July 18 Turku

Grocery store breakfast. Got to the tourist info booth when it opened and I wish Helsinki has an easy to find one. This lady was so helpful in planning our two days. We headed over to the big Cathedral which was built 1280 and consecrated Catholic in 1300. After the reformation it changed to Lutheran. It had a small museum upstairs. The kids lit candles for a little boy who had died back home. Since I always light candles for my grandmothers in churches I visit, I chose to light one for my grandfather who was Luthern. Seemed appropriate! St Katherine lays in rest here. She was briefly a Swedish queen and she's the only royalty buried in all of Finland!  She has a beautiful sarcophagus and stained glass window. There was an original bible from 1492. Plus full sized coats of armor. Quick picnic lunch on the lawn by the cathedral.

Next museum was a combo modern art and a recently dug archeological find. They uncovered rows of medieval streets and all that remained was the basement level of many, many houses. Very well preserved and curated, with an excellent free guided tour!

Final stop of the day was Turku Castle, originally built in the late 1200's. Exceptionally cool parts included a dining room with 50' long table (pass the salt please!), an exhibit on the dungeon, and an amazing courtyard surrounded by a bailey (outer defensive wall).

Dinner was street-vendor hamburgers (for the kids) and curry (for the "adults") followed by a trip to a local playground we found (because they just hadn't done enough that day! 😀).

What a fun day!

Alter of the cathedral 

Paintings on the wall

This is the actual medieval well. They had some doll houses representing the they things would have looked in 1500

Here's the model on the town and behind it the actual cobbled street that would have been between the rows of houses. 

Even a chapel was found which was very mysterious. There was no record of this chapel and it was fairly low in the ground, almost hidden.