Saturday 27 August: cycling some of the Turku Archipelago

 We wake to the sound of a fog horn but the forecast is good so we plan to explore by bike. We head off along Ruissalon island and over the bridge into Turku. We cross the Aura Ferry on a small ferry and continue across several other islands Hirvensalo, Sataba and make a circuit of Kakskerta.  We are on marked cycle tracks all the way and it’s very quiet. We cross bridges with glimpses of inlets and estuaries and see lots of trees and the occasional log cabin in a variety of colours. We eat our picnic and it’s quite sunny so we have a quick dip to cool off. It still feels like swimming in a large river. 

We stop at Taidekappeli, St Henry’s Ecumenical Art Chapel which looks like the bow of a ship clad in copper. The timber framed interior and light effects are very impressive. Back to Turku and a detour into the centre following the river which is now humming with life. We have a delicious coffee and cake at the Art Cafe beside the river before heading back to base. 47 miles so pretty exhausting! We have booked the beachside sauna for this evening.