Mikkeli - Day 10

I haven't spoken much about Mikkeli itself which is a really lovely city. It has a population of 49, 000 apparently but is very laid back and relaxed. There is plenty of space. This is its cathedral. There is a photo from the inside in the extras. As I went there in the morning, there seemed to be some sort of pensioners fitness club meeting outside as several very fit looking elderly people were arriving on bikes or marching up with walking poles.

Mikkeli was a military headquarters in 1918 and again in the Winter and Continuation wars (during WW2). As a consequence, it was badly bombed then. I went to the Headquarters Museum (Päämajamuseo) which had been restored to its WW2 condition and Mannerheims office can be seen as it would have looked back then. Not all of the information was available in English but the museum guide book which cost a mere 3 euros had all of the photographs and all of the captions and information in English. Superb!

I had bought a combined ticket for the Communication Centre nearby, known as Lokki (seagull). It was built underground by hollowing out a hill in the centre of Mikkeli. I expected it to be a bit grim but it has been beautifully restored in wood and it really did look like that back then as a film of it being used at the time showed. It was really quite cosy. Several different types of cipher machines and the like were on display. One of the rooms is shown in the extras.

My husband had said he would keep his phone off in the afternoon until he had finished with testing so that if I rang and it was off, I knew he wouldn't be available to visit. I went to the market for a look round, had a hot chocolate and watched the sparrows and tried ringing every half hour or so. When he replied, I headed over. Good news, not only was everything okay but he would be able to be released in a few hours so long as he could walk about okay and wasn't bleeding from the various places they had put holes in!

In the meantime I had a bite to eat and saw the cathedral on the inside. I had wanted to take some photographs of the town square which is really lovely and has a statue and a fountain with swan sculptures but as luck would have it, some showies were being set up there (I can't think of the name,  a fair?) and there were lorries being driven about.

I went back to collect my husband who was covered with holes, bandages and pretty much slept for most of the evening. Poor thing! He has to drink lots of water and can fly home tomorrow as scheduled but I have to carry all the bags!