Hello
It seems that spring has arrived here, although it's still quite early. The weather was so sunny and nice that I didn't want to stay inside. So, I went to Katariinanlaakso (laakso = valley, dale) for a walk in a forest. It's a protected area, just like Ruissalo, but it's located on mainland.
It's said that Katariinanlaakso may be named after Lady Katarina who was the wife of chief justice Simon Lilliegren, they lived in the nearby Ispoinen Mansion on 18th century.
Then again, it's possible that the name is older and comes from Katarina Hansdotter, who was the lover of Johan III, the duke of Finland and later the king of Sweden on the 16th century.
According to a third story, possibly most popular one, Katariinanlaakso is named after the Polish princess and wife of Johan III, Katarzyna Jagiellonka. It's said that she came here with her knights, companions and servants to have picnics on this huge, flat boulder, which is now known as Katariinankivi (Katariina's stone).
(Katarzyna = Katariina in Finnish)
Here's a nice view to the sea and Hirvensalo, which is one of those islands that belong to Turku. There's still some ice left on the water, it seems.
I wanted to go deeper into the forest and chose to follow the path up the hill. It turned out to be longish climb.
Katariinanlaakso is a protected area, so the fallen trees are mostly left as they are - unless they are somehow dangerous or block the paths.
I wonder if there's some animal living under that huge boulder.
I took a short break at the top of the hill. It was nice to sit there for a moment and watch the sea.
After coming out of the forest I decided to go for a short walk to the beach too. The ground there was very wet and muddy, but I didn't need to worry about that because of these duckboards.
I ended up to a place called Ruskeakallio (Brown Rock). It was a wonderful place to sit for a while before heading back to jinxed's.
Greetings,
Qah
