The boundary between Finland and Russia is crossed in Värtsilä. The frontier station was opened in 1991. Since then the number of tourists traveling to Karelia by cars and busses has increased considerably. Karelia in one of the oldest volcanic areas in the world. The geological department of the Academy of Sciences in Petroskoi organizes excursions to see the up to 3,3 million years old layers! Sortavala, a 350 years old city is situated at the northern part of Laatokka, the biggest inland sea in Russia. It became a significant center for trade at the turn of the century. The administrational buildings designed by well known Finnish architects where built at that time. The city managed to keep its architectural heritage and historical originality and was chosen to the list of historical cities in Russia in 1990. There is a big international music festival in Sortavala every year. The Karelian landscape consists mainly of forest areas, arable land and thousands of lakes. All those things turn the journey into a imposing nature experience. The traditional style of architecture for the area is well preserved on the shore of Laatokka. Many Karelians have an allotment garden parcel here. They spend their summers fishing and growing potatoes and vegetables. The monastery of Valamo, situated in the islands of Laatokka, was once the center of religious life and administration. It fell into decay but has been restored. The Orthodox Church of Russia supports it and thousands of people visit the monastery annually. You can also find many other well preserved churches, Orthodox chapels and monasteries there. The most famous ones are the Summer Church of Purification of Christ with its 22 domes and the Church of Lasarus Coming to Life situated in Ääninen at the Kizhi island. Kizhi is on the Unesco list for protected areas. There are many national parks in Karelia. The national park of Paanajärvi in the north-east region has a magnificent wilderness center. Close to Kivatsu is Martsialnyje Vodi, the first health spa in Russia. It was founded when Pietari Suuri ruled Russia. Many old dwelling places and 5000-6000 old petroglyphs have been found near Belomorsk in northern Karelia. When leaving the shore of Laatokka to Petroskoi you enter Aunus, founded 1649. The Cultural History Museum there is one of the most precious ones in Karelia. The folk theatre of the city performs both in Finnish and Karelian. Tourists can also hunt and fish. The terminal point for the Blue Highway is Petroskoi on the western side of lake Äänisjärvi. 280 000 people of the 800 000 in Karelia live there. It is the center for arts, culture, science and industry in Karelia. It is also the center for education in the northwest part of Russia. Petroskoi has a university, school of pedagogicy and a conservatory. It is also possible to go from lake Äänisjärvi to Viena sea through a canal built when Stalin ruled. Unlike most of the modern Scandinavian roads that go in a North-South direction the Blue Highway follows an ancient route along the waterway from West and the Atlantic coast to East and the shore of Äänisjärvi.