Tuesday:  >4000 miles in 5 weeks … Milestone

Not hard to seek out a watery pitch, even in supermarket car park!

After a really good night’s sleep with Special / Market K, really quiet and peaceful, we left Archie Pelago with the final ferry and some bridges.  Whilst the skies were grey, it did not diminish how pretty this area is.  Very grateful to the chap we talked to when filling up with water, as we had thought we might skip this.  So pleased we did not.

Arrived back at Turku and the Maritime Museum, our previous night’s parking, and walked to Turku Castle.  Only EUR14 (it helps J being a senior … senior what?) and we must have been there for about 2 hours.  Really starting to get our heads around Finnish history and the Swedish and Russian occupations.  We are now able to link some of the Kings and battles from both the Swedish and Finnish perspectives.  And Duke John from Turku Castle was imprisoned for a while in Gripsholm Castle on Lake Malaren …. which of course we have seen!  The castle was a bit like Ikea … once you’re in, you have to follow the trail and can’t get out.

Turku Castle

Raining by now on and off … but we were so lucky with the weather during our bike ride yesterday, if it’s going rain, then let it be when we are doing inside things or travelling.  Lunch in the car park and decided to head for Hako.  A little sad to leave Turku, after 3 days in and around a place, it starts to feel like home and it has a lovely vibe about it.

Only driven through part of Hako and don’t feel like exploring in the rain … will have a wander tomorrow.  But, we like what we have seen so far.  It is the southern most town in Finland and has been an anchorage, a Russian holiday destination, an emigration embarkation point and a 1940’s Russian Naval base. We are parked up on the East Harbour and passed large wooden Russian villas … a different architectural style to the normal wooden house.  These villas are dubbed the ‘Old Ladies’ and often named after sweethearts.