Half a Mile from Russia

Today we were a bit burned out from all the walking we've been doing, so we wanted to do something that isn't quite so active. Yesterday we realized Helsinki is about 100 miles from the Russian border. So...we decided this might be Mike and my only chance to at least "see" Russia.

Mike found a Finnish coast guard station just across a small inlet of the Baltic Sea from Russia and we decided to drive there. We were going to arrive around lunch so we stopped at a Subway (yes, the same kind) and bought a bunch of subs, chips and drinks.

When we pulled up outside of the coast guard station (surrounded by gates and barbed wire) it took about three minutes for a couple of guys to wander out and ask why we were there. They said when they saw our car (with the Dutch license plates) they thought it was a little strange, so they had to come out to investigate. We offered them the food which got them to open the gate and we talked to them for a few minutes. They told us how they see Russians every day, the sea ices over in the winter so they have to patrol it with snow mobiles, they get two months of vacation a year, they like all of the seasons except the rainy fall, etc.

The highway between Finland and Russia is closed, so it was interesting to get to the "end of the road" where they had trucks blocking the highway so no one could pass.

This is us at the coast guard station. Just past the island in the background is Russia - about a half mile away. Probably as close as I'll ever get.

Alex said that deciding to go "see" Russia just because we are in Helsinki is very "on brand" for our family.

On the way there he also asked "Are we Russian to the Finnish line?" There was a lot of groaning with that one.