Turku - 31st July

Didn't wake up until 7:45, so a nice leisurely start to the day with breakfast and slowly getting ready for a day of exploring the town.

We didn't have too much of a plan, going for a meander and see what we can see approach, so on leaving the hotel headed straight up the nearest hill to have a look at the park.

Apart from a couple of statues and an art gallery that was closed, there wasn't much, so back down the hill to the river and a nice walk downstream.

After seeing many bridges over the river Aura we stopped to watch a fori (ferry) crossing the river with a fair number of people and bicycles.

Further down the river we came to a maritime museum (forum marinum) which has a huge flotilla of ships that you can explore. We didn't, instead opting to look at them from the comfort of the bank before heading inland towards the castle.

Stopped for lunch at a burger stall which was really nice, although expensive as everything seems to be here, before actually going into the castle.

The castle isn't your typical British one, and nothing like Disney, but still worth a visit. It had been abandoned before they decided it should be preserved, but then it was hit by a Russian incendiary device in the second world war and burnt down anyway. They've now restored it and it's impressive, especially when you see the before and after pictures. We literally spent several hours in there exploring everything, so definitely worth our €14 admission fee (students are cheaper at €7).

Slow wander back to the hotel alongside the train line - they don't seem to worry about fences, but we didn't see any trains either. The hotel has WiFi so we could decide where to eat while we waited for the rain to pass.

Aimed for a pizza joint but it was fully booked (so must have been good) and ended up in a Georgian restaurant which was much better.

Back at the hotel ready for another travel day tomorrow, heading further north. Sunset here is 22:08, dusk  23:11, so it feels like it doesn't really get dark.