One more discovery: Seglinge

Still in Lappo we started checking what could possibly be our next destination. And since that was a summer of getting to know the Turku archipelago better and discover new places, we picked one we knew nothing about: Seglinge. 

Sailing was great, weather was perfect, it was a very enjoyable leg of about 30 nautical miles. On the way I was really impressed by the little open sailing boat, that had no cabins or interior at all, and came to the archipelago all the way from Denmark... I wish I was that brave! :)

When approaching our destination I took someone's private summer cottage for harbour and was wandering why the pier is so small and where are the other boats :D 

At first glimps the place did not seem anything special to me. But the best was yet to come! It became one of the best places we saw last year. After paying the harbour fee and talking to the harbour keepers we went to the shop to fill up our grocery storage.

Again Seglinge was one of those places where carrying two bikes on board for the whole summer vacation pays off :) Grocery visit was done much faster by biking there and after that we were ready for the island discovery. 

We were told by the harbour keepers about the old windmill, inner lake and swimming area. So off we went! Must confess though that we never reached the lake. We were already very close, but the path to see it lies through a very green and moist area, so the amount of biting mosquitos made the walk unbearable and at the very last moment both of us lost patience and rushed back to the bigger road where the bicycles were left, leaving clouds of attacking vampires behind.

So there is still a part of this place for us to discover next time, lets put it this way :) The views on the island were really great! You could see the harbour from the main road, sea was glittering in the sun... summer was at its best.

 

By the time we were back to the harbour, there were no more places left. And also it was time for the local market to begin! Local inhabitants had a great idea of keeping the market on Mondays, so we were at the right place at the right time, without even knowing aobut it :)

You could buy there all kind of stuff: home made jams, juices, ciders, buiscuits, pancakes, archipelago black bread, smoked fish, herbs, handicraft items... list can be continued :)

 

 

 

This, by the way, was the only place where we got to eat smocked perch. It was delicios and was sold out in no time! By the time I had a round for taking pictures that was all what was left! 

This young seller attracted us for two reasons: the first one was the real fresh pancake from Åland. I have heard of them earlier, but never got to to try one! It was high time :) Home made apple jam gave a delicios touch to it :) And the second reason to shop at this desk was to support the dreams of this young lady: with the earned money she was hoping to buy either a rabbit or a new mobile phone :)

I think we should go visiting there again, maybe we will get to meet the rabbit ;)

Summer's discovery - Brännskär

During the stay in Helsingholmen we got to talk to a lovely couple with two kids and they mentioned that the day after they were heading to one relatively new harbor, that they visited during the previous summer. After listening how satisfied they were there during the last stay, we decided to have a look at the new harbor too. So the destination was set to Brännskär. And since it is not far from Helsingholmen we could enjoy a longer morning and not be in a rush to get a place in the harbor. And once more we were happy we are not in a hurry and can spend one more day in a place that is rather close by.

Biggest surprise of all is not only the great condition of the island facilities (did not try sauna though, something "new" to check there this summer!), but the tenant of the harbor. This new place is maintained by a young guy, who loves wood in every meaning of this word: in terms of environment, working material, design, etc :) . And you can definitely feel it on the island.

Piers are new and in good condition. There were some issues with some of the places regarding the ropes attachment loops, but design mistakes have been fixed by the starting season according to Lennart, who we saw at the boat exhibition. 

We were not disturbed by the fact that the harbours is located almost on the boat route, as most of the skippers were wise enough to slow down beforehand. I would definitely recommend this place and I am sure we will be back as soon as we are heading in that direction! :)

 Very cozy harbor office is more like an authentic archipelago shop or cafeteria. They sell some stuff of primary needs there. And of course, as you can guess, the interior is all designed in wood and made by Lennart.

 

The smell of freshly baked buns and cakes was so irresistible, that we stayed to enjoy a cup of tea. I also loved the idea of theirs about marking that the boat has paid for the stay with the wooden "souvenir" :) We still have it at boat :)

  

There are several areas outside where you can enjoy a meal. For example these wooden stairs lead to a great view spot. The weather (again!) was not perfect... but luckily it was the last cloudy/rainy day during our holiday :) 

After a snack on this open terrace with awesome views on the archipelago we headed for a walk around the island. We met there many new "friends" like the one on the picture below :) They are not wild at all and come quite close to people :)
On the side opposite to the pier there was a nice beach.

In the opposite direction from the harbor office there is a high hill. We climbed on it later in the evening to enjoy some peaceful time with great views on the harbor, other islands, sea. With a glass of wine and little snacks we enjoyed the views for quite some time :) 

PS: for those who cannot imagine their life without technology and still don't have a TV at boat, there was a separate building meant both for dining (in case of bad weather) or just spending time. Among other stuff there was a big TV, where we watched the one of the few games of the football world championship :D

Cherishing last summer memories - Helsingholmen

After a couple of sunny and relatively warm days sailing fever is back :) But I still hope to realize my plan and post about all the harbors we visited during the last summer. So the next place after Högsåra was Helsingholmen. This has been THE destination for a couple of years and always when sailing in this direction it was a must-see place.

It is actually very popular during the high season and not always there is a chance to get a place there. This time though at our arrival we had a wide choice of parking spots and got our favorite place :) Unfortunately the weather was still not so perfect and it was not really very warm...

My favorite spot of the island is the rocky shore on its north-western side. It is a great place for grilling or just warming up on the heated by the sun rocks and look at the horizon :) The water there is also particularly pure and transparent.

For families with kids the island is a "treasure". The harbor keepers have a horse, rabbits, hens, cats and dogs of course, so kids can be busy with all those creatures and have fun on their own. And the animals don't seem to mind it. this lucky cat got all the fishes that children were able to catch :)

Always positive thing is freshly smocked fish in this place. This time we enjoyed whitefish with new potatoes and white wine. And of course outdoors it tastes twice as good! :)

For all the times we have been in this place not a single time we were able to book a sauna here! So this time, that the harbor was not full on our arrival, we decided that it is high time to try it out. I have heard soooo much about the sauna and the views, that I had sky-high expectations. I must admit it was good, but maybe due to too high expectations I was not so impressed. And I almost like our yachclub island sauna more :P It is also heated with wood, has awesome views to the sunset and has a great swimming place close to the rocks :)

In the morning we had the awesome service of getting fresh warm rolls waiting for us in the harbor office. You have to order them the day before, mentioning the boat name and the amount of rolls you wish. These little things in the middle of nowhere are priceless :)

After the breakfast it was a new day, with decent winds, so off we went... :)

Hanko ♡

Hankoon (Vadelmavene)!

After the 8 hour long leg from Dirham (Estonia) to Hanko by motor, we were happy to finally reach the harbour. There was not even light breeze, the wind meter was showind 0.01m/s, which meant no slightest chance to sail. It was joy to see that the harbour was not fully packed, as it very often is during the short Finnish summer. Maybe one of the reasons was cool weather, that kept many people home. Anyhow, finally we were here again, after 2 years. 

Many people are quite skeptical about this place and critisize it for being always full, noisy,  not having good enough facilities and what not. But I personally love this little town! Each time we come here, I want to have an extra parking day just to walk around and enjoy its "southern" atmosphere, with crowds of people, little markets, small shops, hidden and not beaches, cafeterias etc etc etc... This time was not an exception :)

I fully agree though, that for the harbour fee you have to pay there, all the facilities should be renewed. And the reason why I love coming back here is absolutely not related to the harbour itself, but the town and life of its own in summer.

On the evening of arrival we had a pizza with K, M and D, same friends we spent time with on the Estonian shore, and later, after the "traditional" boat-check tour, had a proper rest.

In the morning it was a new day in all meanings: the weather finally got noticeably warmer, it was our first shorts&t-shirt day :) And the things to do in this lovely place were so many, that we had to wake up rather early to cover as many of them as possible!

The first on the list was "must-do": shopping. With the bikes we headed to the local Lidl and got refills of all the missing food. Of course, with plenty of bags and in hurry to do all the rest that was planned for that day, we attracted the Murphey´s law: one of the bike´s tires was flat already at the parking place. After wasting a lot of time for fetching the tools from the boat and trying to get it repaired by ourselves, we realised that we might need to use the local bike service... Luckily it was open and was relatively close to the harbour. After a couple of hours of lost time, bike was finally fixed and we could go on.

 

By all means I wanted to go and visit The House of the Four Winds! I have been there once during my Finnish holiday, before I moved here. The views are breathtaking not only on the terrace, but also on the way there. It was a perfect late lunch place and we enjoyed it fully :)

The smaller route to this place, meant for bikes and pedestrians, follows quite much the shore curves, after going through the gorgeous villa district, central beach and some hotels.

After the meal we were in a hurry back to the boat, my parents-in-law were coming over to visit us :) After nice time with them and dinner in one of the restaurants close to the harbour, we were meeting my ex-colleague for a drink or two. 

The day seemed very long, as it was so full of all kind of events! But it was just what I expected it to be like...maybe I could skip the flat tire;)

Thanks to my ex-colleague's hint, we were lucky to be right in time for the market the morning after. It was a perfect idea to get all kind of fresh local goods to enjoy later in the next harbour. 

Off we go, but will be back! :)

 PS: as an alternative, on the way back my Captain tired the other harbour, Itämeren portti, which offers rather new facilities. But there too there was an issue: male sauna ran out of hot watter supply...