Day 34, Teijo - Raseborg, 82 km

Today we're going back to the Swedish-speaking part of Finland - woohoo! Finally, we can participate linguistically again.

But first, a big surprise awaits me. Today is June 22, 2022, exactly twenty years ago we got married in the Provoost Church in Kempen. We had talked about it during the tour booking and planning, that we wouldn't be able to celebrate our anniversary together. It wasn't ideal, but we couldn't change the timing.

After I finished getting ready this morning and packed up my things, I wanted to check the route and the latest news. I've done this almost every morning on the tour.

When I looked at the news, I found this:

This is amazing! I quickly went to the fridge and found a can, opened it, and saw a wonderful cake.

Jenna, who rented me the apartment, baked it.

Wonderful, now I have cake and tea for breakfast and I don't have to go searching for something to eat in the Finnish wilderness. I can't believe how Lucia managed to organize this!

It's almost 11 a.m. when I start my journey. I head south through the national park, then continue east.

To my surprise, I find out that there's skiing in the region during the winter.

The elevation profile in the route planner shows 770 meters of ascent at the end of the stage. Speaking of winter, I was wondering how long winter lasted in Finland. Judith from Turku told me that the lake where they live was frozen until early April.

About sixty kilometers after my start today, I reach Ekenäs or, as it's called in Finnish, Tammisaari. Swedish is spoken here again - how pleasant. In a cafe, the waitress tells me that she can hardly speak any Finnish even though she's a Finnish citizen.

Ekenäs is a beautiful little wooden town and there's a lot to see.

In Ekenäs, I also see the first new midsummer pole.

On Friday, June 24, Midsummer's Day, the celebrations with dances around the pole take place.

Around 5:30 p.m., I arrive in Raseborg and I'm greeted by Nora and her husband Stefan. They run a B&B. It's Nora's grandparents' former home. Nora and Stefan haven't changed much about the furnishings. The house is almost like a museum, but it's clean.

Tomorrow, I have my last stage ahead of me with a few kilometers and elevation gain. Then it's over.