We got up early on Saturday to pick up the car. When we got there I had to show my drivers license and sign some adult looking papers. When we rented the car online, the picture told us that it would be a small, white Volkswagen Polo. I think the guy who rented us the car thought that we girls needed something else, that made us look more grown-up and glassy... So we got this (for me) huge, red, Renault Clio. I must admit that it made me a little nervous, because the last time I drove a car was a little while ago and our car at home is not that big. But we hopped in and made us ready to get on the road! The first place we wanted to visit was a national park and we decided to go to Nuuksio National Park. It is a park that is close to Helsinki, so it was a two hour drive from Turku. Two hours may sound long, but we enjoyed every part of it. The part of Finland that we drove through was so beautiful, we sang some karaoke, brought some snacks and killed the time by just enjoying the views.
What I noticed during the drive, were the signs that warned us for reindeer's and other animals that could cross the road. There were also a lot of speed cameras, that looked really different than the ones we have in the Netherlands. Much bigger and much more obvious and there were also signs to warn me for the next camera so I could easily adjust my speed. Also the allowed speed is different here. On a lot of roads you are only allowed to drive 80 km/h, were in the Netherlands you can drive 100 or 120 km/h. I think it might be because of the snow here and for the safety when the roads are slippery.
Luckily the drive went very well and we got their around twelve o'clock. The park is divided into different trails that you can walk. We choose the one that was named "Veikkola-Salmi".
The trail led us around the lake and showed us some beautiful spots and views over the area. It is already a bit colder here in Finland so the trees were a little frozen and white and also the lake was already closed by ice. I can't really describe it with words, you have to see it yourself. Emma and I really enjoyed the hiking and we felt like real scouts for a moment.
After a while we where wondering if we got any closer to the end of our trail. But we figured out that we were doing a one-way-trail... and we were only on a quarter of it... But by accident we had also been following the yellow Korpinkierros trail, so we decided to stick with that one. At the end we walked around 10 km, so it was a good day.
During the walk on the trails you can stop at different fireplaces. The Finnish people bring sausage with them and heat these up by the fireplace. It's also really normal to stay during the night and camp at the National Park. I think this must be really nice during summer and I definitely want to do this once, so I think I just have to come back to Finland again and do some more exploring.
We were not the only ones that were at the National Park that day. There were a lot of families with small kids and dogs, spending the weekend at the park and eat some food. I think it must be so nice to grow up close to such a beautiful place and spent a lot of time outside. Of course we do have woods and nature in the Netherlands, but here it's so different. It made me feel really relaxed and peaceful.
At the end of the trail our legs were tired and it was time to find our car again. It was around three in the afternoon and it was already getting a little bit dark outside. We began on the drive home again and we enjoyed the most beautiful sunsets. Driving in an area like this, is not a punishment at all!
Both tired of the day we went to bed quite early to get ready for an other day of roadtripping, so stay tuned for the next part!
Nähdään!
Aniek
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