A good night’s sleep in a proper bed is like heaven after 2 days of travel! The bed was comfy and breakfast was abundant – some interesting options on the breakfast buffet that are very familiar to Finns but new to us – Karelian Pies are an oval pastry tart with a custard filling. Very tasty, and spread with a delicious “egg butter” before eating them.
A relaxing start to our day meant we didn’t meet Simon and Jatta until noon at the entrance to the hotel, before walking the block to the main square to see the market stalls that set up every day to sell fresh produce, mainly fruit, vegetables and beautiful flowers.
We were due to meet Jatta’s family for lunch at 1pm at a restaurant by the river near Turku Castle. It took us around a half an hour to stroll down the river. Along the way we met a few quirky statues and a gorgeous tall ship that is preserved at the Maritime Museum.
I loved the “Harmony” fountain sculpture with it’s glittering fishtail
A nice walk
The Maritime Museum
Lunch was at the Goran restaurant next door to the Museum and Jatta’s Mum, Tutta was waiting there with her sister Jenni and Jenni’s boyfriend David. It was so nice to finally meet them. Today we tucked in to an “Archipeligo Buffet” , a wide selection of local delicacies. I’m just kciking myself that I didnt take any pictures of the food, I was too busy eating it! We sat inside for the meal and moved out to the verandah to enjoy coffee in the sunshine.
After lunch it was a short walk for us up to Turku Castle, which was started in the 1200’s but saw hundreds of years of additions to reach it’s peak in the 1600s. At that time Finland was part of Sweden and the King of Sweden sent his son, Duke John to rule from the castle with his Polish wife. Jatta had to head back home so she could start work at 4pm but Simon guided us through the castle. It was beautifully restored after it had been badly bombed by the Soviets in WWII.
Inside the castlel is a lovely chapel which is still used today and popular for weddings. In fact Jatta’s mother and father had been married here!
We started walking back towards the centre of town along the river . There were a crowd of people on foot and bicycles waiting to hop on a bright orange ferry that crosses the river back and forth all day. It’s free and as Simon said it’s “basically a bridge!” Just after this Simon saw the Jakke Jokilautta headed our way and suggested we take the easy way back.. It’s a little barge with a bar on board that goes up and down the river in the summer months, operating like a hop-on hop-off bus. We hopped on board and enjoyed the gentle cruise along the river with a refreshing drink, wine for me and local beer for Neil. Along the way we passed the “Cindy” restaurant boat where Jatta was hard at work setting up for an evening function .
the free cross river ferry
Back in town Simon took us to another of his favourite haunts, the “Old Bank” bar. He meets friends here about once a month for a gaming evening. It’s a very atmospheric, cosy bar and you know you’re in a real old bank when you have to pass a vault door to get to the Ladies room!
Making a withdrawal at ‘The Old Bank” bar
Despite a huge lunch we were a little peckish by 7pm and fancied something light. In a courtyard behind a riverside restaurant we decided to go German for the evening, and shared a platter of Bratwurst , sauerkraut, potato salad and pretzels. Yummm!
After that Neil and I were flagging again so we headed back to the hotel. Hopefully tomorrow night we’ll be able to stay awake long enough to see the river and cathedral lit up at night!
Another fabulous day in Turku!!!