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 Looking for a summer adventure? Take a bike ride through Finland's fabulous Aland Islands - though remember they speak Swedish. Words and photos by Tim Bird
TIINA ERIKSSON, HOSTESS of the Pellas guesthouse on the Baltic island of Lappo, bounces her toddler Leo on her knee and expresses her contentment at her decidedly uncomplicated island lifestyle. The slowly setting summer sun saturates the rusty red of the wooden guesthouse, and Tiina's guests are making inroads into plates of freshly smoked whitefish and rich dark archipelago bread. “I can understand why the tourist people want to sell activities,” she says. “But I am more interested in selling the chance to do nothing!”
Lappo, barely four kilometres from end to end, is part of the cluster of islands marking the eastern extreme of the Aland Islands, a fabulously scenic archipelago occupying the Baltic space between Finland and Sweden. On the map, Aland (or Ahvenanmaa, “the land of perch”, in Finnish) looks closer to western Finland than eastern Sweden. The islands, some 6,000 of them, even retain the status of an autonomous province within Finland, boasting their own lagting or parliament. Yet Aland's residents, whose culture and identity owe more to Sweden than to Finland, are almost exclusively Swedish-speaking.
 Ask an Alander who he or she supports in the hotly contested annual Ice Hockey World Championships and without hesitation they will opt for Finland. Ask the same question about the Eurovision Song Contest and they'll back Sweden. “It's because of the language,” Tiina confirms.
Tiina's foreign English-speaking guests are intrigued by this quirky cultural anomaly, but “doing nothing” will not be an option for the next few days. Pellas, with its self-catering apartments and idyllic apple orchard setting, is their first stop on a cycling tour that will take them across a string of outer islands to the main island and the Aland capital, Mariehamn (Maarianhamina). Today's ride began in the Finnish mainland village of Kustavi following a bus ride from Turku (bikes are carried in the bus) and has taken in the string of islets known collectively as Brändö, past flower-flecked meadows and across winding causeways with expanses of sparkling, swan-flecked water on either side.
 Aland's terrain is ideal for cycling: the roads are mostly asphalted, there is little traffic, hills are rare, free ferries scurry between the populated islands, exhilarating but manageable 20 to 30km daily stretches are the norm, and the scenery is superb. There's also a chance of some wildlife sightings: secretive elk are common here, along with deer and both common and whooper swans. Magnificent sea eagles with vast twometre wingspans are feasible sightings, too. In fact, the varied birdlife makes Aland prime territory for spotters.
 A planned bike tour, with comfortable and reasonably priced guesthouse or cabin accommodation at the end of each day's ride, also allows spontaneous detours to the small museums, stone-walled churches and scenic spots along the way. Lappo, for instance, houses an engaging archipelago museum. Open in the autumn by arrangement, it covers everything from seal hunting to seine net fishing boats and includes a functioning silversmith's workshop, close to the marina. As many as 2,000 yachts and cruise boats moor here over the summer months, but come in the clear-aired pre-season or early autumn and it's likely you'll have it to yourself.
 Accommodation on the next island on the tour, Kumlinge, is at Remmarina Stugby (remmarina.com), a collection of cabins grouped around a restaurant where hostess Desiree serves up fried perch and potatoes. This is the starting point for a rugged mini-trek over a craggy rocky plateau where cotton grass nods in the breeze, leading down to a reedy shoreline where hefty elk prints head off into the woods. The trail emerges at the picturesque 15th-century church of St Anne, whose stone walls and wooden shingled roof contain some fine murals. As with many Aland attractions, it's best to check ahead to make sure that the church is open when you visit if you want to look inside.
 Kumlinge was a significant stop on the historic postal route (postrotevagen) that linked Stockholm in the west with Tsarist St Petersburg in the east, a route that obliged Alanders to go to sea in stormy weather and drag the mail across treacherous winter ice to ensure delivery. Olof Salmi, the host at the next stop on the tour, runs the water-side Sandösunds Camping on the island of Vardö, and has a store of anecdotes concerning the post road and other local history. His own personal legend recounts his six-hour kayak crossing from Vardö to Stockholm, and he'll take you out in one of the several kayaks available at the site to view the shallow wreck of an 18th-century Russian ship.
 The churchyard on Vardö contains the grave of local writer Anni Blomqvist, known in Finland for her character Maja, a stoical fisherman's wife made into a popular 1970s Finnish TV series. After another plate of perch and a bottle or two of Aland's local Stallhagen beer at the guesthouse-cum-conference centre on Vardö's northern neighbour Simskäla, boatman Mikael Lindholm ferries his cyclist guests out to the farflung island of Väderskär where the series was filmed. The wooden buildings that comprised the film set, including an authentic old smoke sauna, transported from other islands and reconstructed here, are rotting under the force of unrelenting Baltic storms. Mikael dreams of restoring them and bringing more visitors to Väderskär to enjoy its exciting, remote beauty.
 The final hop takes the cyclists on one last short ferry ride to the main island of Sund and a quick pedal to the remains of fortress Bomarsund. A British-French fleet pounded its ramparts in 1854 during the Crimean War, leaving the unusual structure of hexagonal blocks in a circle of jagged teeth. The central enclosure, defended so briefly by Finnish soldiers under Russian rule, is these days occupied by a flock of sheep and the ruins are a playground for groups of clambering school kids.
If you only have time to visit one attraction in Aland, make it the castle at Kastelholm, 10km west of Bomarsund. The castle guards a narrow channel, close to a museum of traditional dark red buildings, as well as a restaurant serving fish soups and the Aland pancake, a rich carbohydrate slab served with cream and plum jam. Kastelholm is a great refuelling spot for cyclists before they tackle the final stretch into Mariehamn.
 The capital itself, though home to barely more than 10,000 of the 28,000 inhabitants, has a big town feel after four days of island hopping. A recuperative session of steam baths and saunas at the Mariebad swimming hall and a meal at a quayside restaurant rounds off the adventure. Then it's down to the harbour for the return ferry to Turku.
GETTING THERE AND BACK
Aland is linked by frequent and daily ferry services (Silja and Viking Lines) from Turku and Stockholm. Silja fares range from €20 for a “deck ticket” through €100 for a basic cabin to €200 for a luxury cabin. Viking Line day crossing fares are between €10 and 24. www.siljaline.fi, www.vikingline.fi
WHERE TO STAY
 * In Lappo: A two-room self-catering apartment at the Pellas guesthouse costs between €60 and €100 a night. www.pellas.ax
* Inquire by email to Mikael and Lena Lindholm's Stormskärs conference centre and guesthouse on Simskäla: stormskar@aland.net
* In Mariehamn: the Park Alandia Hotel is centrally located at Norra Esplanadgatan 3 and has a lively bar and good restaurant; +358 (0)18 14 130, www.visitaland.com/en/parkhotell
BIKE RENTAL
* RO-NO Rent at Mariehamn harbour: +358 (0)18 12 820/1.
For more details of bike tours and other information about Aland, visit www.visitaland.com
Tiina Eriksson wybrała proste, wyspiarskie życie. Zachodzące słońce oświetla prowadzony przez nią pensjonat na wyspie Lappo. „Potrafię zrozumieć, dlaczego nastawieni na turystykę ludzie chcą sprzedawać różne formy aktywności”, mówi. „Ja jednak wolę sprzedawać nicnierobienie!”
Lappo należy do przepięknego archipelagu Wysp Alandzkich. Z mapy wynika, że bliżej stąd do Finlandii niż do Szwecji; wyspy mają status autonomicznej prowincji Finlandii, z własnym Lagting, czyli parlamentem. Jednak kulturowo i tożsamościowo mieszkańcom archipelagu bliżej jest do Szwecji niż Finlandii; ludzie mówią tu niemal wyłącznie po szwedzku.
Jeżeli zapytasz któregokolwiek mieszkańca wyspy, komu kibicuje podczas Mistrzostw Świata w Hokeju, bez wahania odpowie ci, że Finlandii. Zadaj to samo pytanie w związku z Konkursem Eurowizji, a poprze Szwecję. „To ze względu na język,” wyjaśnia Tiina.
Goście pensjonatu Tiiny maja alternatywę dla „nicnierobienia”: wycieczkę rowerową. Na drogach nie ma wielkiego ruchu, między wyspami kursują bezpłatne promy, po drodze można podziwiać wspaniałą przyrodę.
Po każdym dniu wycieczki można zatrzymać się na noc w niedrogim pensjonacie. Następny postój na nocleg na trasie z Lappo warto zrobić na wyspie Kumlinge, która była znaczącym przystankiem na historycznym szlaku pocztowym, łączącym Sztokholm z Petersburgiem. Nierówna droga po skalistym płaskowyżu prowadzi do porośniętego sitowiem wybrzeża. Dalej trasa wiedzie koło XV-wiecznego kościoła św. Anny, z kamiennymi ścianami, pokrytym gontem dachem i z pozostałościami pięknych malowideł.
Następny przystanek można zrobić na wyspie Vardö, gdzie spoczywa wrak XVIIIwiecznego rosyjskiego statku. Stąd kursuje prom na wyspę Väderskär, z której można przedostać się na główną wyspę z ruinami XIXwiecznej fortecy Bomarsund.
Jeżeli nie miałbyś czasu na zaliczenie więcej niż tylko jednej atrakcji Wysp Alandzkich, powinien chyba to być zamek Kastelholm, 10 kilometrów od Bomarsund. To świetne miejsce na doładowanie akumulatorów przed końcowym etapem - odcinkiem do Mariehamn, stolicy Wysp. Po rozsmakowaniu się w atmosferze dużego miasta czas na powrotny prom do Turku.
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