July 5
Waking up in Vaasa to grey skies...
Waking up in Vaasa to grey skies...
...and taking a closer look at some marina gems alongside last night's campsite.
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The grey skies are now producing rain...
We arrive at the Finnish Air Force Museum...it's mostly under-roof, so the wet skies are okay.
"The Finnish Air Force Museum is an aviation museum located adjacent to Jyväskylä Airport. The museum exhibits the military aviation history of Finland, from the early 1900s until today. "
The airplane below with the Finnish swastika was found in a lake and actually is owned by the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola Florida - on permanent loan to the Finnish museum.
The airplane below with the Finnish swastika was found in a lake and actually is owned by the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola Florida - on permanent loan to the Finnish museum.
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Getting a little farther south, we're seeing blue skies, as we arrive at this evening's campsite.
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July 6
Just a short drive today to our next over-night stop (70 miles, 80 minutes), Tampere. After arriving, we start off with a 4 mile hike around a lake. Near our parking spot, this sneaky geocache is located (a magnetic disk).
We start and end at the pointy part of the dashed trail line at the bottom center.
Part of the trail circles alongside a residential area - here we find a curious site - facilities where local residents may clean carpets/rugs, use a big roller to squeeze out water, and then hang them to dry.
Other oddities - Lady Liberty adorns this home...
...then we head back into the woods on bluffs over the lake.
Alongside this part of the trail information boards describe nearby large foxholes where WWII anti-aircraft batteries were placed to defend against possible Russian air attacks (they were ready, but the invaders never came).
Back on the road, for a short run across town to a brewery and then camp, we drive by more oddities of Tampere - this sequence of murals on the ends of apartment buildings.
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Early dinner is served up at Mad Finn Brewery...
We find a spot to park overnight just adjacent to downtown Tampere - this is our second urban "jungle" campsite for this camper van adventure.
Lucky us, a heavy metal music festival is going down just around the corner. It wasn't too big a deal as the terrain muffled the sound to our campsite (which we shared with about a dozen other camper vans) and it shut down at 11 pm.
This Saturday night cruiser said he's been working on this ride for about 10 years - it has amazing patina.
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