007 Travel Story: Kotka (FINLAND) 2014
September 12, 2014 0 By 007 TravelersAccommodation:
School in Haapasaari, Haapasaari, (Kotka), Finland
Ship: Otava
Voyage: Kotka – Haapasaari – Kotka
Price: Free
Voyage duration on boat: 2 h / direction
Toilets
Our trip from Helsinki to Kotka took 2 hours and went well. When in Kotka, we bought some food from local market SALE, where is an extremely good service and helpful staff. They helped us to get a taxi and we headed to harbour Kuusinen / Sapokka where our boat OTAVA was waiting for us.
We knew that James Bond had a blue motorboat and he traveled to island which was
located about 10 miles from Russian border. We figured out on basis of the coordinates
that the island might be Haapasaari. On his way he saw uninhabited islets with lots of pines on them.
“The sun sank early and the dusk was gathering when he saw the Lublin. Her masts were standing like a far-away lopsided tree on the pale horizon. Bond steered towards her.
The island lay just half a mile beyond, a chunk of rock, crowned with a scalp of pines.
He also saw an old ship Lublin on his way. We asked about this ship from the staff of Otava. They were really friendly and told us that there has been a boat called Lublin, which might have been an inspiration to author John Pearson, when he described the boat.
“Bond was to go to Kotka, a seaport and the last big town before the Russian border. There he would take a motor-launch – Birkin explained, at length, the trouble he had taken getting it – and sail for a tiny island some ten miles from the frontier.”
“There were two wooden huts and a small jetty, but no sign of life. Bond steered towards the jetty, tied up and jumped ashore.”
“He was early and explored the island. It was empty, but, to his surprise, one of the wooden huts was open. He looked in. It had been roughly furnished – chairs, table, blankets on a trestle bed. Bond drew his gun and entered. There was no one there.”
Haapasaari School
The wedding was held here in Haapasaari church.
Saturday 6 September 2014
We explored more Kotka and found the factory chimneys that were mentioned in Bond the book.
“Kotka was reached by lunchtime. It was a small bright modern town clustering round a glass works and a mammoth paper mill. The air smelt resinous. It was a crisp autumn day; Bond felt revived. Birkin had screwed his monocle firmly into his eye and proudly showed James Bond the motor-launch that he had hired for him.”
In addition to the abundant and varied vegetation, the primary elements of the Sapokka Water Garden are water, stone and lighting.
Sea water, fed from the outermost breakwater via 500 meter pipe cascade into the bay from a 20 meters high waterfall.
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Pirita & Mika |
Maretarium is a unique aquarium of Finnish fishes, where our scaly friends live in harmony with the seasons. Maretarium is not only entertaining but also an exciting and useful experience for the whole family. There is plenty to capture your attention and lots of information. Maretarium suits everyone’s taste!
Maritime Centre Vellamo
Maritime Centre Vellamo – not just an ordinary museum but a versatile meeting place. Maritime Centre Vellamo is a new-build house constructed for the Maritime Museum of Finland and the Museum of Kymenlaakso, and it has attracted attention in Finland and internationally, thanks to its award-winning architecture. The wavelike and monumental building rises proudly up to 30 meters high with a length of 300 meters in the old City Port of Kotka, near the city center.
In the book Bond travels later to Cairo. We also have new Bond trips on our minds.
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Haapasaari |
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About The Author
Pirita and Mika travel around the world searching for James Bond filming locations. Since 2010.