Next major destination is Savonlinna but on the way we have to stop at another birdtower. Unfortunately the only birds that we spot here are on the interpretative sign but it is a nice view over a marshy area that we enjoy.
At least there are a couple lizards sunning themselves and one even climbs on our outstreched hand. That is quite fun! However the rain is catching up again with us so it is back to the car and on towards Savonlinna.
Savonlinna is the most touristy city that we visit in Finland. This coupled with the fact that it sits between two lakes with only one major road is a recipe for traffic jams and that is exactly what we get. After quite some time and missed turns we make it to a parking spot close to the castle which is a Unesco Heritage Site and the reason for our visit. During summer it also hosts an Opera Festival which contributes to the throngs of tourists that we notice.
The castle sits on an island in the middle of the lake and looks really impressive so we hurry to see the interior especially as it seems that a black rain cloud is following us. To our surprise as we close to the bridge to the castle it starts to swing away and then we notice that it is opening to let a ship use the channel. The cloud decides that now it is a good time to start pouring and even though we run to the castle when the bridge is back in position we are soaked (again).
We take an English tour through the castle (the only other options were Russian and Finnish) which is surprisingly informative. We find out that after the building of the castle by the Swedes it was taken over by the Russians for quite some time and that they did a lot of building also including raising the towers making them more impressive.
The interior has mostly burned away so most of the furnishing are new including the ones in the church, it looks quite austere right now and it even has a “ghost” nearby.
We then explore the tower outside and enjoy the views of the courtyard before returning inside to explore a bit more.
The tour is quite stair intensive as we climb to the highest tower and then of course have to climb back down. The tour ends in the Kings Hall which was impressive and was where the King was holding court/having banquests when visiting the castle.
We then explore a bit more on our own and laugh at other people being surprised or missing the bridge, it is quite something to see and different from any other castle we have visited.
There is also a small collection of religious objects inside that we also visit before going outside to the walls.
We explore the walls for a while while avoiding the rain clouds. And then after a few more photos from outside where it is sunny again we find our car and continue south toward Helsinki.
Trying to avoid being late at the car rental we stop sparingly during the evening. Once we have to stop to have dinner and to finish as much as we can from our provisions as we will have to carry them after we return the car. Second time we stop to get gas and then also stretch our legs in the nearby forest. To our surprise we find edible mushrooms, that we collect, and wild strawberries, that we eat. Now we have dinner for tomorrow.
The bus ride from the airport to downtown Helsinki after returning the car is uneventful and then it is a long walk to our hotel. Hotel looks great and really modern with lights even under the bed and lots of little touches like a plush tiger on the bed. The big negative is that the breakfast is expensive at $12 per person so we decide to skip it. After the long day we can’t wait to go to sleep to recuperate for the following day which is what we promptly do.
