There is only one thing to be seen — the uncouth Gothic cathedral

Abo is a deserted village : a few vessels lie idly in the harbor ; one or two small hotels wait idly on the quay. In the broad, silent streets, the houses, built of wood, are only one story high and very far apart, their doorways level with the ground. There is only one thing to be seen — the uncouth Gothic cathedral ; and unless one is in a mood for horrors it may better be avoided, for in the crypt the dead stand dressed in the garb of the living, as they do in the ghastly church of the Capucines at Rome and the cemetery at Palermo.

By the captain's advice we decided on a drive to the park of Runsala, four or five miles away, which would at least take us to fresh fields and pastures new. The national "droschkies" are small, narrow, dingy one-horse vehicles which possess unlimited capacity for jolt and rattle ; are started at full gallop, and continued at as breathless a pace as if pursued by a pack of wolves. Remonstrance was hopeless, for the drivers talked Finnish, and we did not ; and moreover it is the national pace. However, the park was reached without accident ; and though it has no merit of cultivation, it affords pretty views and shaded walks. The restaurant dinner served on the veranda was rather eccentric in quality and condiment ; but on the whole this excursion is more entertaining than to sit idly on the deck while the steamer pauses in the harbor.

Mrs. S. M. Henry Davis: Norway nights and Russian days. 1887