Thread: 6 weeks in Finland

We are going back to Finland in 2010 as 6 weeks was not enough time to see everything.
This time we will have 3 months & will explore more maybe take in a bit if Estonia.
There is so much to see in Finland & you have to travel around to appreciate it.
When we arrived in Finland the weather was warm 26 & I instantly liked what I saw.
Seemed no one was in a rush ,lots of smiling face & colourful clothes.
We picked up out Motorhome & headed off from Rastila caravan park,so diferent from our parks,the backdrop of the pine trees was different compared to the high rise unit blocks that were overlooking the park.
From there we headed to Hanko a 2 hour drive South West of Helsinki.
I noticed alot of roadworks,which made the drive a bit uncomfortable,especially driving on the other side of the road that we drive on in Australia.
Saw my first Truck stop Marthas Grill,went inside & had a smell of all the food the lenkki was yummy.
Hanko was a beautiful spot by the water,we parked our van & we were surprised to see people swimming in the rain,it was late sun still shining.
Woke at 3 in the morning,I was fascinated by the light,it was warm & there were seagulls & swans swimming on the water.
In the morning drove into Hanko & had my first experience of the local markets,the strawberries were out of this world..that became my staple diet for 5 weeks.
I could not get over the taste of the tomatoes too,fresh food was always abundant.
The town of Hanko was cute,like many we were to see.
Next instalment soon

We left Hanko & continued to Tammisaari,what a fantastic spot where we had lunch by the water,alot of people & boats around the water. It was cool but everyone was enjoying the sunshine.
Today was Australian Day for us so we had cooked chips with tomato sauce & vinegar,I was getting a bit overloaded on black bread.
I noticed for the first time there were alot of Swedes they were driving around in Corvettes & showing off.
That is when I had my first taste of the division between Finns & Swedes..this was Finland & there were signs in Swedish..wierd & so were the Swedes!!!
We had this bright idea to free camp,2 hours later we found this place which we thought was a cravan park,it was a Cafe & the owners gave us permission to stay in the grounds. They left for the night & we had the whole grounds to ourselves including toilets & hot water.
The place Padva was so quiet & we took in some wonderful views..this holiday just kept getting better.
The sun was shining brightly at 9 oc'clock I was facinated at the never ending night & hearing all the birds chirping was so unusual to hear them at that time.
We are now on our way to Turku to catch the boat to Aland,where we will stay for 4 day & see the Elvis impersonator that the Swedes rave about.
Stopped for petrol at the A.B.C ..now that was a experience.The food inside the store was so fresh & I liked the way they were decorated,sort of old fashioned
To be continued.