and a mooring, just to introduce a little colour
buoys in the harbour of Lappeenranta
At the far end of the Saima Lake Lappeenranta is barely 25 km from the Russian border, and somehow the town feels more Russian than any other town we have so far seen in Finland. Broad, empty roads, lined with the ubiquitous apartment buildings. Not as destitute as we have observed in so many ex-Soviet republics, or indeed in many Eastern European countries, but they show an uncanny similarity with what we call the palatis. They are newer, better maintained, the balconies have been uniformly closed, rather than by haphazard individual initiative. But still, apartments they are.
the reinforced earthen walls of the fort
and the entrance, and the cobbled road into the fort
one of the old barracks in the fort
another suggestion of later restoration, perhaps Russian bricks covering the holes in the Swedish rock wall
The main feature in town is the fortress, as so many others a structure started by Sweden and finished by Russia. But unlike the castle in Savonlinna, the fortress here is nothing special, nothing spectacular. Some raised earthen walls, strengthened with stone, and inside several old barracks – now cafes, restaurants or museums -, and a small Orthodox church (the oldest Orthodox church in Finland, apparently). The second castle, a huge sand castle built up every summer, had been demolished again; the tourist season is over, Finns are waiting for the fall, and the fact that there are still unusually high temperatures around is no reason to deviate from the normal rhythm of life. Or am I mistaken? In the park bordering the harbour are still various frivolous art works tied in trees, no doubt traces of another summer extravaganza, but not yet taken down!
and the guns, or some of them
more colour is provided by summer art decorations in the park in front of the fort
Not having any other interest in Lappeenranta – and somehow missing completely the presence of a large wooden church in the centre, something we would normally like to see, too -, we started heading for Helsinki, or rather, for Porvoo, a pretty touristic craft village 45 minutes outside Helsinki. With a few stops on the way, amongst them the Salpa Line.
at night, too, the park decorations are clearly visible
