Four Winds Cottage

One of the best spots to visit in Hanko is the Four Winds Cottage, a cafe situated away from the most central touristy spots, sitting on a cliff with amazing views to the Baltic Sea. The cafe has a very interesting history to it, dating back to 1904, and it used to be owned by our most prominent military leader, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim.

Mannerheim lost the first election for Finnish presidency in 1919 and retired to Hanko to lick his wounds. He rented out, and later bought, a gorgeous villa next to this cafe, that was named either Cafe Africa or Sahara back then, I found two kinds of information about it. I guess the name had something to do with the cafe serving alcohol illegally, providing a drink for the thirsty, at a time of prohibition, since it was fairly easy to import alcohol via the sea.

The story goes that Mannerheim didn't like all the ruckus going on in the cafe in the wee hours of the night, so he decided to buy the place and make it to his liking. He was apparently very particular about every little detail, from the cafeteria products to the blue and white table cloths. Mannerheim owned and managed the cafe from 1927-1933, and in 1944, he became our 6th president.

Now that the history lesson is over, you can enjoy the pictures I took around the cafe. I took these right after the sunset at Wednesday night, when the cafe was obviously closed, but we did come back first thing the next morning to enjoy the cafeteria products. The sun rises so that it shines straight onto the terrace and it's the most perfect spot to enjoy morning coffee with a bit of cake. Extra points for the cafe for free second helpings on the coffee and tea!

Shot with the Nikon D750 and Sigma 85mm f/1.4.