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Continued from May Day in Turku –part 2

As we moved around downtown area, taking pictures of different sights, we noticed that most people wear white cruiser captain caps. Because of this, the kids were so excited to have one. It would as well be a nice souvenir of our trip here. We went to the market square to see if we can find this cap. Unfortunately we couldn’t find one in the shops.

I was surprised to see different nationalities and tourists here in Turku, and some foreign sellers who can speak Finnish. You can see the internationality of the people here perhaps because of the sea port. It was a different scenario in Pori.

The market place was crowded because of the holiday. There was even one pizza shop lined with people waiting to get in. They are running out of seats eh. The pizza here must be delicious. Later in the afternoon we ordered pizza from this shop for take away. We plan to munch this nice smelling pizza in our ship liner, Viking Lines, as we start our cruise to Stockholm. We now bid goodbye to downtown Turku and drove back to Viking Lines port for another travel experience.

It’s a reality we have to face nowadays that gas price is getting higher. And still it is expected to soar higher especially in the United States due to the hurricane season coming up next month. What is its impact on travelers? For our family who usually like to travel be it short or long break, it’s slowly putting some strain on our travel plans. For those people who are planning to travel this summer to enjoy a nice vacation in the beach or up country, for sure the effects of increasing gas price will be felt, with the increase in commodities, accommodation, fares…

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Continued from May Day in Turku –part1

Our first stop in Turku was the Viking Lines port for our trip to Stockholm. We already programmed the address of the port in the GPS so we easily found it. We parked the car here and walked to the nearby Turku Castle. It was closed during this public holiday so we just walked around the castle and took some photos. After this we drove to the city, found another parking area beside the Aura River near the Myllysilta (bridge) and parked here. Since we don’t have a map and an exact street address (for the GPS) of a place we want to go, hubby was hesitant driving around this unfamiliar place. So we just parked the car and walked around the city.

To be continued…

This summer we have been thinking of going camping. There are many camping sites here in Finland and it’s just a matter of planning where we really want to go. For this kind of outdoor travel, for me 5.11 tactical pants would be an appropriate gear. I like it coz it’s convenient and durable to wear. It has spacious cargo pockets that allows you to store a handy flashlight, mobile phone, or any other stuff you want to carry, even some reading materials like pocketbooks or magazines to keep you entertained while on the go. These kinds of pants are all readily available in tactical outdoors shop online. With just few mouse clicks you can choose the different designs and colors you want, read the features and product description, and eventually decide which one to order. With shipping usually done in the same business day, it would be in time for a camping trip. What about you, what’s your perfect gear for a camping trip…?

It was May Day (1st of May) when we went to Turku, Finland. Our road travel went well. At least my daughter did not experience the nausea and stomach pain she went through when we went to Tampere last Easter. It took us a little over 2 hours drive from Pori where we left early in the morning so we can spend the whole day in this city while waiting for our departure time to Stockholm which was in the evening. This was our first trip to Turku.

Because this family getaway was not really planned (it was a sudden decision) it slipped from our mind that offices were closed during this public holiday especially the Tourist Information where I was planning to visit to get a copy of Turku travel map and some advice for a one day visit here. I had a brochure of Turku though but it was not so much helpful for us coz the sights where the kids wanted to visit are to be traveled by ferry or are closed due to the holiday.

To be continued…

I’ve read that there is a road in London where anyone driving in the fast lane can go faster than the 40 mph speed limit. The road, incidentally, is Mile End Road as you travel towards M275 in Portsmouth City, Hampshire, UK’s only island city located on the southern coast of England. This problem is happening coz the location of the speed cameras can only cover the first three lanes of a four lane road. Well, it’s interesting to know that not all speed cameras can cover the entire road every time. In our case though, there are only two lanes as we hit the road from Pori to Turku so I think people can’t get away with speed limits, road legal number plates and highway cameras here.

Speaking of car number plates, in Finland, car plates contain three letters and three numbers separated with a dash. Then, starting 1 May 2001, all new vehicles were assigned EU license plates unless the owner opts for the old model plates. I suppose vanity plates are also allowed. By the way, if you want to order online, there is a good site to start your search. The 4Plates company in UK offers custom made number plates the way you want it to be in all acrylic plates ready in a day without documents required. Their number plates ranges from road legal car and motorbike registration license plates, bike number plates, show number plates for vehicles that are not meant for road use but for showing only, and novelty and fun number plates for your distinctive style. This company can also supply number plates for sports cars, HGVs, and all sorts of vehicles, even odd shaped plates. In fact, you can order here any sort of number plate you want.

So for your road trip, mind your speed limit and make sure your car plate number is legal for a smooth travel. You don’t want the highway police running after you.

Arriving back home safely from our Stockholm trip was a relief. It was a tiresome travel just like our other getaways. As we opened the door of our home, we were welcomed by the pile of newspapers, bills and magazines in our mailbox. Guess what? Mixed with the mails was an envelope from Go Tampere. The free brochure of Tampere I ordered online has arrived. I did not only order a brochure but also maps: map of Tampere with accommodation, sights and transport, map of walking tours, and map of restaurants in the city. These are some of the travel essentials I carry with me especially if it’s our first time to visit a place. I needed these information not only for our future travel to Tampere but also in preparation for my parents and siblings visit to Finland. So if you are planning to visit Tampere, order online now your free maps and brochure. They are really handy.

My parents together with my cutie sis and baby Caite left Philippines last Saturday despite the storm that hit the country. Their Manila-Amsterdam flight was delayed though. As a result, they missed their connecting flight to Prague. I pity my cutie sis’ techie hubby who was waiting at the Ruzyne International Airport in Prague. That was the latest update I received after chatting with my artist sis yesterday. She was left behind for few weeks but will soon be following the rest of the family in Prague after she gets her visa. Being a travel bug herself, I know she doesn’t want to miss this family travel to Europe.

I don’t have any idea where else they will travel during their stay in Prague but from there, the whole bunch will be visiting us here in Finland, probably by end of June until July? I’m so excited about it. July is a good month for them to visit coz our laid-off city will once again be crowded and busy due to the International Pori Jazz Festival. I hope they can experience this international event coz a lot of visitors come to Pori just for this event. Let’s see how much their travel time here allows. Anyway, we will be busy this summer touring our visitors around Finland. I haven’t planned their itinerary yet. Well, I still have plenty of time to do that but will be doing that soon.

Turku, the former capital of Finland, is the country’s oldest city with medieval landmarks such as the Turku Cathedral, Turku Castle, and the Old Great Square. It was in the 13th century (about 1229) when Turku was born, although civilization can be traced way back to the Stone Age.

How old is old? To give us an idea how old Turku really is, here are some facts in history from a Turku brochure:
-The Turku Cathedral was inaugurated in 1300, and thus considered older than the Tower of Pisa which was not completed until 1360 though construction started in 1173.

-The first phase of Turku Castle was built in the 1200s so it’s older than the Aztec Empire which began in 1300s (and ended in 1521).

-The Pennisilta (bridge), first bridge over Aura River was built in 1414. Hence it is older than the last section of the Great Wall of China which was completed in the 1600s. Take note that it took 2,000 years to build the Great Wall of China so the previous sections of the wall is older than Turku.

Turku Cathedral inaugurated in 1300

Aside from being the oldest city in Finland, Turku is the country’s fifth largest city and the third largest urban region after Helsinki and Tampere.

It is also interesting to note here that Turku has the largest Swedish population in Finland. This is perhaps due to its proximity to Stockholm and its location. Turku is located on the mouth of Aura River (Aurajoki) in the south western part of Finland where further towards the west lies tens of thousands of islands. The Port of Turku serves as a departure point for people traveling to Stockholm in Sweden and Mariehamn, the capital of Åland Islands, so it’s not a surprise if it is considered as one of the busiest seaports in Finland.

first phase of the Turku Castle was built in 1200s

More information about Turku can be read from the city’s official website: www.turku.fi.