Travel guides versus reality- myth or mystery

Finland is only 50 minutes by plane from Sweden. An international trip, but so close. The plane trip was even shorter than going to Sydney from the Gold coast! But you should have seen the plane! It was so tiny, I thought I could see the rubber bands as they spun the propellers around! Sitting on the plane with the other six passengers, the roar of the engine began …  but first they had to wash the ice off the wings! Not a good scene to depict as you peer out the window through the darkness of the morning (no, the sun was not up yet, we were out of bed at 3am and here very early at the airport…) and you see this machine hosing down the plane! My simple questioning mind asked my husband what were they doing and his reply did not fill me with confidence thinking about the air disaster shows on television I have seen- believe me…but away we went!

Landing at Turku, Finland, picking up our hire car (I must say here it was the same car as mine at home, but they have the steering on the wrong side!) and away we went but only driving a short distance to Turku Castle. Marc and I love old castles. WE have always found them interesting because unlike churches, they are all different. This castle is a medieval building in the city of Turku  and one of the oldest buildings still in use in Finland. Turku Castle is the largest surviving medieval building in Finland, founded in the late 13th century and has played many roles, from defensive bastion, luxurious palace, the seat of government, to a prison, warehouse, and a barracks. We went through many rooms and up and down spiral staircases to view this relic. We were not disappointed. The travel guide was right in this instance.

But Rauma was a mystery. The guide book says that” Old Rauma, was founded in 1442, making it the third oldest town in the country. It is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, and has the largest unified wooden town in the Nordic countries. Approximately 700 people live in the 70-acre area, which contains 600 buildings. Walking around Old Rauma is like stepping into a fairy tale: the colourful wooden houses, decorative gates, cobble stone streets and beautiful public buildings create an atmosphere of the long-forgotten past.”I think someone had a different day or a different scene when writing that description or maybe a different town altogether.

I could not see the fairy tale. The colours were somewhat drab, the decorative gates and cobble stone streets were nowhere to be seen (probably because they were covered in ice that was desperately trying to encourage me to see the town from the horizontal rather than the vertical perspective). It was slippery, it was icy.  More importantly, I could not see why it was classed as such an important site because people live in it! So, did the people of Bryggen in Norway  and in the old parts of Reykjavik in Iceland.

The only special aspect of Rauma was the old church – a different ambience from the usual church, different windows and painted scenes, a parishioner frozen in one of the pews whilst reading her bible –(I can relate to that- being frozen…)  no wait, she is actually carved from wood but so life-like we had tiptoed around the church initially so as to not disturb her-  and the old 1940’s concrete bunker now restaurant (you would have walked by it if you did not look….) where we had much needed soup for dinner. What was so special about this place? Perhaps the cold I was feeling inside was seeping outwards!

Jacobstad was also classed as a fascinating city- a town consisting of mainly Swedish-speaking, – that’s unusual considering we are in Finland-and was founded in 1652.,but today, I really did not care. I was so cold. Kokkala also has an old town…it seems to be the trend here. I have to admit, at night they look more spectacular with the snow around and the coloured houses, but I think we have had our share of old towns for the time being.

Distances on the map are also deceptive in your planning of travel time. The highways are only allowed 80kms speed limit- occasionally you get up to 100 where it is classed as a freeway…but only for a tantalising short period and then you drop back to the snail pace of 80km. Can you really imagine tat! It is sooooo slow. Boredom in driving, boredom in sitting creeps in as you watch the odometer move by so slowly. Also not good when your navigation skills are wrong and you take your husband 20kms in the wrong direction. Big mistake!

The reason we had driven up the Bothnian coast was because it was recommended on the official Finland Visitor site as one of the classic scenic drives. Another PR exaggeration given the long hours driving at a snail’s pace through plantation timber and forest regeneration, occasionally dispersed with red barns and farm houses.

Perhaps our ‘reality’ or the tone of this blog is distorted because of the numbness of the brain that matched the numbness of the bum after being on the road for long hours and questioning the ‘travel guides’ description!

Onto Kemi and the snow castle tomorrow.
Let’s see what happens here!