In 1918, the fortress was the site of the Finnish revolutionary government, and after their defeat, they were executed in the courtyard of the castle.
Inside the castle grounds stands a statue of Lenin that had originally been placed prominantly in a square in the town center.
Perhaps the most interesting thing of the day was our stop in the no-man's land between Russia and Finland. Many of the countries that used to be controlled by the USSR have an area between their border and what used to be a free country, so the one between Russia and Finland didn't surprise me. What was unique was the fact that the bus had to pass through one gate, park along the road and sit there for approximately half an hour before proceding to a second gate at which point we had to get out and walk through immigration.
We each donated one dollar so that we could bribe the customs agents and wouldn't have to take our luggage off the bus and individually carry it through exit customs, so we merely had to get off the bus and walk through allowing the agents to stamp our passports.
Once across the border in Finland we made a rest stop. It was at that point that we were able to get rid of all the Russian money we had because it was not accepted anywhere along our route.
Click a picture to see a larger view.
Arriving in Vyborg
Monument near the Castle
Entrance to the Vyborg Castle
The Vyborg Castle
Window of the Fortress
Old Fashioned Wooden Patch on the Antique Table
Interesting Chairs
Where We Had Lunch Inside the Castle
Carlos with a Very Unusual Stork
Lenin Relegated to a Quiet Corner to Right of Building
Statue of Lenin
These Are Actually Two Different Photos of Us with Lenin -- Check Out Carlos' Hand
The Parking Lot at the Russian Border
The Russian Border from Russia
The Russian Border from Just Inside Where We Parked and Waited
Looking Toward Finland
A Real Sign at the Entrance to Russia -- Wonder What McDonald's Pays for It
The Land Between the Two Russian Border Stations
Rest Stop in Finland
