The Medieval City of Turku, Finland

My superboyfriend accompanied me to Turku, which always makes traveling so much more fun and entertaining. (Insert image of Charlie doing the robot dance in the center square on the Occupy Movement stage...ha, ha...that did not really happen, but it is funny to imagine.) We attended the seminar for two days, hung out with fellow Fulbrighters, and stayed an extra day to check out the oldest city in Finland.  Founded in the late 13th century, Turku served as the capital until 1812 when Helsinki became the new capital under the Russian Empire. Turku is home to an amazing castle, gorgeous river-walk,  delicious Brazilian restaurant (where we ate Saturday night), and a funky-cool cafe that serves a vegan Sunday brunch (we tried it out and yum!) For all of my higher education readers, the first university in Finland was established in Turku in 1640, when the Academy of Åbo (Academia Aboensis) opened its doors to elite intellects and students. On this trip, I fell in love with the old world charm of Turku, a charm that you cannot find in most Finnish cities.