Well Russia got a lot closer today. At our mid morning rest stop near the town of Simpele we were within 600 yards/meters of the Russian border. Not surprisingly we had noted during the mornings drive that more signs where in Russian.

We pulled into the town of Savonlinna just after lunch. The place is famous for its annual month of opera performances held in its equally famous castle. Our plan was to stay the night at a local campground (if it was not full) and visit the castle.

We found no suitable place to park in the town center so had resigned ourselves to driving the 7km to the campground and finding transport back when we came upon a small parking lot with a sign that indicated motorhomes can park for 48 hours. What an amazing feature to offer visitors and we gladly accepted.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon walking back into town, visiting the castle, and the associated museum. The town was jumping with people and as the afternoon turned to evening we saw a steady stream of people heading towards the castle for the evenings opera performance.

The castle is worth a mention. Built 1475 during the period of Swedish rule over the area of Finland its purpose was to protect the the eastern border against incursions by Russia. In particular it stands at the gateway between two lakes which is the only navigable way to the north east. Unfortunately the castle was taken by the Russians in 1743. During their occupation of the castle the Russians made a number of building additions.

The parking area we camped in is along highway 14 as it leaves the town in front of a building called the Jäähalli.

An otherwise great day was somewhat spoiled this afternoon when, returning from our walk in the town, we discovered the floor of the camper wet. We had this same problem in Turkey last year and thought it had been fixed back in the US during the first part of the year. But I guess not. So after a it of digging around I am again convinced the hot water storage tank is leaking. Which is what I thought the problem was last year but was subsequently convinced it was a plumbing junction. The up shot of this is going to be no hot water until we can get it fixed. I am not sure when that is going to be.