On our way to Savonlinna today we came across a couple of really random things.
The first, about 40 minutes from Jyväskylä on the E63 clearly visible from the road was a windmill “Pienmäen mylly”. It’s a gorgeous grain windmill constructed entirely from timber that is no longer working, preserved for prosperity.
The second was less easily explained, we think it’s an incredibly large whale shaped kite…
Our morning tea spot today was a cute rest stop in Paltanen on the banks of Lake Iso-Paltanen.
We made it to Savonlinna and given the gloomy clouds and impending storm we quickly made our way to Olavinlinna Castle also known as St. Olaf’s Castle.
Olavinlinna is a 15th-century three-tower castle built on an island in the Kyrönsalmi strait that connects the lakes Haukivesi and Pihlajavesi. It is the northernmost medieval stone fortress still standing.
The construction of the castle began in 1475. Over the centuries the castle was held by both the Swedes and Russians and different layers of the castle formed in these different eras are reflective of the different cultures.
Despite the impending rain storm it was a beautiful walk alongside the lake.
We were lucky enough to get to the Castle just in time for the next tour. There were times we just didn’t understand what was being said and we were shuffled from one room to another in a weird way, but it was interesting and the view from the top of the castle was worth the killer walk to the top.
Happily by the time we left the castle to explore the rest of the city the rain had passed. We made our way to the Savonlinna Cathedral. Unfortunately the church was locked and we couldn’t have a look around. We did spot this really cute bird house that was a replica of the church.
In the grounds of the church is an incredible statue, Savonlinnan Sankaripatsas or Savonlinna Hero Statue. Unfortunately we found it really hard to find much information about the statue other than it was created by Wäinö Aaltonen and unveiled in 1921.
As we left the Cathedral and walked through the city the stormy cloudy weather cleared up completely and the sky turned a brilliant blue making for some gorgeous photos against the lake. We chose a cafe and had a lovely Linner before making our way back to our AirBnb apartment.
Cool Stuff We Did 