Wednesday 10th July:  16°C to 21°C, blue skies, sunny with little wind, a perfect day 

Time:  Walk 6.5k Circuit around Helsinki: Bus Helsinki to Brobacka: 1pm to 3pm: Walk 5.5k circuit Nuuksio Park

Accommodation: Brobacka Annex Nuuksio National Park

Highlight today was getting to the Nuuksio National Park - my last hiking stop this trip - to visit the land of lakes and forests.

Hostel Diana Park is located near the Statue of Diana, dedicated to the Roman Goddess of hunting and forests, not our own UK Princess Diana.  The hostel has 14 small rooms with a guests kitchen so suited me perfectly to get up at 6am (4am UK time) to make a cup of tea in the kitchen before packing a small backpack and leaving at 7 am for a circuit around Helsinki to check it out. First, down to the harbour where small boats line up beside huge ships - with a trickle of tourists waiting for day cruises.  Then around to the Helsinki Cathedral, built in 1830 and dedicated to the Grand Duke of Finland, Nicholas 1 of Russia, of which Finland was originally part thereof 200 years ago.  The tourist Office is opposite and I take a mental note of where it is to return at 9.30am when it opens. 

Over a bridge to Merihaka where there’s so much construction, the walking and cycling paths have been re directed.  Back over the next bridge to Helsinki Train Station where I check out the bus for Nuuksio, having been told it was 611, which didn’t seem right to me.  I’ll double check that at the tourist office later.  Then I spy the Sokos S Market opposite the station so I wander in to see what I can see to take with me to Nuuksio for the next three days.  I buy two apples, fresh bread and a piece of brie cheese, just to walk out of the shop with something, then back to the Diana Park Hostel.

I make breakfast in the small kitchen - Quaker’s porridge with a cup of coffee - then shower and clean up the room.  Check out time is 11am, so I wait until the last moment to leave, then go back to the tourist office where the girl explains it’s not Bus 611 to go to Nuuksio, there was in fact another place called Brobacka, and the buses I need are 213X to Espoon Station, which replaces the train that’s not working thenthe  245A bus to Nuuksio.  At last a clear explanation of what I need to do.  I also ask them about a Moomin shop.  Think about the character Bluey and Queensland.  That’s Moomin to Finland.  Moomins are the cartoon characters in a series of novels written from 1945, and now is a series of TV shows.  The Moomin shop is back near Diana Park, so I head in that direction and soon find Moomin stuff is very very expensive.  But I buy some biros anyway.

Back towards the station, and over to the Sokos S Market where I take half an hour to try to understand what I am buying, using google translation.  I make a collection of cream, butter, 3 pork roast slices, more bread, lettuce, tomatoes and a bottle of McGuigan’s Shiraz.  My bags are now heavy with three days of food plus a bottle of wine, as I lug them over to the bus stop.  Soon the 213x bus arrives and 30 minutes later, stops at Espoon Station where I change for the 245A bus.  My HSL app has been very handy, just flashing the digital ticket wherever I go, then tracking the bus on a route map to Hakjarventie stop, which is only 100 metres from 1 Nuuksionkuja, where I recognise the lowest house of Rachel set amoung the trees. It’s 3pm.

I message Rachel, who welcomes me and shows me my little annex - a bedroom, and separate shower and kitchenette, then we sit in the garden while she makes some suggestions about hiking.  She suggests avoiding Haltia where there’ll be a million tourists, shows me a small 5.4k walk which starts just over the road, then another for tomorrow catching the 244 bus to Siikaniemi then walking to Haukkalampi and Haltia, where there’s a major visitors centre then either the 245 bus or walk back to Brobacka.  Rachel mentioned a possible kayak trip on Friday, depending on the weather.

I head off for my walk around the Sorlampi Lake but miss a turn - nothing is signed, just a maze of tracks through the forrests, then resort to my downloaded topographical map of Finland on Garmin Explore to follow which ever paths I fancied.  The pines and beech trees are thick, darkening the tracks which are heavily root bound and rocky and a bit like the Overland track in Tasmania.  But just an amazing walk and to think there’s thousands of kilometres of these tracks through the Nuuksio National Park.  At 5.30pm, after 5.4k, I’m back and have dinner of mushrooms onions and pea shells cooked in Butter with roast port and Soba Noodles - on a table in the lovely garden.  All with a glass of McGuigan’s Shiraz which was like sweet cider vinegar - nothing like my favourite McGuigan’s mixed red back in Oz.  Bad Choice!

Time to plan tomorrow’s walk, do some blogging then a shower and bed at 9.30pm watching a National Geographic on Pablo Escobar - a nasty Columbian!  There’s no connection to Wimbledon.