After a few great days spent in Helsinki, it was time to head west, to our summer cottage in Parainen. But actually, as things turned out, I ended up in Turku… My plan was to go out for a few beers with my cousin Rasmus and an old mate, Jocke, Friday night. And as our departure from Helsinki was slightly delayed, I ended up going directly to Turku.
I met up with the gang at one of my favourite watering holes in Turku, called Koulu. Koulu is a micro-brewery located in an old rather charming school building (Koulu is Finnish for school), and they do indeed have a very nice selection of beers. Other than Rasse and Jocke, we were also joined by a French colleague of Rasse’s and Jocke’s, as well as Rasse’s wife Yang and his young son. It turned out to be a really good night out, actually. After Koulu, me and Jocke ended downing a few beers more at a nice beer garden on Yliopistonkatu. We then made our way to Rasse’s office, where he had a bottle of Polish vodka stowed away. Rather an unusual way to finish off a night out, but hey, that’s life as they say… ;-) By now it was waaay too late to catch a bus back to Parainen, so I ended up crashing at Rasse’s and Yang’s place instead.
The next day I had planned to spend in Turku anyway with my parents and my brother Tomi, so I decided to wait for them there, instead of making my way back to Parainen. I took the opportunity to re-familliarize myself with Turku. They revamped parts of the city (especially the riverside) due to the fact that Turku is the European Capital of Culture for 2011. I especially like the job they’ve done with the riverside – they’ve really spruced up the place, and it’s now a pretty happening place with loads of cafés, restaurants etc. I also checked out the medieval market, which was very touristy, but still pretty cool.
Eventually my parents and Tomi came over, and we continued our exploration of Turku, followed by a nice spot of Italian for lunch (during which we watched the ongoing Paavo Nurmi marathon, rather happy to be sheltered from the blistering sun on the terrace, rather than running…). Our stomachs filled, we did a boat tour of the river Aura, which crosses Turku. It was pretty interesting; our guide seemed to be extremely knowledgeable. We finished off a very nice day indeed by going to Samppalinna for a Finnish musical interpretation of “Legally Blonde”. I have to say it was a bit of a disappointment. The film, although no classic, is actually not too bad. But this musical revamp was pretty crap, if you ask me. But, Samppalinna, an outdoor “summer theatre” with a revolving scene, is a pretty nice place. After the theatre, it was then time to head back to Parainen…
The Sunday turned out to be a bit of a rain-out, it was really pissing down. So, I can’t say that I enjoyed my stay as much as I usually do at our summer cottage in Parainen. But, I did still have a swim in our swimming pool, and of course spending some time with the family (including Tomi again, who came over for lunch), is always nice! When the weather cleared up a bit in the evening, it was time for some chainsaw action with my dad (cutting down some un-aesthetic trees by the swimming pool) – always nice to do a bit of honest physical work for a change ;-).
After a lunch with Maikki on Monday near the airport, it was time to head back to sunny France! All in all, it had been a very nice week of Finnish summer. For the most part, the weather was great, and in those circumstances I absolutely love Finland. And it was great to rediscover Helsinki and Turku as summer cities as well.
I met up with the gang at one of my favourite watering holes in Turku, called Koulu. Koulu is a micro-brewery located in an old rather charming school building (Koulu is Finnish for school), and they do indeed have a very nice selection of beers. Other than Rasse and Jocke, we were also joined by a French colleague of Rasse’s and Jocke’s, as well as Rasse’s wife Yang and his young son. It turned out to be a really good night out, actually. After Koulu, me and Jocke ended downing a few beers more at a nice beer garden on Yliopistonkatu. We then made our way to Rasse’s office, where he had a bottle of Polish vodka stowed away. Rather an unusual way to finish off a night out, but hey, that’s life as they say… ;-) By now it was waaay too late to catch a bus back to Parainen, so I ended up crashing at Rasse’s and Yang’s place instead.
The next day I had planned to spend in Turku anyway with my parents and my brother Tomi, so I decided to wait for them there, instead of making my way back to Parainen. I took the opportunity to re-familliarize myself with Turku. They revamped parts of the city (especially the riverside) due to the fact that Turku is the European Capital of Culture for 2011. I especially like the job they’ve done with the riverside – they’ve really spruced up the place, and it’s now a pretty happening place with loads of cafés, restaurants etc. I also checked out the medieval market, which was very touristy, but still pretty cool.
Eventually my parents and Tomi came over, and we continued our exploration of Turku, followed by a nice spot of Italian for lunch (during which we watched the ongoing Paavo Nurmi marathon, rather happy to be sheltered from the blistering sun on the terrace, rather than running…). Our stomachs filled, we did a boat tour of the river Aura, which crosses Turku. It was pretty interesting; our guide seemed to be extremely knowledgeable. We finished off a very nice day indeed by going to Samppalinna for a Finnish musical interpretation of “Legally Blonde”. I have to say it was a bit of a disappointment. The film, although no classic, is actually not too bad. But this musical revamp was pretty crap, if you ask me. But, Samppalinna, an outdoor “summer theatre” with a revolving scene, is a pretty nice place. After the theatre, it was then time to head back to Parainen…
The Sunday turned out to be a bit of a rain-out, it was really pissing down. So, I can’t say that I enjoyed my stay as much as I usually do at our summer cottage in Parainen. But, I did still have a swim in our swimming pool, and of course spending some time with the family (including Tomi again, who came over for lunch), is always nice! When the weather cleared up a bit in the evening, it was time for some chainsaw action with my dad (cutting down some un-aesthetic trees by the swimming pool) – always nice to do a bit of honest physical work for a change ;-).
After a lunch with Maikki on Monday near the airport, it was time to head back to sunny France! All in all, it had been a very nice week of Finnish summer. For the most part, the weather was great, and in those circumstances I absolutely love Finland. And it was great to rediscover Helsinki and Turku as summer cities as well.
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