Bomarsund and shopping
The next morning at breakfast we met the owner of the hotel, who gave us a bunch of ideas of what to see and do during the day. First, we made a stop at Sund church. The church is dedicated to John the Baptist and …
Eat, drink and explore
Finland
Kastelholm and great views
After a couple of days in Mariehamn it was time to head outside the capital. We started the day by driving to Kastelholm castle. Originally the castle was a fortress. Construction on it began at the end of the 14th century. The precise year is …
Mariehamn and Eckerö
I apologize for the short hibernation on the blog, I’ve been on vacation and suffering from a bit of a blogger’s block. Well, at least, I’ve collected material for posts while I’ve been away. Vacation trip kicked off To kick off our summer vacation we …
Two dinners in Kuopio
I had made reservations in advance for our dinners in Kuopio. On the first evening, we dined at Keisarinsatama, which is located three kilometers outside the city center. The restaurant is housed in an old brewery building called Kotkan Höyrypanimo (Kotka Steam Brewery). Keisarinsatama means …
A weekend in Kotka
We decided to take a short minibreak and spend a weekend in Kotka. As we had Friday off, we headed to Kotka on Friday afternoon and arrived at the hotel at around 4 pm. I had booked us a superior queen room at Original Sokos …
Anniversary celebration
Last Sunday was our anniversary but we celebrated one day early on Saturday. As some COVID restrictions are gradually lifting I’d booked us a hotel room for one night and dinner. I cannot begin to express how great it felt to get a little variety …
Manor houses in Uusimaa – part II
Here is my second post on manor houses in Uusimaa. Part I focused on manor houses in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, and part II on manor houses in other areas of Uusimaa. Alikartano Manor, Mäntsälä Alikartano Manor was founded in 1608. The old model farm …
Manor houses in Uusimaa – part I
I doubt many people outside Finland know that our country has numerous manor houses from the 15th to the 19th centuries. A vast majority of them are to be found in the southern part of the country, which means you can find many manor houses …