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Before...alone in the fog |
We were really lucky to have chosen Ratan. What we didn’t know when we arrived was that this is a favourite spot for many Finns from Jacobstad and local Swedes from around here to celebrate Midsummer. We learned that the celebrations now always take place the Friday after the summer solstice.
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Boats ‘dressed overall’ for Midsummer |
The boats started arriving out of the fog in the morning. Oh yes! I forgot to say: we have been fogbound since we arrived! The mood was great, the night was very long, with lots of laughter and drink. The Finns from the other side of the Quark speak Swedish like those from the Åland Islands and consider Finnish as their first foreign language.
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Foggy, way past midnight |
If you consider their history it makes sense: Ratan was the spot where a decisive battle took place between the Russians and the Swedes. The Swedes lost the battle and as a consequence they also lost Finland to the Russians in 1809.