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Published: July 29th 2011
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Day Seven, Wednesday, 27th July 2011
Mantuharju to Punkasalmi
We set off for Savonlinna in the morning . the drive took two hours through wooded and lake landscapes, interspersed with small farms with wheat fields.
We arrived in Savonlinna and set off to see the 15th Century castle Olavinlinna – Olaf’s castle. A massive stone structure built in the 1400’s, on a natural stone mound, set in the middle of the lake. It was built as a fortress against the Russians, and I imagine that at the time it would have been impregnable.
I imagine that it would have been cold and damp and very uncomfortable place to live in the early days. The rooms were dark with stony walls and small window apertures, useful more for defence than light. High ceilings, and uneven stone floors complete the interiors. Steep stone steps lead from one large cold room to another, doen narrow corridors and winding staircases. We got lost.
Every summer the castle serves as a backdrop for an opera festival, don Giovanni posters dotted the town, and the stage was set in the main courtyard of the castle. We ended up climbing to the ramparts around the central
courtyard, currently tented over for the opera festival. I managed to connect my head with a steel cable, and received a small bruise on my forehead for my efforts. Teach me to be looking where I’m going. We couldn’t find another way down, so ended traversing the ramparts only to turn back the way we came.
Before departing, I managed to knock over a stand in the gift shop as well, and although the attendant was very forgiving, I did notice that she strategically moved a glass bowl full of castle shaped key rings away from my line of sight. We figured that discretion being the better part of valour, we should beat a hasty retreat before Sari manages to destroy a nearly 600 year old national treasure.
I can see it now, Sari walking away from a mound of rubble, smoke rising into the sultry air… my work here is done.
Being a very hot day – 32 degrees, we spied a lovely outdoor restaurant, the tables shaded by ancient apple trees, and stopped to have lunch. I had moose meatballs with a tomato sauce pasta. Very gamey and very nice.
We then set off to the
‘tori’, the city marketplace, where we looked at the craft wares and home grown produce, had a cup of coffee, and a “lortsy”, (imagine a large, flat, jam or meat filled, deep fried, donut pastry). Very unhealthy, extremely lovely. We sat at the tables near the water, watching the tourist boats coming and going. Many of them do several hour sightseeing trips around the lakes. We were planning to do this too, but we were running out of time, and decided that this could pass.
About two thirty in the afternoon, we set off for Rettretti, a famous art gallery where part of the exhibitions are set in underground caves with clear streams flowing through the galleries. The first exhibition underground was around themes of death, and despite the macabre theme, the installations were truly inventive and thought provoking. In the gloom of the underground caverns, the theme seemed very appropriate, giving the viewer the feeling of traversing the underworld of the dead.
The other exhibition featured women artists who were married to (more well known) male artists from the 19th and early 20th Centuries. The works of husband and wife were hung adjacent to each other, creating an
opportunity for comparison and contrast. The life stories were displayed next to the artworks. This created a very interesting exhibition, and introduced me to many finnish artists who I didn’t know before.
In the late afternoon we drove to my uncle Aki’s place, near Punkasalmi.
He took us Uistelu finshing (trawling a lure behind a moving boat). We caught 12 Perch, Eva managing the better part of the haul. It was really enjoyable to be out on the water, and a lovely way to end a hot day. We also stopped at a sandy beach for a refreshing swim while uncle boiled a billy of coffee over a fire. It is amazing how much you can pack into a day when daylight lasts until 11 at night. After the coffee, we did some more trawling, stopped at a small island to clean and fillet the fish, My Uncle and his wife did the cleaning, I watched) and headed home. A sauna followed, and bed. A very full day.
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