What never seizes to
amaze me is how close you can get to nature in Savonlinna. Yes, it is a buzzing
city in July with thousands of tourists and opera festival guests and
magnificent boats. Yet, you only need to walk a very short distance from the
city centre and you are completely away from the sounds of the city; on an
island, surrounded by woods, sitting on a rock and enjoying the peace and calm
of Mother Nature.
One of my favorite
things to do when I have even a little bit of free time is to go to Sulosaari,
an island just behind the Kasinosaaret. Just walk across the bridge and through the parking lot and you find a
path that leads you across another bridge to Sulosaari. The island used to be
full of beautiful villas at the beginning of the 20th century which
were rented for guests and tourists coming to Savonlinna. However, nowadays
there is only one villa standing and it serves as a pancake café in the summer.
Anyway, there is a
path that goes around the island and I can always find a spot somewhere along
it where I can sit down, chill, read a book or just sunbathe. I close my eyes
and listen to the waves hit the rocky shore. It is a little place of peace when
I need it. There aren’t many places where you can do that practically at the heart
of the city. For this, I massively appreciate Savonlinna.
The other option of
course is to rent a boat and explore Saimaa, Europe’s biggest lake district.
The same principle of close nature applies here as well. If you rent a boat,
you don’t even have to go very far from the harbor of Savonlinna when you
already feel that you are alone on the water and surrounded by the most
phenomenal scenery.
A few days ago, I was
offered the opportunity to go on a short cruise on Babro Classic 1150 XL (check
it out, she is a beauty!). I am not much of a “boater” but I couldn’t let the
opportunity pass. And boy I tell you, it was amazing! I didn’t get to drive
because I don’t know how to, but that worked out fine because I could just sit
on front of the boat, take pictures, enjoy the sun and the views passing by
while someone did all the work of driving the boat. I can’t describe the
feeling you get when you feel the boat underneath you moving in chord with the
waves and at the same time hear the sounds of the waves while looking at the
surrounding archipelago. It is blend of excitement and rest all at the same
time.
I am not a fan of fast
boats, moving forward slowly and steadily is more my thing because there is
more to feel and more to experience. And Saimaa certainly offers so much to
experience. The water and nature is pure, clean and filled with bright colors
of the summer! I absolutely loved how the deep blue color of the lake played in
contrast to the bright green of the islands. I was just leaning over the side
of the boat to stare at the water and get lost in my thoughts when I felt the
wind in my hair. The feelings of freedom
and peace spread over me. I know that using the iconic Titanic moment where
DiCaprio stands at the edge of the ship, arms spread and shouts, “I am the King
of the World!” is a bit of a cliché but please forgive me for using it, just this
once. You don’t need to go all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to experience
the “DiCaprio”-moment because Saimaa lake district really makes you feel like royalty.
You got to try it. You
won’t forget it.
