank's "Play corner" equipped with toys to distract the kids while parents do their banking!  I've never seen so many places with child-friendly spaces. The money thing done, we drove to Pori via Anne's grandma's place, where we deposited the twins.  Gurli, bless her heart, volunteered to watch the kids while we do the festival today.

On the way to the festival Anne took me to see one of Pori's more unique tourist attractions:  the Sigrid Jusélius Mausoleum.  This link (all in Finnish) includes a solemn Finnish tour (with viola accompaniment) but lovely images which I could not attempt to replicate. Built as a tribute to Sigrid, who died of tuberculosis at age 11 years and the only child of wealthy parents, the large marble structure dominates the cemetery in which it is located.  Built in the 1890's, it is decorated inside with several large murals by the Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela.  One of the scenes depicts the coastal area where Anne & Saku are building their summer house.  According to the guide, Akseli used to live there too.  It is an impressive, if melancholy, structure  with the following inscription in Latin over the inside doorway:  Refrigera illos in loco viridi super aquas refectionis in paradiso deliciarum.

  

Pondering the brevity of life, we continued on our way to eat, drink, and be merry at the festival...

It was a little cool today and the area was not crowded.  For lunch we ate the special little fish from Lapland that are usually only available in this area at festivals.  At least that is where Anne says she eats them "Only at Pori Jazz."  One of my trip goals was to eat lots of little oily fishes.  I guess I can check that off my list now!  I also did a little more shopping...

Space Jerusalem at Pori Jazz Festival 2011

 We listened to a free concert by Space Jerusalem a Finnish quartet that we enjoyed, but whose CDs were not for sale anywhere we could find.  Instead I got the "souvenir" festival CD that has a selection from each of the big name stars of the festival, including Elton John and (gag) Tom Jones.  I hope the other artists are more appealing to real Jazz fans.

We left  around 4 pm and picked up the twins from Gurli.  Because she is Anne's grandma, of course, we had coffee and sandwiches and dessert.  Yum.  God bless Gurli.

(L to R) Mummu (Grandma) Gurli, Aleksi & Anne

 We headed back to Rauma around 5 pm with plans to have a sauna at Anne & Saku's.   Tomorrow, I am going to Turku to see the castle with Saku's mom, Leena, and his brother Sami and his wife Anu.  Hyvä!

A Day of Churches

Monday, July 11, 2011.

Today Anne arranged with Saku's mom, Leena, to give me a tour of six, little, old churches in the area where Leena and Simo grew up on the southwest coast of Finland.  We drove first to the Pyhäranta Kirkko (1907) a relatively "young" structure, but in whose cemetery Leena's family is buried.   Inside the church  hanging over the center aisle is a model ship made by Leena's father after he retired from his seaman's career.

Pyhäranta Kirkko Organ

Frans Siivonen's Model Ship donated to Pyhäranta Kirkko

This church is located right by the sea.  I learned that displaying model ships in churches is quite common in maritime communities in Finland (and not just in Usikaupunki where I saw that for the first time!)  All the cemeteries I've seen here in Finland are quite lovely, with meticulous landscaping and plentiful flowers.  This one in Pyhäranta was where I first saw little windows built in to the headstones for vigil candles.

At Pyhämaa Tiekirkko (Road church)

Next we drove a few kilometers to Pyhämaa.  Tiekirkko means "road church" in Finnish and is an actual road sign designation for travelers (going back to pilgrimage days.)  Today it is used for travelers & others who want to find an open, functioning, parish with services on Sundays.  I am learning that contemporary  Finland is not as secular as popular media would have you believe!

Hand painted ceiling detail in old church, Pyhämaa

There were actually two old churches on the same grounds at Pyhämaa:  a wooden church, c. 1642, with original hand painted walls and ceilings (example in photo above) and a larger, but less decorated, stone church that was built c. 1804.

Another of Frans Siivonen's Model Ships donated to Pyhämaa Kirkko

Next we drove to Kalanti where we toured St. Olaf's Church c. 1400-1450.

Ceiling detail, St. Olaf's Church, Kalanti c. 1400-1450

The "Kalanti" school of church decoration is famous in this region and among Scandinavian  church historians for its detail and unique style.  Now that I have seen more than one church decorated this way even I could recognize some of the patterns.  I'm not sure how these congregations protect their priceless painted decorations. They seem well preserved and yet most look unprotected.  A couple of places had plexi-glass panels installed over the painted surfaces, but many were exposed.  There were no restrictions on photography.

Kello in Kalanti Kirkko

This church had a beautiful example of a church "kello" (clock) up in front on the right side of the altar.  I have never seen a clock anywhere but inconspicuously at the back of Roman Catholic churches.  Finally, in Laitila, after seeing four churches with clocks up on the altars, I asked the guide why theirs was placed there.  Apparently, it had nothing to do with timing the pastor's homilies, but was only in response to a conspicuous donation... and descendants who also wanted to see their ancestor's generous gift displayed.

But back to St. Olaf's, they had the cutest guide:  a good-looking teenage boy.  He was quite outgoing & articulate and seemed to be destined for the ministry.  I'm sure he has to fight off the confirmation class girls...

Inspiring boys at St. Olaf's

Next we stopped for lunch at a cafeteria in Laitila at a Senior Apt. building with a catering service.  These are very small towns but Leena knew this place had good, inexpensive, hot meals & open to the public!   After lunch we toured St. Michael's Church in Laitila.  This was the oldest of the six churches we saw today and one of the most richly decorated.

14th c. Madonna at St. Michael's church in Laitila

This church also had the most knowledgeable guide and the one who took the most time to answer our questions and point out unique features of their kirkko such as their Madonna statue.  Their Madonna is quite old and dates from the earliest time of this church.  Right now she is displayed in a cooler, dry room (known as the "Armature" or weapons room, where parishioners in days gone-by would park their weapons before coming into church.) A "weapons" room, always off the side of the main church, is a feature of most of the oldest churches in this region and now are used for storage.  (I asked to see St. Olaf's and found they use theirs to store their large nativity scene figures between Christmases.)

The guide at St. Michael's kirkko made a point to tell us that they are building a climate controlled glass box for their Madonna to be placed on the wall in the main church as soon as it is completed.  It did not escape my attention that the oldest of these churches started out as Roman Catholic and the most obvious "Roman" features, such as madonnas, saints & Nativity figures must have been downplayed for centuries after they became Lutheran communities.   Somewhere I read that there is a renewed interest among Lutheran churches in Finland to restore and honor that history.  Obviously, the churches we've seen today feel that way.

Our last church of the day's trip was a reproduction of Pyhän Pietarin Kirkko (Holy Peter's Church) in Untamala near Laitila.  Although the church is a reproduction (I never learned exactly how old it was) I was told it is built on the oldest Christian site in Finland.  There is a really old looking rock wall surrounding the church and  a few very worn grave monuments that reminded me of the cemeteries in Ireland with headstones we could not read.

Mariner's Cross in back of Holy Peter's Church, Untamala

 The building looked like it was used now only as a summer church and was quite small, but light and charming.  It had the prerequisite model sailing ship and a beautiful hand made mobile-like decoration made of straw hanging above the left side of the front altar.  Our tour ended there and I was glad I'd had Leena's expert navigation around the southwest coast of Finland and its beautiful churches. 

Waving from Pyhän Pietarin Kirkko in Untamala

Pori JazzFest Outing Rained Out

Sat., July 9, 2011.  The day started out very sunny & hot in Rauma.  It was even hot & sunny in Pori before noon.  Anne took me to the Marimekko store there & I quickly found exactly what I was looking for to take home as gifts.

In the SUN by the "Lady on the park bench"

The Lady is not real, but the SUN was!

Sunny Pori Flower Market

Still sunny in Pori at noon-ish

View from the "Bar" Tent where we took shelter

But by the time we met up with Anne's sister Mari & nephew Topi, the sky looked very threatening.  By the time we got to the Children's Jazz Fest site there was ominous thunder rumblings all around the open park area (with lots of very tall trees!) where we were walking with two strollers & a total of three children.  We decided to bail and started to walk back from where we'd just come (to cross the pedestrian bridge over the river) and Anne told me she heard a PA announcement  canceling the next scheduled children's event, because of the threat of lightening.

As it began to sprinkle, the wind came up and we made a dash across the bridge ahead of the crowd.  Then there was lightening and loud thunder.  We ducked into a tent set up as a bar and took shelter with the three children just as the sky opened up with lightening and thunder crashes right over our heads!

Rain drops on the Twins

 That part of the city also got hail; we saw it on the tent floor where the tent opened for the river view.  At times we could not see across the river for the heavy rain.  I thought it was a good time to indulge, so I bought a round:  of cider (for Mari), a Coke (for Anne) and beer (for me.)  My companions are very responsible mothers, but I wasn't driving and indeed, none of us were going anywhere until the torrential rain subsided.  Anne broke out the baby food jars and fed Aleksi & Jenny their lunch, Topi had a snack his mom had packed and we were quite comfortable for about an hour, maybe longer.

Thunderstorm on river front in Pori.  

When twins got a bit restless and the rain had slowed to a steady drizzle, we said "Kiitos!" to the friendly bartenders and rolled out of there, not having heard any jazz music at all.  The shopping was good though...  We will try to get back here on Wed.  July 13, 2011.  In the meantime, go to Pori Jazz.fi

A Lighthouse & A Summer House

Sunday July 10, 2011

Beautiful day here.  Nice and summery-y warm with clear blue skies and fluffy white clouds.  Anne picked me up earlier than usual to catch the 10 AM boat to the Kylmäpihlaja lighthouse island.

Poroholma Camping & Holiday Centre

 The boat leaves from the dock at the Poroholma Camping and Holiday Centre located by the Otanlahti Bay.  This is only 2 km from the center of Rauma and quite close to my B&B.  My friends in Conesus, NY who recently had a wedding at a family camping center in Bath, NY would appreciate Poroholma as it was elected the "best caravan site" in 2009.  For pictures (better than mine) and descriptions in English (click on the Union Jack icon) go to Poroholma Seaside Holiday Camping

On the dock at our "Water Bus" 

 

The boat stopped at the Kuuskajaskari fortress island.  We didn't get off here, but it is a popular spot for day trippers and picnickers as there are guided tours for the scenery, geology and history as a military base.

Tiny Islands, Rauma Archipelago, Bay of Bothnia

The sea was super calm today, and it is not a long trip by boat.  Kylmäpihlaja lighthouse island is only 10 km from the mainland.   The lighthouse was built in 1953 and has been automated since 1988.  The city of Rauma operates the small hotel & restaurant located in the lighthouse and pays a tour guide to give free tours (in Finnish) to sightseers.  Kylmäpihlaja Lighthouse

Kylmäpihlaja Lighthouse

Stone Path (Labyrinth?)  on Kylmäpihlaja

Chapel in Kylmäihlaja Lighthouse

View from Observation Deck, Kylmäpihlaja

Happy Tourists Looking out to sea...

We got back to Poroholma in time to rendevouz with Saku for a late lunch at their island summer house site.  Anne & I picked up some sausage and bread to grill (yum!) and beer (of course) because it was a hot day.  We met Saku where they tie up their little motor boat and zipped over to where they are building their summer house.

Porkolat Kessämökki

 I don't know what the island is called, but theirs is a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L site.  Lots of sea views.  Their almost finished cabin is going to be very cozy.  This whole month Saku has been working steadily to finish the sauna which will accommodate up to 6 adults, I think.  In the cabin there is one main room with a roomy loft above for more sleeping space.   Really nice windows and doors.  When it is finished they will have a front porch as well.

Nearly finished...

While Saku worked in the sauna, Anne built a fire and grilled the sausages and bread.  Food usually tastes terrific when it is cooked over an open fire but the sea air adds that piéce de resistánce.   I was ready for a nap after all that good stuff.  But Anne got me up and walking along their shore to stick our feet in the sea and look for fish.   There are lots of those too.

Cooking sausage at the lean-to

Tervetuloa!

Pyramid Rock in front of Porkolat Kessämökki

 Around 3:30 PM Saku zipped us back to the parking area.  While he returned to the island to keep working on the sauna, we went to Leena & Simo's to pick up the twins.   Matching the weather, the children were in a sunny mood too.   We played on the lawn with them near Leena's flower beds and Leena picked some peas and carrots for the twins.  She had coffee and cake waiting for us.  It always amazes me how much I can eat when other people put it in front of me!

Anne dropped me off at the B&B after 6 PM.  Tomorrow Leena (with Anne to interpret) is going to show me some more local & historical churches.  With only a week left (of my 5 weeks) in Rauma, I have done just about everything I wanted to & so much more I had not anticipated.  Hyvä!