Time to say goodbye!

As it was time to head off from the beach and leave its peace and serenity behind, we wanted to have a soft landing back to the buzzing city life of Sri Lanka. We had read and heard that The Galle Fort, UNESCO World Heritage Site, would be a relaxed spot to visit and filled with nice restaurants, so we took a two-hour bus ride to Galle and stayed there for two nights.

Galle was a port on the island in the 16^th century and was developed to its full capacity in the 18^th century during the Dutch colonial times. Even though the fort is the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers and has strong walls, the 2004 tsunami caused a lot of damage to the houses and people. As there is a desire to retain its historical feel and architecture, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs has launched a project to protect the Fort.

Overall, we had an extremely pleasant stay at the helm of the Fort as the pace of life is relaxed and  the atmosphere is, have to say, quite European. The streets are almost entirely reserved for pedestrians as most of them are too narrow for cars. To our pleasure, the restaurants provided a much-needed shelter from hot days and a nice change for traditional Sri Lankan cuisine. A perfect place for reading a book and enjoying a cup of coffee.

From Galle we continued by train to our last stop in Colombo before our flight back home. We visited the local market area of Pettah, which was an experience of its own. People carrying huge boxes over their heads and pulling strolls full of stuff to the shops that seem to have problems to storage even their current products!

The list of things we have experienced and done during these seven weeks is almost endless and is definitely something to be grateful of. We both are absolutely sure that the memories will last and this has brought new perspective to our everyday life, and also a lot of appreciation towards life in Finland. Perhaps the small challenges we'll face in life will feel even smaller in the future, as there are so many good memories to turn to.

This journey was a huge step to take, even more so because of our upcoming move to Geneva, which is waiting for us in January. And whilst it's not yet clear what the new year will bring with it, we are more than ready for it!