the Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna
There are more paintings to be seen in Finland, but of another nature. Before I came to Finland I had no idea that they have rock art here, paintings executed on rock faces perhaps 5000 years ago. Something I have enjoyed all over the world, from Somalia to Southern Africa and India, so obviously something to be explored here, too – although from what I saw on internet, the paintings are rather simple, monochromatic, and not exactly mind-blowing.
The first site I had selected was Saraakallio, a little north of Jyvaskyla. But when we woke up, it was raining, and we have learned by now that when it is raining here, it usually rains hard, and long. So we abandoned the idea of a long hike to dubious rock paintings, and headed 200 km east to Savonlimma, instead, our next stop, near the Russian border. It rained mostly, all the way, and it rained hard.
if it rains, it really rains, in Finland, obscuring much of the view
but there is lots of potential once the weather gets a little better
and another one, just when the weather is clearing somewhat
so once in a while a break in the forest, room for agriculture
unexpectedly, tiny windmills in the landscape – still behind a curtain of rain
But so once in a while it cleared up, allowing us a glimpse of some of the dramatic lake country Finland is. And see that other unexpected sight, tiny wooden windmills. Finland has much more than I anticipated.
the roads in Finland, empty two-lane affairs crossing the forrests
only real danger are the reindeer
Perhaps this is also a good moment to elaborate of Finnish driving. They have fabulous roads here, not necessarily all motorways, but two lane roads are perfectly OK. Because there are very few cars here, because there are actually very few people. Being some 8 times the size of The Netherlands, Finland has a population of 5.5 million (of which almost a quarter live in Helsinki alone), less than 1/3rd of The Netherlands. But more importantly, the Finns obey traffic laws, will stop for any light that is about to turn yellow, and respect maximum speed. Which means that driving is exceedingly comfortable: put the cruise control to what is allowed, and you hardly see any other cars – because everybody does the same. In fact, the only risk to driving are the reindeer, that may decide to cross the road at any moment; signs warn you everywhere, but we didn’t see any of them – reindeer, that is, plenty of traffic signs we saw.
another view of the impressive Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna
a red-brick Russian addition to the original course stone Swedish tower
stone corridors inside
The next morning, in Savonlinna, we went to explore one of those other Swedish-Russian defence colossuses, the Olavinlinna Castle. Once again, a castle started by the Swedes, in 1475, to protect the area from Russian advances. Twenty years later it was put to the test when war broke out between Sweden and Russia. It took until 1743 for the castle to be taken over by the Russians, who subsequently added their own specific constructions, one of them clear to see in the top of the towers, which have red-brick walls contrasting with the older rough stones below. This is a castle as you would expect it, impressively unapproachable for any enemy, on an island, high walls, solid towers. And inside, no frills, just the bare stone quarters, steep circular stairs, minimal windows.
Inside you are only allowed with a guide, so we took the tour, in Finnish, of which we didn’t understand a word. But with an English-language leaflet we could piece together the guide’s story, a bit, and after all, the building itself is more impressive than the historical details.
entrance to the castle court yard
where a few canons remind you of the original function
steep spiral stairs add to the Medieval castle feeling
As with most Finnish cities outside Helsinki, Savonlinna itself isn’t that interesting, but nearby – well, relatively nearby, a good two hours’ drive – are Finland’s most impressive rock paintings, the Astuvansalmi site. All internet information claims you can only see them from the lake, but the owner of our B&B was adamant that you could also get there walking, so we might as well give it a try. At least today is dry, and mostly sunny.
Next: the lake district, including the rock paintings
