We were up early again this morning as the plan was to catch the metro into town, do a red city bus tour and leave our Campsite in the aftnoon.
But alas, Helsinki had other plans. Today, of all days, was the day that labour unions decided to strike and so schools were closed, no public transport etc etc. 30 000 people striked causing an estimated €100 million loss to the economy. And we were stuck in the middle of it.
So back to Felix we went to concoct a Plan B and after much deliberation we decided to skip Helsinki and proceed north as we didnt want to lose another 48hrs.
I am really bleak as this is the SECOND time I have been in Helsinki without actually seeing the city. Maybe third time lucky?
So on we went with the first stop for the day being Tampere. Tampere is a lovely town 200km north west of Helsinki and the plan was to have lunch there and visit a Spy Museum. The Spy Museum was small and interesting but we were in and out within 45 minutes.
So back into Felix we climbed and headed 3km up the road to an old Watch Tower which had a coffee shop and supposedly the best donuts in Tampere. Well, I would have to say the coffee was grate and so were the donuts plus we got a little bit of work done as well.
Pori was the final stop for the day which is located on the west coast. If I had to swim out to sea I would end up in Sweden ;-)
But where to stay? All our Apps show a distinct lack of Stellplatze in Finland and the campsites are exorbitantly expensive. So where do people stay?
Well, they stay in the parking lots of 24hr ABC Grocery Stores (similar to Checkers I would say).
I kid you not. These ABC's generally have a petrol station, a fast food take out, a small grocery store and a large grocery store (which is closed after business hours). Some of them even provide fresh water, grey water and chemical toilet dumping facilities.... Of course this isn't pretty but it will do especially as we will be moving on again tomorrow.....
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