Ok when I said I would have more pictures tomorrow I really means next week. And also that (sadly) there will not be any pictures. You all will just have to deal with another long winded post from me. Lol. It sounds like a lot of you love looking at my blog and reading all about my adventures (the washing machine story is an instant classic I am afraid). This makes me very happy:)

This weekend, as I might have mentioned, I went to the city of Turku. Turku is situated on the southwest coast of Finland and is a popular point of departure for folks wanting to go to Sweden or through the Archipelago (essentially a large group of islands, in this case the Åland Islands) that lies in between Finland and Sweden. The trip is supposed to be absolutely beautiful and I hope to have time to do it before I leave Finland, but it is looking as though it might may not be possible. We shall see. Aside from being a big port, Turku was the capital of Finland before Helsinki. I was told that when the Russians recaptured Finland from the Swedes, they wanted a capital closer to St. Petersburg (so they could keep a closer eye on the people and not feel threatened at every turn by the Swedish...very intelligent of them) and therefore changed the capital to Helsinki. Unfortunately, the history lesson is not over yet folks!

I arrived in Turku on Friday evening and went immediately to check into my hostel. The Turku Hostel is the only hostel in Turku and surprisingly, I was able to book a dorm room. I was very excited because I really like the experience of being in a hostel. People are usually very friendly and up to conversation with anyone, anytime. I was hoping that I would find someone(s) to see the city with, or if nothing else eat and drink with while I was in Turku. Sadly, it turned out that I had one other roommate and she had no interest in talking. Resigning to my fate as a single traveller, I went to eat at a little Italian place close to the center of the city. The food was good and the guy who waited on me was very nice. Unfortunately, he knew almost immediately that I was not Finnish. So much for keeping the illusion:) The river that divides the town is called Aura and it is a nice place to walk after sunset. There were many people out by the river enjoying the good weather when I was walking back to the Hostel. From what I had seen so far, I knew I was going to like the city. I decided to rent a bike for the following day and see the sights.

Saturday was another beautiful morning! The first place I went to see in the morning was Turku Cathedral. The cathedral is located near the center of the city and alongside the river. Turku Cathedral is another typical Scandanavian structure, simple in style and materials used. I really like this style. It seems more in line with function then with showing off. The inside of the cathedral was as dark as any I had seen before but again, there was very little non-function related decoration. There are several people buried in the crypt of the cathedral, including a Swedish Queen (married to the unfortunate King Erik XIV, who you will read about soon) and several national war heros.

From the Cathedral I went to the Handicrafts Museum. Don't let the name fool you...it was awesome! It was kind of like a smaller, more contained Williamsburg. The museum is set on a plot of land with buildings dating back over two hundred years ago. This community was practically the only area in Turku that was left untouched by a hugh fire that destroyed most of the city about one hundred and fifty years ago. In the early 1900s, city officals decided to make the land and buildings an open air museum showcasing the crafts and the lifestyle of people living in the 1800s. It is a very popular attraction now. I really enjoyed walking around the "town" and looking into the different buildings. There was virtually no one there when I went and so I could take my time going through. After visiting the Handicrafts Museum, I went to lunch at a Thai restaurant near the center square. I know what some of you are thinking, how good could that have been? But let me tell you, it was some of the best thai I have ever had!!

One of the most famous attractions of Turku is the castle. It dates back to the middle ages but has additions dating back from about two hundred agos. It is not like any other castle I have seen, and while it looks old, its design is rather simple and beautiful. This is no Versaille. Thank goodness for that! The castle is located at the mouth of the Aurajoki (joki means "river" in Finnish) and it is also happens to be where it meets the Baltic Sea. Its most famous for being the "home" of King Erik XIV from Sweden for several years. Erik was imprisioned in Turku Castle for seven years by his own brother. But don't feel too sorry for Erik though...before he was put in Turku Castle for being deemed insane, he had his brother and his brother's wife imprisioned in Sweden for (probably) the same charges. See Mom, at least I am not holding my siblings prisoner and telling everyone they are insane! Overall, the castle was very nice and I think I saw every nook and cranny there was to see. Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures of the castle within the next couple of days.

After all that touring, I decided it was high time for a drink on one of the city's boat bars. There are about six or seven of these restaurant/bar boats along the Aurajoki and everyone of them was filled to capacity this weekend. I was fortunate enough to get a seat next to the DJ (which probably resulted in me losing some of my hearing). I sat and listened to the music (the DJ was playing Funk and old R&B) and read my book and it was really wonderful! At some point I started talking to the women next to me. We talked about the weather and how my trip was going so far. Both of them commented on how well I spoke Finnish (well its easy to master ten words!!), so I felt pretty good about that. I stayed there for a couple of hours and I decided that I would really like to come back to Turku. It is a truly beautiful city! I also decided that all I wanted to do the next morning was sit by the Aurajoki and read and watch the world go by me.

And thats just what I did! Hope you all are well. Look for pictures from my trip to Turku in the coming days. Love you!!