And Outside The Rain Fell...

Another day. Now, Europe seems almost paradisiacal. Almost, if only we could water for free. Sigh.

Today, we are at Turku, a rather medieval town on the eastern coast of Finland. Although amongst its oldest cities, very little of Turku really was old, except probably the name. Turku apparently is an archipelago of 15,000 islands!!

We were to be joined by Pissu and Kidu, who were coming in from Helsinki. Pissu always is splendid company, and I was quite looking forward to meeting him. Waiting for half an hour for their arrival, and feasting on a single apple for breakfast, we, as has now become almost a routine, headed to the tourist information centre – exploring the city using a map with Patwa at the lead.

Soon after, we crossed a bridge to visit the pseudo ancient cathedral, with beautiful white arches and some of the most spectacular stained glass windows I have seen in Europe. The atrium also had a painting of the last supper, and it was the first time I actually witnessed an organ playing live at a church. The feeling invoked melancholy for some reason, with the heavy bass and the long notes. Also, the chrome and gold plated tubes looked brilliant, reflecting the low church lights. The church also had beautiful arches, high and white, giving the church a very airy feel, something quite surprising for a cathedral.

We next stopped by a little, picking up snacks, before proceeding to pick up cycles, only to find the shop close. This was something we all really wanted to do, to do a cycling tour of a European city, and this was as good an opportunity as another. A couple of quick calls later, a man rode up, opening up his shop to allow us to choose our cycles. I picked up a beautiful red cycle – a Tunturi, with a silver blue helmet and some of the best gears in a cycle that I have seen. I loved the bike on first sight, and she was to be my companion for the day. And oh, how we fell in love! And she was quite a bargain at 4.25 Euros for 5 hours (by European standards, that is).

Riding along the riverside, flanked by beautiful moored ships and yachts, I was enjoying every moment of the ride, especially since nearly all of Europe has dedicated bike tracks, and vehicle traffic almost makes way for cycles when they see one. Riding on gravel tracks along the river, we stopped by every so often to click photographs, do a few skids or just go in circles in glee. I was happy to ride a bike for so long, and a cycle this good deserved more than just a few pictures.

We then headed to Turku Castle, a large castle with a rather “un-anaesthetic” facade. Huge interiors with high vaulted arches, the castle had little to offer by itself. The only thing that interested me was an Indian tourist contingent that was rather happy to see fellow Indians there. The castle had a museum that was expensive (4 Euros) and thoroughly boring. The feeling was unanimous – we would rather cycle around town than spend time there. Our Indian fortresses are far more interesting. However, I’ve heard so much about the German and French castles and am excited to go there.

I headed back to city centre, filling my growling stomach with a foot-long sub. Ah. It was sumptuous. Energised, we next headed to a small island off the main coast. Ruissalo – this was Finn countryside at its best, beautiful, untouched, pure, pristine, fresh and surrounded by water. A gruelling 8 kilometres away, the bike ride criss-crossed with the highway, crossing the harbour and finally, over a bridge into some of the most beautiful cycle tracks I have seen yet. With Pissu around, and with so much to catch up on, there was never a dull moment around. We drove unchartered, eventually stopping over at a wooden platform jutting out into the bay – to be greeted a wonderful view of the sea, the flush greenery and the city. Prits, Bansi and Tardi stopped over here, and the rest of went ahead further, into the wild. We were delighted to see a hydro-boat there, moored by the bay. The four of us clicked many snaps in with it, before heading out further by vast green acres, to cycle down to a sandy beach with hundreds of seagulls perched in content glory on it. Pissu tried to shoo them away on his cycle, and I half expected them to come back down, pecking at him for disturbing their peace. It was hilarious watching Pissu charging down at them on the beach.

The ride back to the wooden platform was delightful, with Pissu sharing what was to be a quite a revelation to me! Haha. The genius! The ride got even more interesting with gentle, cold rain beating down our backs, and my tired calves begged for rest even as my charmer of a bike egged me on. A long ride later, we reached Turku city, did the usual grocery shopping, dropped away the bikes ( I hardly wanted to leave it) and headed to the station picking up our bags and to the harbour where we were to pick up the cruise to Stockholm.

On board the Siljia Europa, a much smaller cruise ship, we had sandwiches, cup noodles and watched Friends to end the night in peace, and much needed rest for our aching bodies.

A quaint, beautiful day well finished.