Day Four. Kastelholm-Mariahamn

Even after the night's strong winds, I woke this morning to see that the building had indeed remained in the same place. We turned or clocks back one hour so we thought that we either got an extra hour of sleep or an extra hour on the bike. I think it was for sleeping, because we woke around 08:00, ate more bread, cheese, and muesli, took photos and finally got on the bikes around 10:00. We left the hay storage building in as good shape as any animal would appreciate it. It was another windy morning around 5-7 C as our bikes started to roll. We stopped at the well preserved Kastelholms slott (castle) where we could gain no access to the locked fortress. The only sounds we could hear were the birds nesting high above inside the high walls. This is Åland's only castle and is guessed to be around 1388. Numerous Swedish kings including, Gustaf Vasa used it has a summer cottage. The castle has gone through several restoration periods in the 14th and 19th centuries as well as recently 1980 due to fires. 

The empty Sunday morning roads were a pleasant surprise. Just east of Godby, we found ourselves climbing over a wooden fence and up steps to the top of another utsikttorn (viewing tower) called Uffe på Berget. Sitting atop the rocky hill, this one was 2x as high as the 1st one and afforded an excellent 360 degree view of the Färsjundet lake and nature. In the middle was a enclosed room with windows. We both had the idea that this would have been a perfect place to sleep, but the tower started swaying so that left us 2nd guessing that idea. Returning back into the parish of Jomala and into the suburban village of Godby (heavily developed around late-1960's) which means it had little history left other than the sjukhus (hospital) built in 1843. However, Godby was an important area where the western countries stopped the movement of Russian troops during the war in the 19th century. Maybe that is why there remains so little history. 

Onward south. We were dealt with the worst day of winds as we were hit by large gusts of powerful winds and drizzling rain. We made our way through Jomala By where pig herding and land development education was king. The oldest church in Åland from the 11th century called S:t Olof Kyrka stands here with a lions head atop the entrance. We stayed here only moments as there was a church service in session. We also realized we were perhaps running on borrowed time to make the ship back to Stockholm. We pedaled onward on the nicely separated bike lane and came into even more urban development as we headed south. 

It was quite easy to navigate our way back into Mariahamn centrum (center) along Torrgatan. This is a pedestrian street with lots of shops, pubs and tourist focused stores. It was 12:00 and we had an hour of free time before the ship departure, so we headed to a local pub for a big 0.6 L beer. The pub had a true working class feel with walls filled with pictures of working barges and boats. The few people inside seemed to be frequent patrons so we certainly stood out. I am certain both Serge and I felt a bit more relaxed after those drinks. After leaving the pub, we biked down tree lined Storagatan to the Tallink-Silja Terminal. I grabbed a quick photo of the 4 masted viking ship now turned museum, Pommern in the harbor which was owned by Gustaf Erikson, a previous swedish leader. At 13:00, we found ourselves with bike/passenger tickets in hand and waiting inside the WC (toilet) away from the cold wind. Perhaps 20 minutes later we were exiting the elevator on Tallink M/S Galaxy into the hub of the ship activity by well dressed passengers. It certainly felt strange for both of us to be back in the presence of so many people after some days traveling on our own by bike.  

After a 5 hour windswept ship ride, more cheese eating, wine and cappucino drinking, and card playing from Mariahamn to Stockholm, we found ourselves taking our bikes off the ship at 18:30. We ended our journey by biking one last time from the Silja Terminal to Ats and my place in Johanneshov on the southern part of Stockholm. We were both pleasantly surprised at the nice calm weather around 10 C that greeted us on the final ride. After a well prepared meal by Ats and more wine, I found myself in the bed around 22:00. Serge stayed over and I think he was not far behind in sleeping.