Porvoo - Days 171-173

Porvoo is the second oldest town in Finland and about an hour bus ride from Helsinki. 

Most people come here as a daytrip from Helsinki but I wanted to get out of the city for a bit and found a host who was willing to let me crash for a couple of nights here. Turns out you only need about 2 hours to see the old town but it's been nice just to chill for a bit. 

The town has quite a bit of history, and is the location of the 1809 Diet of Porvoo when Tsar Alexander I was recognized as the Grand Prince of Finland. It is one of six medieval towns in Finland and the old town is a maze of colorful wooden houses and cobbled streets. And of course the major municipal buildings have been turned into museums and the smaller wooden homes along the town square are now boutique stores selling vintage clothing, home decor, and gourmet chocolates. Saw a whole bus load of Chinese tourists get off and get uber excited about the Chinese brochures available at the info office :) 

Met up with my host Henriikka to sunbathe and cook dinner - savory crepes for the entree and sweet crepes for dessert :) She's a medical doctor who is about to specialize in anesthesiology and manages to go to work at 8am and come back by 3pm. Not sure how that is possible but I'm just going to leave it at "This is Finland." 

Hanging out in Porvoo for the morning before heading back to Helsinki to catch a 17 hour overnight ferry to Stockholm.