Finland 2nd part.. the last days

Finland 2nd part... the last days.... The last two days at a great campsite in the pine forest on Tamisaari in the Finnish archipelago between Helsinki and Turku, teach us otherwise. Finland has (of course) also great sides. They are hard to find... but they exist. At the campsite, we are warmly welcomed by the boss himself. He is happy that some Germans have found their way here. A great place for only 15 euros. Showers as long as you want - what more could you ask for. And the Finnish permanent campers are also very friendly. We don't feel like the exotics here and decide to stay here for the last two days. In the end, we are even a bit sad that our booked ferry is about to leave.

We have to go towards Helsinki. The thermometer shows 32°. Off we go through the dreamlike archipelago towards the big city. We have to drive through Helsinki. Almost having a panic attack again, we finally arrive at the harbor. The city is packed. It's Saturday afternoon on a midsummer day. Of course... everyone is outside enjoying the beautiful weather. We see fantastic huge old stone buildings and have 2 hours left for sightseeing. So off we go into the sandals and off we go towards the city. Then suddenly (we call it the Kopp phenomenon by now) it happens. Hardly started, we are suddenly in the middle of a horde of drunken young athletes holding a huge golden cup in their hands. They have suddenly fallen out of three tour buses right next to us. They are shouting and singing and pushing. We (and especially our dog) almost freak out. Some championship has been won. Almost fainting, we squeeze through the crowds. When we finally reach the edge (it was really exhausting), our dog almost has a nervous breakdown. She lies there trembling and doesn't take another step. That was too much for her. We quickly go back to the bus. Door closed and take a breath. Great. That's typical of us again. We always manage to get into such situations where we are somehow in the wrong place at the wrong time. We stay in the bus for an hour and when it's in the shade, we go on our own for an hour. A quick round of Helsinki Harbor must be possible at least. We see great huge old buildings and churches. What a great city. Quickly took a few photos, but we have to go back and drive to the gate with the bus. For a solid 2 hours, we stand there in the blazing sun with still 32°. Then it finally arrives. The red ferry of the Viking Line arrives. 3 car decks and a total of 10 decks with restaurants, shopping miles, gambling corners... a small city in itself. Unfortunately, the dog is not allowed to stay in the car, so we have to stress her again and drag her through the crowds onto the top sun deck. We get a relatively quiet place in the corner and enjoy the ride out of the harbor. The sun sets fiery red and the archipelago shows itself once again with hundreds of small islands at its most beautiful. Goodbye Scandinavia - Thank you - it was great!!

We take stock again of the very different countries in Scandinavia. Norway (unfortunately we only saw the north) is absolutely in first place in terms of landscape. The fjords and wilderness, the bright midsummer nights, the polar sea... all of that really impressed us. As far as the friendliness and warmth of the people goes, Sweden is unbeatable. And the varied landscape in Sweden (they have everything there: sandy beaches, archipelagos, lakes, rivers, forests, and mountains) is unbeatable. Finland is also a great green country, but not ideal for our way of traveling. It is difficult to get into the endless forests of Finland or park by the thousands of small lakes to paddle around. At first, we struggled with the slightly grumpy attitude of the Finns (we were spoiled by the Swedes), but now we realize that the older generation experienced communism in real life. We would probably also be a bit more reserved and cautious.... All in all, Scandinavia is always worth a trip, and we're sure this won't be the last time. the end