Aulanko and Hämeenlinna aka a 11.6 mile hike.

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I think yesterday was the point in my life where i realised over the last three years i've let my self go !! When a picnic and walk was suggested saturday night i was more than up for it, however when we left the Dorms and twenty minutes in i was huffing and puffing i definitely changed my mind!! Luckily after a while my body realised that it was being dramatic and three miles in it was faaab!

We left the house at 11 o'clock and planned to walk around the huge lake thats just behind our Dorms, nine of us altogether, three walking, six riding bikes, it was about half hour in where the riders realised, the bikes, not so fun with tree roots, branches and maaaahoooooosive stones everywhere. So when we reached a hut in the woods we abandoned the bikes (still can't get over that that is okay here!!) and we carried on through the woods. I cant even describe how beautiful the sights were, it genuinely looked like we were walking into the woody part from twilight, i half expected to see wolves.. When we weren't enclosed by 20 meter trees we were walking along the lakes, 18km worth lake. The water was clear and when we stood on the jetties that each had a ladder on so you could go for a swim, not a single morrisons or tesco trolley could be seen rusting at the bottom! It was amazing and being the sea lover i just wanted to get in the water, (we measured it at 16C). There was too much walking to be done to do it in the cold though. At around one o'clock we stopped at a jettie with a little shoreline and Audric found a fishing rod... Now i'm not taking the mick but i seriously thought i was going to die laughing when someone suggested putting an Apple on the line and using that to catch the fish, i kept quiet because i thought maybe thats what they do in Spain and France but when the apple started to float- i was dying laughing, (Sorry guys haha!) After the break we trekked all around the lake, slipping and sliding on the rocks and mud (literally slipping in Audrics' case haha.) We stopped a few times at the different jetties to explore and eventually go to a place with about 15 rowing boats all lined up side by side. We tried to avoid the urge to get in but it didnt last long... the first boat that wasnt chained up and had the ores inside, was ours ha! Audric, Marina and myself jumped in the boat and rowed about 10 ft and all got nervous and rowed back to the bank! Did not think we were coming out of there dry, i dont think i've laughed that much for ages!!
On the way back to retrieve the bikes we found the route to the Tower we had been looking at the whole way around the lake, a 33 meter tower that looked like a castle from where we were standing, i was literally nearly dying by the time we got to the bottom half and when i looked up and saw the 310 steps leading up to the platform that held the tower i thought i would cry... i definitely would have given up if it hadn't have been for everyone telling me if i didn't go i would miss out on so much... and they were so right... the view from Bear Tower was the most amazing thing ever! 33 meters allowed us to see the entire lake we had just walked and more, we didnt realise how much we had achieved until we stood on the top and looked out at everything. The nine of us standing up there yesterday, absolutely knackered proved to me i made the best decision ever moving here :D.





Getting home last night was bloody exhausting, tea, film, bed was all done by 8 o'clock!





total: 31/08/2014

Hours of sleep: 6

Miles walked: 11.6

Money spent: NONE :D

Word of the day: WHAT DO YOU BABE (What do you BARRRV?)

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