...was the first question of the friendly receptionist asked us when we tried to book a table for an evening meal at the island hotel. We had no problems in getting a table - indeed we were the only guests in the huge dining room, which looked more like an officer's mess rather than a restaurant. (Against our expectations we had an excellent dinner...)
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| Utö lighthouse: the largest transit ever... |
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| Easy Rider snugly moored alongside a pilot vessel |
Utö has been military outpost for a very long time. You can even see the remains of Russian military presence dating back to the beginning go the 20th century, like on Katanpää. It has only recently opened to tourism while still keeping east and west parts of the island off limits. Utö also has the oldest lighthouse dating from 1814 and a pilot station.
This tiny barren island, on the fringes of the Åbo archipelago
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| a boathouse in the harbour |
also fills us with some sadness since it will be our last stop in Finland before moving on to Gothenborg. The Finnish cruising ground has been absolutely fabulous and anybody who plans to do it should go ahead! Three years are certainly not enough to explore all the beautiful spots.
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| a sauna? |
With the last drop of the famous Marskin ryyppy schnapps, named after Carl Gustav Emil Mannersheim, the Marshal of Finland (early 20th century), the recipe of which has been debated for the last 50 years. Madeleine thinks it tastes like a dry Martini...We received it as a leaving present from Perttu Marttila, and we will drink it saying goodbye to Finland.
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| swim in the sea after a sauna |