Thursday, April 26, 2012

Hey Finnish Followers...

...help a girl out!

You were all so helpful when you suggested things for us to do over the ski break, I was hoping you could give me suggestions for your favorite "can't-miss-before-you-leave-Finland" sights.

So far, we plan on visiting Turku and the Åland Islands, St. Petersburg, Savonlinna, Porvoo, Tallinn and hopefully Oulu. We also plan on fitting in a few things around Helsinki that we haven't seen yet such as the island beaches and Linnanmäki.

Give me your best "can't miss" sights!

Kittos!

17 comments:

  1. You should really hike in Nuuksio National Park in Espoo. You can spend a whole day in there by hikig, swimming, having breaks...

    http://wikitravel.org/en/Nuuksio_National_Park
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuuksio_National_Park

    Regards,
    Hanna

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    1. Thanks Hanna, I forgot to add that to our list of already planned! We are waiting for some blooms or leaves first!

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  2. A little bit OT but this might interest you.

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  3. If you have a chance, I'd visit Naantali's Muuminworld. If your boys are too old for that, there is an adventure park nearby that looks good, although I've never been. Naantali is very pretty town to walk around.
    In the South I also love the villages of Fiskars and Tammisaari (and Porvoo), so pretty!
    If you do go to Oulu, stop to the coastal beach of Kalajoki (Hiekkasärkät), and go to the island of Hailuoto off of Oulu coast.

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    1. Thanks! I think Muuminworld is close to Turkku, so we will try to fit that in when we are there

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  4. I recommend the same items as Sennie! Children like Muuminworld and the other places are also wonderful items in the summer. (Sorry, I can`t English very well)

    Olivia

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  5. Very close to you around lake Tuusula are the museum homes of several important Finnish artists; Sibelius (ainola http://www.ainola.fi/eng_index.php), Aho and Kokkonen (Ahola & Villa Kokkonen http://www.jarvenpaa.fi/sivu/index.tmpl?sivu_id=1306) Järnefelt, Erkkola, Halonen all had homes along the 'Järvenpää culture trail' http://www.discoveringfinland.com/blog/?p=586 The town itself has couple of well known factory shops

    Hackman-Iittala-Arabia Tehtaanmyymälä, Sibeliuksenväylä 36, puh. 0204 393 562
    Avoinna Mon - Fri 10-19, Sat 10-16 ja kauppasunnuntaisin 12-18

    Aarikka Oy Tehtaanmyymälä, Postikatu 10, puh. (09) 2910 288 , http://www.aarikka.com/
    Avoinna Mon-Fri 9-19, Sat 9-16

    Not maybe the most interesting day for children but I think you adults would get a lot out of it.

    Have you found Seurasaari? http://www.nba.fi/en/museums/seurasaari_openairmuseum, you get there with bus 24

    When in Savonlinna why not take a cruise along lake Saimaa all the way to Vyborg Russia. Visa free, look here http://www.saimaatravel.fi/en/cruises-vyborg

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    1. Thanks skottimama! I can't wait for Seurasaari to open--we will def? Go there! I love the cruise idea too!

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  6. In a little while it is possible to take a boat tour along the coasts of Helsinki. Depending on the route you can get off the boat in many islands, spend some time there and hop on the boat again to be home for the evening. I believe one of the boats takes off quite close to you and goes to Pihlajasaari. Why not visit Helsinki travel info and ask the details there!
    I took my English friends on such a boat tour in Espoo and they loved it. It is best when the weather is summery, of course.

    In summer you can always take your kids for a swim in the outdoor pool in the back of Stadium, "stadika" as we say.

    I had Seurasaari in my mind, too. And it is possible to swim there as well as explore the olds buildings. But beware that behind the wooden walls there are separate nudist beaches for women and men. The women's side is actually very clean & tranquil but maybe not the right place for you Americans...

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    1. Thanks for the heads up about the beaches at Seurasaari!

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  7. After a bit of thinking...if you drive along the coast east past Porvoo you'll come to Langingkoski which has Tsar's fishing lodge http://www.visitkotka.fi/en/sights/langinkoski_museum

    Kotka itself is not particularly pretty to see but it has a great maretarium. If I remember right all Baltic fish can be found there http://www.visitkotka.fi/en/sights/maretarium

    20 minutes further east is historic Hamina with a circular street plan http://www.hurmaavahamina.fi/index.php/en/photos Some of the old military defences are now a covered exhibition area and hosts a tremendous Military Tattoo http://www.haminabastioni.fi/ If you are into drums, pipes and military bands that is. There is an old shop museum in Kasarminkatu, maybe now includes the next door old fashioned bakery too, if not, get your rinkeli (bagle) from there. Some days the private samovar museum in the blue house (next to blue church in the smallest circle) is open too.

    Hamina is 2.5 hours from Helsinki in a car so you could achieve all above in one well planned long day.

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    1. Since we are only here for 7 months, we did not buy a car, so all our traveling is by bus or train (or boat or plane).

      But we are thinking about renting a car for a few of these trips, so maybe Porvoo would be a good day to rent a car!

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  8. Hello!
    I read that you are going to Savonlinna.
    Definitely recommended route through the Punkaharju. I'm not sure if Retretti already then open, but it's definitely worth seeing place.
    Great trips to the wonderful and beautiful country.

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  9. If you can fit it in, visit Hanko "the sunniest place in Finland" this summer. You can get there by train. It's a wonderful seaside town south of Helsinki with 130 km of beaches. I was born there, but sadly don't remember much about living there since I was under 3 years old when we moved. I would recommend Lapland, which is where I spent majority of my childhood and consider myself to be from, but I would go to Lapland in the winter and you are past that point now. It can be cold and depressing in the summer unless you are into hiking and fishing in chilly summer weather. March/April time frame especially around Easter is the best time to go to Lapland to ski and icefish and do all the wonderful winter sports during long light days. Here is a link about Hanko (in English). I plan on taking my family there next time we go to Finland. http://tourism.hanko.fi/2007/?pid=&lang=en

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  10. Thanks Jonna,

    We plan on heading to Hanko Beaches our last weekend in Finland. I just couldn't remember the names of some of the places when I wrote my blog post! I am excited to see more of the Finnish countryside!

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  11. In Mariehamn you should definetly visit Pommern:

    http://www.mariehamn.ax/Pommern/In_english

    During summer you can make short cruises on schooner Linden:
    http://suomensaaristovaraus.fi/?l=en&p=purjehdus_linden

    Outside Mariehamn there is an old fortress and castle
    http://www.muuka.com/finnishpumpkin/fortresses/bomarsund/bomarsund.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kastelholm_Castle

    Turku castle is much bigger than Kastelholm:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turku_Castle
    ... and they have a "medieval market"
    http://en.keskiaikaisetmarkkinat.fi/

    Kids love the Adventure Park in Turku. Best of all, it's completely free of charge and at least son (6y) was at least as enthusiastic about the adventure parki as about the Moomin wold.
    http://seikkailupuisto.turku.fi/english.html

    Åland is best seen by car or bicycle on the Archipelago Ring Road
    http://www.saaristonrengastie.fi/index.php?page=8

    There are smaller ships connecting islands
    http://www.rosita.fi/en/index.htm
    Our favorite is Jurmo:
    http://www.rosita.fi/galleria/jurmo_en/index.htm

    Enjoy it here! :)

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