A groggy awakening on the ferry was followed by a ravenous descent upon the breakfast buffet. It’s amazing how much you can eat while cycle touring. A few hours were spent wandering around Turku, bikes everywhere, and a different sort of feel to the city – we’re not in Scandinavia anymore.
We ended up on the 110 road, heading towards Helsinki in the rain. It didn’t take long to reach the conclusion that the Fins really need to hire a new animator. It felt like we were constantly scrolling through the same set of hill… valley with farmhouse… hill with forest… with a few random crops and a roadsign or two thrown in to spice things up. It didn’t help that the sky was miserable, grey and overcast, and we were being consistently mizzled and drizzled on. Add to that the fact that the only people we saw glared at us, and it was a fairly uninspiring experience.
This continued on the second day in Finland (with a big thunderstorm thrown in overnight), and we finally made it to Helsinki with some relief – at least the scenery was different. Some sight-seeing, and then tickets were purchased for the 5.30pm ferry to Tallinn: finally, escape from this miserable, grey place (yes, it’s possible that the weather really does colour your judgement of a place).
Distance: 194km
Flaginess levels: Moderate
Wifi availability: I don’t think we actually checked for any, due to the rain (although the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn had free wifi, so that was handy)
Days of rain: 2/2
Mooses: Our time in Finland was entirely moose-free, despite the signs advising of their presence.
Random fact: All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation.
One reply on “Cycling: Finland (26 – 27 August 2009)”
Love the shot of Sibelius movement. Never been to Finland so doesn’t know what it’s like.