Finland Day 9 (Part 2) and Day 10: The Finnish Islands
After visiting Fiskars and seeing the stunning scenery on the drive down to the south of Finland (see my previous post), I wondered if anything could be more beautiful. The answer to this is YES!
Friday 7 July 2017 – Continuing Friday’s happenings … cousins of mine have a Summerhouse on Lilla Kuggskäret island, which is just one of the thousands of islands just off the south coast of Finland (who knew that Finland had islands eh?). This region they call the Finnish archipelago. Anyway Lilla Kuggskäret is a smallish island in comparison to some, but in saying that there’s oodles of room to roam and enjoy.
This is my cousins very OWN private island, and I was fortunate enough that they invited myself and some other cousins to visit and share their little piece of paradise. For this I say thankyou, thankyou, THANKYOU. It was magical.
the little red marker shows where Lilla Kuggskäret island is
After a boatride out the island we got to see why they visit as often as they can. The peacefulness is unbelievable. While the island is in the sea (I believe it’s the Baltic Sea), it is as calm as a lake, so you don’t have any crashing waves. In fact, apart from when boats went past, there really wasn’t even any ripples, it really was that calm.
messy hair after the boatride – but it’s totally worth it!
the view … what’s not to love?
and there are heaps of swans around
After unpacking and having some lunch, we visited a nearby island (Hitis) and checked out the Hiittinen church and cemetery, because that’s what I do! and in fact it’s one of the oldest churches in Finland, and has an amazing story behind it. You can read about that here (note: if you open it in Chrome, it translates to English).
the Hiittinen cemetery
And the weather was absolutely perfect for a late BBQ tea (also known as dinner), and we watched the sun go down at about 10.30pm, and the moon rise. Note: the sun rises again at about 3.30am … hence I didn’t get any sunrises.
the sun is going down
… nearly set
and now the moon is up and shining …
Saturday 8 July 2017 – Saturday was another perfect day to explore and that’s what we did. I was up first, and enjoyed the sights, sounds and serenity that Lilla Kuggskäret offers … including sitting out on the deck with my genie mags!
quality reading
I spotted more swans
We visited the Viking Centre at nearby Rosala island. This gives a history of all things Viking related and was fascinating to see. And yes, Rosala and the nearby islands were used by Vikings about 1000 years ago … it’s hard to imagine, but very cool!And since Mr Lonetester has more Scandinavian blood in him, that I do, and he has no known Scandinavian direct history, but oodles of Scottish, there seems a reasonable likelihood that he descends from the Vikings which made it all the more interesting.
the Viking Centre at Rosala island
love these doors to the Viking restaurant (previously old sleeping quarters)
Vikings had style for sure
Rosala island seems like a different pace of life
This was on Rosala island, but not part of the Viking centre. It seems obvious enough – drive off the island, you’ll be in the sea!
And then it was time to say farewell, and head back to the mainland and home (well, my holiday home).
bye bye Lilla Kuggskäret, such a beautiful place to visit
I’ve packed a lot into my holiday, but there’s just a couple of days left. And next up … a surprise catchup, which was years in the making!
2 Responses to “Finland Day 9 (Part 2) and Day 10: The Finnish Islands”
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What wonderful memories you have gathered and I guess there is a future plan to do it all again sometime. Thanks for sharing. Audrey
I have included your blog in INTERESTING BLOGS or GENERAL INTEREST in FRIDAY FOSSICKING at
https://thatmomentintime-crissouli.blogspot.com/2017/07/friday-fossicking-21st-july-2017.html
Thank you, Chris