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Published: October 5th 2015
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I first heard the name of Pori about a year ago when I was reading about Rauma and I thought it a nice city for a visit. First I wanted to go there on one day with Rauma, but then decided not to rush things.
The opportunity to go to Finland came with an e-mail from Lux Express offering 50% discount for bus tickets to Helsinki; I at once bought them and checked the options for reaching Pori. If you check tickets via Matkahuolto website, the price will be perhaps 80 Euro a return ticket; but I found the amazing Onnibus which I had previously noticed in Helsinki – the all-red double-decker with the funny picture of a deer. Their prices were 5 Euro from Helsinki to Pori and 7 Euro the return journey.
As usual, I watched films on the Buspad during the whole journey from Petersburg to Helsinki (it was during the night), and though I wanted to sleep very much I didn’t close my eyes at all. The bus arrived at 6-30 and I wandered in the vicinity of the railway station until the McDonalds opened. There were already many people in the street. Also, the
supermarket near the McDonalds opened and I went there to buy a snack for the 3 and half hour journey to Pori. I’ve already started to feel something like home in Helsinki, I suppose I’ll be a regular guest here because several other places in Finland are still to be visited.
The bus departed at 8-30 and arrived in Pori at 11-45. It was sunny but quite windy. I went sightseeing without a map – my reference point was the spire of a church visible far away, so I headed in that direction.
The name of Pori sounds Björneborgin Swedish (‘bear’s fortress’), where the ‘-borg’ has transformed into the Finnish ‘-pori’. The town was founded in the 16
th century as a sea port, but in the course of time the sea had receded to 20-30 kilometers.
The town’s historical center is a beautiful architectural complex comprising buildings from the 19
th-beginning of 20
th centuries. I will at once say that Pori for me is one of the most interesting Finnish towns, combining both the old and the modern constructions, parks, and water bodies.
I saw the Lutheran Cathedral in Neo-Gothic Style with a cemetery and
a military monument near it. I was quite happy to see numerous military monuments here though I’m perfectly aware that the two nations, Russians and Finns, hadn’t always lived in peace. But I’ve always asked myself the questions, how do they honour their deceased soldiers and war heroes? I must confess I like military monument very much.
I then proceeded to the river and the bridge, saw a ship and a several small boats, a fountain jet on the river and a forest area on the other bank, also the Town Hall built in 1841, facing a neatly arranged park with lawns, flowerbeds and benches. I walked a lot on the pedestrian street, called Promenade, with many cafes and shops.
I had a bite at Subway and then walked here and there, crossing the same streets several times, but somehow managed to find new interesting objects, such as monuments to famous Finns, bike parking arrangements, and even the railroad. The railroad’s setting was on the background of autumn-coloured trees, so I stayed there for about fifteen minutes hoping that a train would drive by. No trains drove by. I decided to walk slowly back to the bus station.
Very sleepy. Sat there for one and a half hour reading Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The bus arrived in Helsinki at 8 o’clock and I had one more hour to wait before the departure to St. Petersburg. I decided to go to the Senate Square and the waterside. Again, I didn’t manage to sleep in the bus, watching films, but after crossing the Russian border I finally drowsed until arrival.
Many heartiest thanks to the Onnibus for the opportunity to visit such an attractive city for such a modest price.
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