Travelog for: Hanne Hü

Hello!

Guess what? Our medieval adventure continues.

During the market weekend there's usually a medieval day at the castle too. Of course the castle is medieval all the time and you can go there whenever the museum is open, but the medieval day is a bit different. There's more activity and medieval people than usually and it's also possible to go to some places which are normally closed.



First we went to the inner courtyard and found out that this door was open. Now we can see a room that's usually closed. It's the oldest room where people have lived in the castle.





After that we decided to enter the Medieval Keep. On a way there, we met the gatekeeper's bear.



Inside we sat down for a moment and admired the thick walls and big windows.



In the gatekeeper's chamber we saw paintings from the 16th century. There was also an old saddle, which seems to be quite small and possibly very uncomfortable.





In this room you can see scale models of the different building phases that the castle has gone through during it's long history.



This room is the Nun's Chapel. Katarzyna Jagiellonka - wife of Johan III, who lived in the castle on the 16th century when Johan was the Duke of Finland - used this room for her prayers.



This picture is from the scribe's chamber.



These stairs lead to the top of the western tower. The uppermost floor is usually closed, but not today. The stairs are very steep with high and worn steps, not the easiest thing to walk on.



Here we are, on the top of the western tower. We wanted to take a photo in the front of an open hatch because the view is beautiful, but there were too many people and we didn't want to risk falling down either. These hatches are built for cannons, so no window glass there.



Here we are on the Renaissance floor, it's the uppermost floor of the castle, if you ignore the towers. This floor was built on the 16th century for Johan III and Katarzyna Jagiellonka. The chambers where they lived are located here.



Then we continued the tour to the Renaissance Bailey. Here we are in the prison of Erik XIV. Erik was Johan's brother and the king of Sweden (at that time Finland was a part of Sweden, too). He was held as a prisoner here after he lost his sanity and Johan became the king.

It's said that Erik spent so much time watching out of the window that his elbows left marks on the windowsills. We're sitting around one of those marks on these photos.





The paintings on the wall show Erik XIV and probably his wife Karin Månsdotter.



Later the castle served as a prison too. The last convicts were moved out of the castle on 1891, when the building of Kakola was completed.









We had a great day in the castle.

Greetings,
Hanne

Hello!

We spent a couple of weeks at the cottage enjoying the sunny, warm and lazy summer days on the countryside.





It was fun, quiet and very relaxing.

Best wishes,
Hanne

Hi!

After relaxing at the cottage it's time for a trip to eastern Finland. Our destination is Eno. It's a village in Pohjois-Karjala (North Karelia) that has been a part of the town of Joensuu since 2009.

Here we are on the road, somewhere near Pieksämäki.



In Finland the distances can be long and the roads are built in a way that you don't need to drive through towns and villages. So, it's possible to drive hours without seeing anything but forests, lakes and occasional farms.

These photos are taken at Ylämylly, when we had a short break at this lay-by. A beautiful place with a very popular beach.





Greetings,
Hanne

Hello!

Today it was sunny and hot day, so we spent most of it in the garden. The kids here like us a lot and we played with them for a while, we even got a ride around the house on a kicksled. Kicksleds are usually used on winter, but it seemd to work well enough on grass, too.



Then we climbed on a blackcurrant bush...



... and sat on a huge rhubarb leaf.



Later we went to sauna. This is an old sauna. First you have to carry the water inside and then boil some in the big cauldron by burning wood under it. The sauna stove is heated by burning wood, too. There's no showers either. You're supposed to wash yourself in the sauna by mixing boiling and cold water in a wash basin. I think this kind of sauna is more atmospheric than the modern ones.

You can see a part of the sauna stove in the corner and a part of the big cauldron in the front of it.



Then we sang karaoke. It was fun.



After that it was time for us to go to sleep.

Good night,
Hanne

Hello!

Today we drove about 50 kilometers to Ilomantsi. Just for fun and a little sightseeing, too. We saw lots of forests again.

Ilomantsi is the easternmost municipality in Finland and also the continental part of European Union. So you can't go much further east without crossing the border to Russia.

First we went to the water tower, which is now known as Hermannin viinitorni (Hermanni's Winetower). There's a coffee bar at the top, where you can also get some local wines.





Beautiful views from the top of the tower. I wonder if we could see all the way to Russia, too.











Then we ate apple pie with vanilla sauce and juice. It was yummy.





After we left the tower, we went to see the Orthodox church. This Prophet Elijah's Church is the largest Orthodox church in Finland. It's very beautiful, too.







Greetings,
Hanne

Hello!

After a hot and sunny day spent shopping in Joensuu, we went to the beach.

Pielinen is the biggest lake of Pohjois-Karjala and this body of water here is Pielisjoki, a river that begins at the southern end of Pielinen and flows through Eno and all the way to Joensuu. Joensuu actually means river mouth, a logical name for a town that's located at the mouth of Pielisjoki.



We noticed something interesting nearby. These huge stones are a part of Suomen Salpa (Finland's Bolt) which is also known as Salpalinja (Salpa Line, Bolt-line).



Salpalinja is 1200 kilometers long bunker line that goes from the Gulf of Finland to Petsamo in northern Finland, although Petsamo is now known as Pechenga and it belongs to Russia. Salpalinja is also one of the most notable fortifications of the World War II. Now it's possible to do some sightseeing along Salpalinja and there are several museums on the way.



Salpalinja was built on the eastern border of Finland during the Interim Peace between the Winter and Continuation Wars. It was meant to be a defence line against the Soviet Union and these huge stones were meant to stop tanks. In the end the Soviet Army was stopped before it reached Salpalinja.



Anyway, it was a beautiful evening and we really enjoyed our time at the beach.



Greetings,
Hanne

Hi!

Today it was time to travel back to Turku.

This time we had a short break in Central Finland, more precisely in Vaajakoski, which is a part of Jyväskylä. We chose to stop there because of Panda, which is a candy factory that produces licorice and chocolate. They have a factory outlet there and that's where we went.

The mascot is kinda cute, so we wanted to pose with it.





About 600 kilometers and 7-8 hours in car on a hot summer day... We were very tired and happy, when we finally reached Turku.

Greetings,
Hanne

Hello!

Yet another warm and beautiful summer day. This time we decided to spend it on the cliffs of Kuuvannokka, Ruissalo.



We found a little bit of history again. This sign is a memorial for the Finnish War in 1808 - 1809 at sea. This war was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and Russian Empire. Until that war Finland was a part of Sweden and after the war it became the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire.

More specifically the sign is a memorial for the Battle of Punkinsaari (saari = island) on 4th July 1808. It shows the positions of Swedish and Russian ships between the islands (from left to right: Ruissalo, Pukinsaari, Hirvensalo).



During the Finnish War Russians built some artillery batteries in Ruissalo and this is the location of one of those and that's why the memorial sign has been located here. Of course the artillery is long gone, but the mark on the cliff still stays.



It was fun to sit on the cliff, watch the sea and enjoy the sunshine.



This little pine tree has found an interesting place to grow.



There was a small bay between the cliffs. The beach there was covered by small rocks. I also found a feather, most likely a seagull's.





Hey look, there are flowers, too.



One more look towards the sea before going back to jinxed's. It's been very fun day.



Best wishes,
Hanne

Hello friends!

After quite a long journey I've arrived at my wonderful home, so I can celebrate Christmas with my loved ones :-)! I brought some candy with me, and my mom and me liked them a lot - THANK YOU JAY!

I had such a wonderful time in the last couple of months, and I'm so grateful that I was allowed to be with my amazing hosts. THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!

As soon as I entered my home, I was welcomed so warmly by my brothers, they've missed me a lot I think ;-)!

Of course I also brought my lovely straw hat home, I will never go on a journey without it. It suits me so well, whenever my mommy looks at me she has to smile!

Lots of love from the best place in the world - HOME!

Yours, Hanne

Hello my friends,

I had a wonderful time at home, but now it is the time to hit the road again :-)! I was invited to visit Russia, I'm so excited to go there!
So I packed my bag with my straw hat, some gifts for my host mom and said goodbye to my brothers.

Hotte gave me gummy bears and I gave him a very big hug. Hansi gave me a mini-Twix and Lucky gave me one of his lucky charms of course - a chocolate ladybird (nothing can go wrong now I hope ;-))!

I took a last good breath into my favourite flowers - orchids - and looked once more out of the window into the sky!

See you soon in Russia - I'm so excited!

Yours, Hanne

Hello Mum, hello everyone! Привет всем! (started learning Russian already :3)

Finally I am in Russia! The way took me much time, but I arrived safe and sound as well as my suitcase and all the sweets The host mum was very glad and she sends many thanks to you, my friends and Mum



I was very hungry, so the first thing I did here - it's having some pelmeni with sour cream.



I met these sheeps. They seem to be nice guys



Everything is great, I'm looking forward for new adventures!

Love and hugs,
С любовью!
Hanne

It was a nice and warm spring day, so we went for a walk.

This is my hosthouse



This house stands right opposite.



There are lots of old wooden houses in Tomsk. They were built in 1880-1920 years, and people still live there!















Look at these huge icicles. Beautiful, but dangerous!







Tomsk has a lot of graffities, too.



Yeap, there is MUUUUUCH snow in Siberia!



We stopped to have a lunch - a puncake with a ball of ice cream.



Hanging a lock on a handrail and throwing a key to the river is popular wedding tradition in Russia. See what it does to the handrail...







Somebody's love was REALLY BIG



The river Ushaika.



The City Hall.



The river Tom'. These black points on the ice are fishermen



The momument of famous Russian writer Chekhov.





When we became tired, we cought a tram and went home.

That day I have visited my host's univercity and met her friends. That's how we had a rest during a break.

Here is Mia from China! We're going to have a lot of fun together

Going to Novosibirsk for a couple of days.



I captured some flowers in my host's flat there







The window view.



In May, we will have more time and I'll show you the city. It's great!