A very quiet night and woke to another dull, overcast day. Driving round Kouvola, we drove south down the E6 to where it meets the E7, which took us to Porvoo (Swedish: Borgå). We passed through Porvoo last Monday on our way along the coast. It is Finland's second oldest town and is well worth a visit. We parked just the other side of the river bridge and walked back. Our first sight were the brick-red former warehouses along the river. Lonely Planet told us that they once stored goods bound for destinations across Europe. The other ends of the warehouses front on to cobbled streets and house antique, gift and craft shops. There are also a good number of cafés and restaurants as this part of the town is definitely a tourist attraction.
We hauled ourselves up a steep cobbled street to the Tuomiokirkko (cathedral), white painted, of stone and timber construction. It is where the first Diet of Finland assembled in 1809, convened by Tsar Alexander I, giving Finland religious freedom. Damaged by fire in 2006, the church has been completely restored. It has a free-standing bell tower. This was similar to the arrangement in Lappeenranta. We managed to get in just before a 12 noon service in Swedish. We weren't able to look around properly and listened to the first five minutes. The pulpit was pretty impressive.
Wandering around, we came across Lilla Chokladfabriken, a tiny little shop with a kitchen viewed through a glass panel where they make their own chocolate. Of course, it would have been rude not to have bought some.
We then felt the need for coffee and Sachertorte in Café Fanny although this was only an excuse to get some free wifi.
Amanda
We woke to a dry and not so chilly morning. The
car park had served us well for our last night in the beautiful lakes
and autumn forests. The trees are quickly losing their colours and
their leaves.
As planned we stopped at Porvoo, about 25km from Helsinki, to see what we had missed earlier in the week as we passed through. Lonely Planet enthuses about the old town, and not without reason. It is absolutely lovely, and we spent a good hour or two (I lost track of time!) wandering around the cobbled streets of pastel coloured buildings, sitting awhile in the cathedral - a small and lovely old, simple building with a steeply pitched roof and separate belfry, unlike any cathedral I have seen - visiting a tiny chocolate factory and shop, and stopping for coffee in a nice little cafe on the square.
Now we are settled back at Rastila Camping in Helsinki, booked in here for the rest of our time in Finland, feeling very civilised with a return to a heated shower block, and having made use of the excellent laundrette and drying room. Standards may have slipped just a bit over the course of the last weeks, but it is nice to have clean towels and pillow cases again, as well as knowing that all our clothes are clean! We shall be based here until next weekend with some interesting things planned for the coming week.
As planned we stopped at Porvoo, about 25km from Helsinki, to see what we had missed earlier in the week as we passed through. Lonely Planet enthuses about the old town, and not without reason. It is absolutely lovely, and we spent a good hour or two (I lost track of time!) wandering around the cobbled streets of pastel coloured buildings, sitting awhile in the cathedral - a small and lovely old, simple building with a steeply pitched roof and separate belfry, unlike any cathedral I have seen - visiting a tiny chocolate factory and shop, and stopping for coffee in a nice little cafe on the square.
Now we are settled back at Rastila Camping in Helsinki, booked in here for the rest of our time in Finland, feeling very civilised with a return to a heated shower block, and having made use of the excellent laundrette and drying room. Standards may have slipped just a bit over the course of the last weeks, but it is nice to have clean towels and pillow cases again, as well as knowing that all our clothes are clean! We shall be based here until next weekend with some interesting things planned for the coming week.
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