Imatra (Finland) for a couple of hours
Finland in April for a little while (it just so happened). Instead of good 3-5 Finnish days, I got only one (with departure from St. Petersburg). Not upset - it's better than just being at home). I looked at the shipping companies in advance, chose the same Electronic Finland, verified (not advertising, honestly, just a statement of fact). Booked a trip on the site, they called back, clarified some of the nuances. Departure from Lenin Square, from the Finland Station (an interesting place))
Why Imatra (emphasis on the first letter, by the way)? We went to Helsinki more than once, I also visited Lapa. I decided to visit a quiet place. The bus was full, almost 50 people. We stood at the border for a long time, already 12 noon, and we had not yet reached Imatra. We don’t grumble, we stand, we wait, sir.
Here is Imatra after visiting Disas - a good place, I like it)). About 5 people got off the bus to admire the places, the rest rushed to the shops of Lapeeranta. Judging by the sites, there are no special attractions in Imatra. Nature and privacy. I would call it that. Large stores are also relatively large.
I looked at the sites of the Vuoksa riverbed with almost the Imatrankoski waterfall. If there is no water discharge (for example, in April), then the channel is almost dry, only stones and cobblestones. I confess, I thought that I would hardly see anything curious. River. Stones. Cliffs. But no, even this unawakened beauty shocked me. In the riverbed, indeed, stones. Imagination suggests the power of water. And you are only surprised at the resourcefulness of the Finns, who, from such a standard process as draining water, make a grandiose festival, which attracts people from nearby and distant cities and villages. By the way, restoration work has been going on there for the second year already. there was no water release last year, but this year it is in doubt.
I didn't dwell on the next miracle - the monument to the drowned. Gently glanced around. Not seduced somehow.
I did not reach churches and temples. Stores are standard.
There are few people on the streets. It's kind of unusual. It smiled. Nobody is in a hurry. By the way, I didn't see the police anywhere. No one. Not standing, not passing. But a nightclub in the center of the town.
The town is so small that the castle hotel still remains the central landmark _%D0%98%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0_%D0%A4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%BD% D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%8F">Valtionhotelli. And the coffee is very good there. And the ice cream in the K-supermarket is delicious (1 euro), something else.
In general, it was about 4 hours on Imatra. And the town is small, but the time is not clear. I still managed to sit on the bench, listen to the silence. A good place. But I'm not ready to live in such a place yet.
*I put the photo in a normal format, but I don’t even know how it will turn out.
So. From St. Petersburg you can always go somewhere to the Finns. Maybe for groceries. You can just walk slowly and look and breathe. My response is too calm. I even feel in advance how some comrades shrug their shoulders: Where is the action in this city? ))
