Iron Curtain Trail

 Ilomantsi to Uukeniemi via Mohka

A quick change day today ....one minute riding in boiling sun next raindrops the size of tadpoles rattling tank and visor!

Great breakfast though with Leena and her husband ... never did get his name. He chattered away constantly to me in Finnish and we had no idea of what each other  was talking about except when I indicated I wanted to park my bike on level concrete so I could check the oil he brought me an oil change pan so something must have clicked.

The farm had been in Leena's family since the 1750s and the stories she told me about the many - and in her mind recent  border conflicts were harrowing.

On Leenas recommendation went on slight detour to Mohka.... glad I did for the ride - saw this memorial and nachine gun emplacement and the barge  - but the destination disappointing...

The day was then spent riding alongside the border, marked by yellow posts and signs -  in some places there was farmland withing the exclusion zone but you were warned not to go onto it without a permit which presumably locals have.8

The verges with the wild lupins - have I mentioned them  - were beautiful.

Just past one border crossing still in operation ... but didn't go!

Faith was apparent in the region... many churches had been built  and rebuilt after the conflicts as some were destroyed and or their parishioners and congregations forced to flee as land was taken by or ceded to the Russians.  

The most isolated cabin I have so far.... miles from water  - other than the lake, which I did swim in - but at least I had my own toilet!

And finally ..... imagine being the idiot in this village .... twice blessed....

The Iron Curtain Trail

 Lieksa to Ilomantsi.

53 miles of unpaved roads today....18 admittedly through choice to get to Lake Virmajarvi and the Easternmost point of Finland but 31 down to sadistic cartographers telling downright lies!

Worth it though ... an amazing day.

Because  of the terrain the Red Army's routes into Finland in the Winter of 1939 were along existing roads... Raate Road visited on Friday ...today I rode the 12 Miles from Hattuvaara to the border. That road was again dotted with memorials and battle sites.

At the end though, on the shores of Lake Virmajarvi it was so peaceful.... as I've said above it's the Eastermost point of Finland, the EU, NATO  area and apparently by some definitions continental Europe!  The Russian/Finnish border is on the island in the middle of the lake,  marked by the posts.

In Huttuvaara itself there is a "Tsasouna" Orthadox Chapel built in 1790 which remarkably survived the wars!

There's also the Fighting House, origionally built as a veterans club ... similar to our British Legion Clubs I guess ... which is now a Museum and cafe.   Laten who runs the place was really helpful, telling me about sites to visits and roads to take and to avoid.

Apparently there are bears and moose in the local woods but I saw nowt. One bit of advice he gave though which apparently is included in their driving lessons is that whilst if a reindeer runs into your path make a judgement about which way to go to avoid it as they can jink either way ... but if a moose does the same then always drive behind it as they can't or won't back up! Not a lot of people know that. 

Lots more memorials ....

The Iron Curtain Trail

 Lentira to Lieska 

Was invited to Midsummer celebrations by host last night.... a bit of a let down. It seemed to involve setting fire to an old boat ... and hoping that doesn't set fire to a new boat!

Throwing it down for most of day today ... but as they say there are good days for motorcycling ... and there are very good days for motorcycling.... 

It was a national holiday here so most things closed... can't understand logic of that but there you go.

During one downpour I was pleased to find  a Kioski run by 8 year old Ole and his mum...  couldn't work out if Ole was cutting edge fashionista  or colour blind!

Spent some time in a local outdoor museum in Lieska ... interesting but once you've seen one log House....

The windmill was interesting.... seemed totally over engineered...

Was fascinated though to see the community grain store... farmers put grain in in the good years and could get grain back out in the poorer years... it had double skinned walls to stop oiks being able to drill through and help themselves  ... even in the good old days eh!

A lovely old Border Guard Hut.... apparently  the had them every 30 km along the border before electronic surveillance etc.

The Iron Curtain Trail

 Hossa to Lantiira via Raate Road.

One of my planned highlights today. A visit to The Winter War Museum and Raate Road.

I admit I don't know what to write though... the facts of the Raate Road battle are harrowing enough but when considered alongside what's going on in Ukraine today highlight the senselesness if war.

The main "Open Embrace" monument has 105 brass bells to represent the number of days the Winter War lasted and it is surrounded by 17,000 large rocks to try and give a visual impact of the lives lost in the battle along this road. Some 900 Finnish soldiers died and while Russia never gives realistic casualty figures, even today, it is estimated that 24,000 Red Army soldiers perished. This estimate is based on the fact that all men of the Red Army 44th Division were either killed or captured and a Division was apparently 17,500.

The startling fact?  The men of the 44th Division were Ukranians.

I'll just show pictures of some of the memorials and of the old border crossing where Raate Road starts....