On July 19, 2024, we left for Finland for our walking holiday. After spending a day and night in Helsinki, we started our pilgrimage in Turku. The St. Olav Waterway goes from Turku to Eckerö and runs across the Finnish islands and the Åland Islands. The route is approximately 340 km long, of which the walking distance is approximately 220 km and the other distances are by boat. We had never walked so many days in a row, so we started this challenge a bit tense but full of enthusiasm. We really enjoyed the space and the peace! There were days when we didn’t meet anyone – only ourselves. We walked alternately on asphalt, gravel paths, forest paths and stone fields. Occasionally the walks are tough because of the scrambling over the hills with boulders, but in general the routes and distances are fine. The nature is beautiful. We saw deer almost every day in the forest and on our path. The views from bridges and the country roads are very beautiful. We stayed overnight in B&Bs, guesthouses, a small hotel and a campsite. The accommodations are often located in beautiful places, in the middle of nature! It is very nice that Ruben from Nordic Pilgrim was easily accessible via the app. That gave a safe feeling in the sometimes remote areas. The luggage transport was so well organized. The suitcases are often taken further by taxi. During a crossing with a boat we saw a car ready in the distance to pick up our luggage again. Well organized!

The small churches that we came across in the villages or in the countryside were lovely. Of course we stamped our pilgrim book again. The daily walking provided a certain rhythm and we enjoyed it to the fullest. On the pearl of the archipelago, Kökar, we had a rest day and we rented bicycles to explore this island. The beauty of the Waterway is the alternation of walking and sailing. It was so great to sail between so many islands!.Finally from travel from Eckerö to Sweden. On August 4th we enjoyed the city of Stockholm and on August 5th we returned to the Netherlands.

Thanks to Nordic Pilgrim our holiday went so well. When discussing it, the consultation was already pleasant and it turned out that there were many possibilities to plan the trip as we wanted. The information, the accommodations, the contact with Ruben; it made for a wonderful experience!

Janny and Gerrit were interviewed by the newspaper of Åland during their trip. Read their interview here (in Swedish, where they spell Janny’s name wrong).