saaronniemi and the sea

 This has been one of my favourite places this summer. And even more so now that it's autumn and the beach is more deserted. I am a bit sad because all the summer cafés have or are about to close down until next year (where can I get my weekly chips after swimming now?), but otherwise the beach and the sea are still where I try to go about once a week.

It's stormier, it's more likely to rain, but the water and the air are still warm. The seaside really just makes me happy. On this particular day it was rainy and windy, and warm and sunny all in the space of the couple of hours I was in Saaronniemi. I hid from the rain occasionally - to keep my camera safe and dry - but mostly enjoyed my time regardless. The whole atmosphere is completely different to that of the early summer and the first heatwave when the beach was packed, everything was more hectic and loud and I burnt myself. Now it's so much more calm, even though the sea is not. There's more room to explore, to pick your own spot, to swim, to have a picnic, to be. And I'm much more likely to chat with the other few people on the beach; about how the water's definitely still +20°C, how many times we've been to Saaronniemi this summer (although this has been my first summer going there), the weather. (And obviously what kind of photos I'm taking when people see me walking into the water with my tripod..) It's like we're in our own club of knowing that these are the best times to go to the beach, not when it's scorching and you're melting. Although, you'll find me at the beach when it's scorching and I'm melting, too.

I'd be happy with only the sea, but my favourite thing about Saaronniemi is that it's so much more. You can just go to the sandy part of the beach and that'll be a good time. But there's also the rocks further onto the peninsula, little woods and paths going everywhere, as well as a couple of villas. There's the pier, a sauna (that I might check out in the winter if I actually decide to go winter swimming), little campfire places. It has everything. And once you venture further away from the beach, it really does feel like being in the archipelago already, even though Ruissalo is only the first island off the mainland.

Even though I technically live right next to the sea, it takes me two buses (or a bus and a water bus in the summer - another fun thing I've enjoyed in the summer!) to get to the beach. Any of them, but Saaronniemi is my favourite in Turku. At first I thought that's too much of an inconvenience, especially as I grew up with the opportunity of going swimming or near water every day without leaving our backyard. But I am so glad I have been going to the seaside semi-regularly. It's not the same as every day, but it's certainly something I always look forward to and something that improves my mood. I've not been this week yet and definitely have the itch to go again.

 Skirt - Bershka // Top - Zara // Sunglasses - Urban Outfitters