May 31 – Helsinki – Visiting Porvoo – Farm visit

Accommodations: Klaus K Hotel

After breakfast, we boarded our bus and arrived at Finland’s second-oldest town, Porvoo. The area of Porvoo has been inhabited since the Stone Age and was colonized by the Swedes in the 13th and 14th centuries. We walked the cobblestones and saw the colorful homes and warehouses that line the streets. The color of the homes had to do with the wealth of a family. Red paint meant the family was poor, while pink or yellow paint signified the family were a bit more wealthy. A white house meant the family was very wealthy. This is because red was the cheapest paint to buy and white was the most expensive.

The homes were very quaint and we walked the town and saw the toy store, a chocolate shop, and a cafe, where we stopped in to get a cup of coffee and a Runeberg torte. I tasted the torte, but it wasn’t something I cared for although Allan enjoyed it. The torte is flavored with almonds and rum and has jam and icing on top.

After visiting Porvoo, we drove to Norrkulla Gard Farm, which is in the countryside. The Lundstrom family has owned the farm since 1912. The rooms have the original wallpaper as well as the original fireplaces which are quite beautiful. The Lundstrom family is of Swedish descent and has lived in Finland for over four generations.

The family made a delicious lamb stew for us with homemade bread and then we were invited to tour the home. After the tour of the home, we were served tea and coffee and homemade cookies and then we toured the farm and saw the horses and the sheep. It was a beautiful and sunny day and we had a wonderful time.

I asked one of the ladies who prepared our meal if she ever heard of pulla bread. She was puzzled at first but then she said…Ah yes…but we just call it pulla. Okay. Not sure why saying pulla bread is more confusing then just saying pulla, but anyway…I was glad that at last, someone had heard of it.

We drove back to the hotel and at 5 pm, a few of us met for a pre-dinner drink on the 7th floor of the hotel overlooking the city, and then it was off to dinner at the Finnish restaurant Savotta. Allan had an appetizer of bear which we shared and it was very good. Allan has a moose burger and I had Karelian stew, a traditional meat stew with pork, beef, lamb, pickles, and vegetables. It was very tasty.

Tomorrow we leave Finland and arrive in Sweden.

Porvoo

Porvoo Cathedral

Walking on the Finnish cobblestones is not easy. You can’t tell by the photo, but the stones are actually rounded on top and not flat, making walking tricky.

It might not look steep… but it was.