Yesterday Julius and I went to Langinkoski. "Where on Earth is Langinkoski?", you ask. I didn't know either. Turns out it's just outside Kotka. "And where is Kotka, then?" Now, this one I knew, it's in southeastern Finland. "Okay then, but why on Earth would you want to go to there?" Well, I'll tell you, we went to see the imperial fishing lodge. Emperor Alexander III of Russia (who was also grand duke of Finland) had a small wooden fishing lodge built there. It looks like this:
No wonder that the Tsar chose this place. It's very beautiful and supposedly a very good fishing spot. Just look at the view from the porch:
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| Julius wanted to go in the water to look for the fish. |
We went inside and had a look around. It was really quite small. But then again, even if they'd have made it bigger, it would still be small compared to the royal palaces in Saint Petersburg.
Oh look, the imperial chamber pot! I'm tempted to try it...
We went back outside to enjoy the view some more.
After the break we went exploring in the area. We found a small orthodox chapel. It was locked so I had to take a selfie through the window.
And then we climbed the "imperial fishing rock". A big boulder by the side of the river that Alexander himself nominated as the best place for fishing. See if you can find me and Julius in the picture.
After that we ate our packed lunch on the imperial pier. To get to the lodge the imperial family would sail to Kotka on the imperial yacht Tsarevna and then they would be transported the last few kilometres by steamboat to this pier. From here they would have to walk the last 100 metres by foot. Poor sods.
The locals were so fond of Alexander III that they put up a memorial after his death. Not everyone seems to have agreed, though. The missing part in the middle is clearly the result of someone using the memorial for target practice.
Finally we went home. Here we are waiting for the bus.
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