Finland: Vaasa
Vaasa was founded as a Swedish crown city of Mussor in the early 17th century and then went on changing names and rulers multiple times. First it became Vasa in the honor of royal Swedish lineage, then under Russia it was renamed as Nikolajstad in the honor of the Russian tsar Nicholas I, then back to Vasa in 1917 and eventually into Vaasa to make it Finish-sounding. It’s a small and pretty town, right on the water with several old buildings, Market Hall, old Watertower, St Nicholas Church, Townhall, and the Court of Appeals, the oldest in Finland. Several great restaurants here, as well as a ferry to Sweden, our next destination .
