HEADING FOR FINNISH LAKELAND | LOVIISA & HAMINA 🇫🇮

My amazing road trip through Finnish Lakeland starts with a drive along Finland’s south coast calling in at Loviisa and Hamina, two interesting towns between Helsinki & the Russian border.
🇫🇮 See more of my travel vlogs from Finland here → http://bit.ly/mwt_finland

Finnish Lakeland (Järvi-Suomi) is the largest lake district in Europe containing over 50,000 lakes and an almost endless landscape of lush forestry. My road trip in Finland’s far east will capture plenty of spectacular driving routes, hiking trails and nature. First though, we’ve got to get there!

I hired a car from Helsinki Airport and set off for Porvoo, it was late so I booked some accommodation (Motelli On Line Porvoo) to get a good night's rest. The next morning I was up early and back on the road driving along Finland’s incredible south coast towards Loviisa and Hamina.

I took a short self guided tour of Loviisa as soon as I arrived, parking close to the Stone Park in the Old Lower Town. From there I wandered through a cemetery and up onto a trail that followed the Eteläharju ridge to a red iron-made, art nouveau styled observation tower (Kukkukivi Näköalatorni). Of course I couldn’t resist climbing up to the top!

I headed into the new town and marvelled at the mighty Loviisa Church (Loviisan Kirkko) which was close to the Town Hall overlooking Loviisa Market Square (Loviisan Tori). On my way out of town I stopped off at Loviisa Fort at Garnison Park, a defensive structure built by the Swedes after their defeat in the Russo-Swedish War 1741-1743.

I continued driving east until I arrived on the circular streets of Hamina Finland - and took a quick look at the Largest Flag of Finland (Suurlippu), the so-called Monumental Flag of Finland. Hamina was built on a radial ring layout which makes walking along the streets kinda cool if not confusing!

Literally in the centre of Hamina is the beautiful yellow Hamina Town Hall (Haminan Raatihuone) which just happens to be across the street from the wonderful St John’s Church (Johanneksen Kirkko). I walked over to Hamina Market (Haminan Tori) where I spotted the Ukrainian national flag proudly flying on top of a circular tower.

My final stop was the historic Hamina Fortress (Haminan Linnoitus) which doubles up as a concert venue and the home of the Hamina Christmas Market during the winter months. According to my sources, the fortification’s casemates double up as the stalls of the market - which is a pretty neat idea if you ask me!

📖 CHAPTERS:
📖 00:00 Introducing my Finnish Road Trip
📖 02:28 Loviisa Kukkukivi Observation Tower
📖 04:06 Loviisa Old Lower Town
📖 04:48 Loviisa Market Square
📖 05:22 Loviisa Church
📖 06:44 Loviisa Land Fortress
📖 10:12 Largest Flag in Finland
📖 10:54 Hamina Wooden Houses
📖 12:06 Hamina New Town Square (Haminan Tori)
📖 12:35 Hamina Flag Tower
📖 12:54 Hamina’s Radial Pattern Streets
📖 14:32 Hamina Fortress

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*Soundtrack*
🎵 Mountain Spring High by Gabriel Lewis
🎵 Morning Mist by Staffan Carlén
🎵 Young by Chris Coral
🎵 Colour Me In by Tommy Ljungberg
🎵
🎵 Music by Epidemic Sound. Get a FREE month here → http://bit.ly/2LB53FZ

Видео HEADING FOR FINNISH LAKELAND | LOVIISA & HAMINA 🇫🇮 канала Matt Whiting's Europe