First published: 18/10/19.

Tsunami

Verla Groundwood And Board Mill

Verla Groundwood and Board Mill (Inscribed)

Verla Groundwood and Board Mill by Tsunami

I couldn't justify going back to Finland just to visit Verla Groundwood and Board Mill and Sammallahdenmäki to finish the Finnish sites. So, after realizing the Finland's geological similarity to Canada, where I have seen the most massive color change of foliage in Autumn, I decided to go to Finland in late September.  

This trip was originally planned in late September 2018, but I had to postpone it for 1 year. At that time there was bus running between Kouvola and Verla only on Tuesdays. But this time it was running on Tuesdays and also on Thursdays. So I went on a Thursday. 

https://www.matkahuolto.fi/en/

Last year when I planned this trip, I couldn't time myself on a Tuesday, so my plan was to take a bus that ran from Kouvola to Jaala several times a day on weekdays, to get off the bus at Selänpääntien risteys (61°02'25.8"N 26°33'14.7"E), and to walk for several kilo meters to Verla. 

But this year the direct bus to Verla dropped me off right by the WH proper right before the visitor hut opened at 11 am, and I took a tour at 12 pm that lasted a little less than an hour. 

But the only bus back to Kouvola left Verla at 5:30 pm, so I had to spend all afternoon at the WH proper, which wasn't so bad until the area closed at 4 pm.  

Besides the cardboard-producing Mill, the site also offers the original owner's house, a new monument for pine seeds that will apparently sustain life in the surrounding forest, 3 local craft shops, a cafe and a large rock with "rock art" on the lake. 

When I went to see the rock art, I was completely puzzled because I could not locate such rock art. Unlike some other WHSs in Scandinavia with rock engravings, these are just paintings on the rock that have completely faded away by now.  A girl at the visitor hut stated that Astuvansalmi, which is a TWHS in Finland that she had visited, had the largest numbers of rock paintings in Finland where they were still clearly visible. 

The hearty potato soup with salmon the cafe was serving for lunch may well be the best Finnish food I have ever had.  I had to wonder what was wrong with Jacques Chirac who declared back in 2005 that Finnish food was the worst in Europe? A few hours later I read in the news that Chirac passed away on that day. (A few days later I was surprised to find the same soup at a restaurant in Chernihiv, Ukraine, listed in the menu as Finnish Soup.)  I spent the remaining afternoon working online at the cafe. 

The photo shows the 420,000 pine seeds at the monument. As far as the Autumn color goes, the pine seeds signify that many trees in Finland are evergreens.  

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to post a comment