We had a big breakfast and headed off to Hamina, the nearest town to where we are staying. It is about 40 klms from the Russian border.
The house where we are staying
The shed with all the winter gear in it.
The view of the river from the garden bridge
Hamina Town Hall, built in 1760.
The gateway to The Orthodox church of St Peter and St Paul, our second visit to a church of the same name within a week, the last one was for the wedding.
This building was built in 1837.
The inside of St peter and St Pauls.
Arvilommi's House, built in 1849.
Exterior is plastered wood, unique Finnish town architecture.
This is a gem.
We approached it from the rear and Steven was enthralled by the earth roof.
Once we got down to the entrance we discovered that it was open for an art exhibition so we were able to go inside.
The floor level is about 2 metres below ground level, it was built in 1785 as a powder magazine, the ceiling is an amazing barrel vaulted brick structure
Many of the buildings have ladders hanging out of upper floor windows, this is to allow the people living inside to get out if there has been a large snowfall over night and the lower doors can't be opened. It was hard to believe as we walked around in the warm 26 degree sunshine.
This is the Reserve Officers School.
All Finnish young men are required to spend six months in the military at the age of 18
The town was built with a protective wall around it, which is still there.
This huge structure is in the 'Hamina Bastion' it is the largest membrane structure in Europe and is taken down at the end of each summer before the snow starts.
15th century medieval stone church. This was built before the town, the Church served the local area. Once the town was built it was decided to build another church for the people in the town. Today the people outside of the town still use the old church while the people in the town use the new one.
After a lovely tea Anna-Maija took us to a lake where there is a sauna. We had a sauna and Steven even jumped in the lake, twice.
We headed back home after an hour in sauna. It was nearly 11.00 pm and getting dark.
In 3 hours the sun will be rising again.
In June the sun just goes round, it doesn't set.
In December the sun only comes out for a couple of hours.
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