Railway carriage, Turku, Finland

Visited 16.8.2012 by skkye & jonahi. This railway carriage wasn't literally abandoned, but it stood on the rails alone and looking forgotten. We had to try if we could get in - and the door was open. It was a boiling hot late-summer's day and temperature was equal inside the train car. The silence felt very strange when walking around and sitting in the familiar train carriage, similar to other carriages that have taken us to many destinations. Trains aren't the noisiest places in the world anyway, but usually there are many voices like people's talking, conductors steps on the aisle, someone rustling while eating or reading a newspaper, the clatter of the rails... It's never silent and empty like it was in that lonely carriage.

/ Edit : skkye added more pictures 3.12.

A video from abandoned mental hospital, Varsinais-Suomi, Finland

Here's a video for you! It's not the best quality, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway! I don't really know why we are whispering, maybe that sneaking in made us a little bit scared of getting busted. The video is from here.

Great manor house (Part 7), Pöytyä, Finland

This is the last post from this manor, which is the most beautiful abandoned house that I have visited so far. I'm so glad that we found this place. It has been an important manor in the cultural history of the area, like any big country house has been in this sparsely populated land. Being so old and historical, it made me think about my roots as a Finnish person, and somehow it also aroused a nationalistic pride in me (in a good way, like when being abroad), which I feel very seldom. But that was very touching indeed.

Great manor house (Part 6), Pöytyä, Finland

My last photos from the manor house. Upstairs was maybe my favourite part of the house. When we were downstairs there was signs of well-being and wealth everywhere and it was exciting because we have mostly been in more modest houses. But I think upstairs was more atmospheric and moving with its personal letters and invites to funerals, old educational and religious books, sewings and locked rooms which got my imagination to fly.

When we climbed up to the storehouse we faced a haunting scene: dozens of shining white cow skulls and bones. It was quite eerie especially because we didn't first identify which animal they were from. There was also cute red barrel sauna next to the house. It was locked so we weren't able to go in but for me it made the whole yard look much more sympathetic and less lonesome. I believe that this little barrel sauna has often helped to forget the sorrows and troubles of the day and offered comforting warmth in difficult times. Everybody should have a place like that and it made me a good feeling that people of that beautiful house had their own.