Finland: A Summer Itinerary in the Land of Lakes, Forests, Islands and Saunas

Tampere

We head to Bergamo/Orio al Serio airport early in the morning for our Ryanair flight. First, we leave the car at the Parkingo in Orio al Serio. The service is very efficient and within a few minutes they take us to the airport with the shuttle. We have already done the mandatory Ryanair online check-in, albeit with some difficulty, so the boarding formalities are very quick and hassle-free. We also respected the 20 kg weight limit for our suitcases shipped at gold's weight (EUR 60.00 for each 20 kg checked bag). We hand over our nice boarding passes printed at home and the flight is extremely punctual and precise. Tampere airport is a disappointment: it's tiny, it looks like a Third World airport while instead we've landed in one of the richest and most advanced countries in Europe.

At least this way we don't waste time on long searches and we quickly find the Scandia Rent desk where we've rented our car. We compared the rates of the major rental companies. Then, also following the advice of a travel itinerary found online, we realized that Scandia Rent indeed had the lowest rates by far, without even requiring advance payments or deposits. They quickly hand us a Renault Modus. Maybe we were expecting a slightly bigger car having booked a car from the "family" category, but it's enough for the 3 of us. Moreover, the car gave us not the slightest problem and performed beautifully throughout the trip. The drop-off and pick-up procedures were very "easy" without pointless wasting of time and without additional costs invented on the spot as happened in the past with many well-known car rental companies.

With our GPS, brought from home, we quickly reach our hotel in Tampere: Sokos Hotel Ilves. During our trip we will stay in as many as 3 Sokos hotels. It's a very famous chain in Finland. They are modern 4-star hotels where absolutely nothing is missing. They all feature rooms with large windows where the view from the room plays an important role. The Sokos Hotel Ilves in Tampere (like all the Sokos hotels we visited, for that matter) also has a convenient public parking lot, at a discounted price, right in front of the hotel entrance, fast elevators, pools and saunas, free internet stations (and without registration) in the lobby, and abundant breakfast buffets. Tampere is not a very beautiful city. However, the hotel is located, perhaps, in the best area, as it overlooks the river.

Obviously our room, with its large windows, offers a splendid view of the river and the body of water it creates. We immediately go out to visit the nearby city center. We visit the main square, the Keskustori, where the most important buildings face. However, it doesn't particularly strike us. Instead, we decide to go, also for personal interests related to my profession, to the famous Copper Library to which our Guida Verde Touring devotes ample space. It's an ultra-modern library with copper roofs, designed by the famous Architects R. and R. Pietilä in 1986. Since it's open at that moment, we decide to go in to see how it works. Let's say that their concept of libraries is very different, alas, from ours; where, obviously, we poor Italians come out the losers.

You'd have to come here (and send my various Councilors/Mayors and such) to understand what a real library should be like and how basic services should be provided. More than a library it looks like a supermarket with modern self-checkout machines (like the ones at Auchan). Here, everyone chooses their own materials independently among the numerous shelves and then registers them themselves at the various automated stations placed near the library exit. Back home it could never work like this! At 4 PM the hotel pool and saunas open (separate for men and women). Obviously we take advantage, especially of the nice warm hot tub next to the pools. We stay in the sauna only a few minutes since here it's mandatory to take a sauna completely naked and it makes me uncomfortable (even though we stubbornly keep our swimsuits on). We have dinner at McDonald's, near the Keskustori.

A romantic stroll along the riverfront to return to the hotel and then off to bed.

Lahti

Exceptional breakfast at our Sokos hotel. There were even mini pancakes which we really appreciated. Breakfast in Finland, however, is almost exclusively savory. We should get used to this but we arrive prepared since this happens in almost all Northern European countries. We leave Tampere and head to Hattula. We make a short stop at the small marina and then look for the church indicated by our guide: Church of the Holy Cross (Vanhakirkko). It's a truly ancient church: a real rarity in Finland. We then continue to Hameenlinna. From the little Finnish we manage to learn, we learn that "linna" means castle or fortress. Therefore, all cities ending in "linna" have a castle, or rather a fortress. In Hameenlinna we first visit the main square (Kauppatori) but we don't like it. We then move toward the lake where we find a decidedly more pleasant environment.

Finally we reach the fortress overlooking the lake which, however, we don't visit inside (there's nothing interesting inside), limiting ourselves to strolling outside. We finally go to Lahti where we'll spend the night. Our hotel, Kauppahotelli Grand, Lahti, isn't really nice. Definitely a bit sad. However it's in a central location, near the main square, and has private parking included in the price. The nice part of Lahti is the area near the port. We're struck by the beautiful park with a pond, near the port. There are even nice fountains and, at certain times, you can watch the musical fountain shows. Strolling through the beautiful park you reach the marina on foot. For dinner we decide to have a pizza at the Italian restaurant "Mamma Maria" located in the Kauppatori (restaurant is "ravintola" in Finnish). Here the pizza isn't bad at all even though the service is a bit slow.

SAVONLINNA

The first stop of the day is Mikkeli. Here we visit the marina on Lake Saimaa (the largest lake in Europe) and then we visit a beautiful wooden church, Maaseurakunnan Kirkoo, one of the largest wooden churches in Finland. The exterior doesn't strike us because it's all covered in scaffolding for renovation but the interior leaves us breathless. It's certainly not a traditional church. It's all white wood with pleasant little balconies where you can easily climb up to admire the church from above. Still in Mikkeli, then, we decide to visit Kenkavero. It's the old Vicarage: a 19th-century complex with typical wooden buildings housing artisan workshops and flower gardens sloping down toward Lake Saimaa. Here we make some purchases in the nice souvenir shop and buy some sweets in the typical pastry shop which we enjoy at a little table overlooking Lake Saimaa.

The next stop is Savonlinna where the scenic medieval fortress awaits us. Max visits the fortress inside while we wait outside watching the opening of the swing bridge for the passage of a ship. The port area is also very pleasant with nice bridges and long piers on the lake that we have fun walking along. But the surprise of the day is our accommodation: Guest House LOMAMOKKILA, a beautiful farm in the countryside, a few km from Savonlinna. We discovered the existence of this lovely Guest House by reading a travel itinerary, just like this one, that praised its virtues. Indeed we're not at all disappointed. Our accommodation is a yellow bungalow surrounded by greenery, pleasantly furnished with Ikea furniture. Following a 1 km path (by car) you reach the nearby lake. Here, the hotel has private little beaches, with barbecues and rowboats available to guests.

We don't need to be told twice and we head to the lake, looking for our boat. We find it and after many struggles to manage to get on board without capsizing, we sail bucolically on the little lake. This will be an image that will remain imprinted in our memories for a long time. We'll remember our Finland like this. We manage to reach land without getting too wet (the lake is swimmable but a bit cold, even though it's quite warm). A side note is necessary to tell you about the weather in Finland. We were probably particularly lucky or, this 2012 one, is the hottest summer of all time even in Finland. In any case, during the day, the temperature in those days of August can even reach 30°. However, after 4 PM, the temperature drops, reaching an evening temperature of about 20°. It never rained, except on the last day, while we were heading to the airport.

LAPPEERANTA

Breakfast is served in the beautiful rooms of the main building of the Guest House. We, particularly lucky, settle in a nice veranda. The breakfast, however, is a bit disappointing; the organic type with strange things. In short: we don't eat much but we appreciate the location. Here, we also meet a nice guy from Ancona who's traveling alone through Finland, in complete solitude and without a car. Hmm... maybe he's figured out everything about how to really travel. Anyway, we say goodbye to him and set off for our day's schedule. The first stop is Imatra, a town only 17 km from the Russian border. Unfortunately, shortly before reaching Imatra, the police stop us, contesting a speeding violation. You should know that in Finland there are very restrictive speed limits, even though the roads are very wide and practically deserted.

In any case, the speed limits change continuously and you always have to pay attention to the variations. Among other things, the roads are dotted with speed-detection cameras; so it's no joke. In short: the 2 police officers load Max into their van to record the data. The policewoman interrogates him while I try to distract the policeman with pointless chatter about Italy and the places to visit in Finland. In short: we manage it and only get a "Notice", that is, a kind of warning without having to pay anything. From that moment on, though, we have to watch the limits since we've already been warned (we were going 75 while the limit was 60 km/h even though we were on a wide road in the open countryside). We reach Imatra where the special feature is the locks which, at 6 PM as the policeman said, open and create scenic waterfalls.

Unfortunately 6 PM is very far off and we can't wait so we settle for seeing the locks, completely closed, and taking a stroll in the pedestrian center where we take the opportunity to have lunch. We then reach the city of Lappeenranta where we'll spend the night. The hotel in Lappeenranta is perhaps the worst of our trip: Summer hotel karelia-park. It's practically a large residence that resembles a hospital. It's also almost completely empty since it's low season. Moreover it's located outside the center and so we have to drive there every time. We first visit the Linnoitus: the hill with the fortress. Here we visit the famous Caffè Majurska indicated by the guide as a typical place. It was formerly the officers' club: now it's elegantly furnished with many nice little rooms and a vast choice of cakes. Obviously we have a snack.

Coming down from the hill, we take a pleasant stroll at the port. We would have also wanted to visit the large wooden Church, but it was inexplicably closed. Dinner at Subway, where you choose for yourself how to stuff your mega sandwiches.

PORVOO

Today we go to Porvoo, one of the oldest towns in Finland. Here we visit the old town (Vahna Porvoo), with pleasant little streets with colorful wooden houses, now all used as typical shops, restaurants and bars. The main attraction of Porvoo, however, is the characteristic red houses along the river. Originally they were the old warehouses. Here photos abound and we have lunch in a particular Pub with little tables on a boat, placed right in front of the beautiful red houses. In a shop I also buy a miniature of the red houses, for my collection of miniature houses. We also visit an old merchant's house, with typical furnishings, located right next to the old town hall, as well as the town hall itself. Our hotel in Porvoo, hotel sparre porvoo, is located in a fairly convenient and central position. Obviously it also has its own private paid parking (otherwise we wouldn't have chosen it).

The hotel is of average quality. The surprise comes from the fact that they give us 2 connecting double rooms, instead of the usual triple room. However we have to ask for help at the reception as many as 3 times because nothing seems to work in the rooms: the lights in the bathrooms don't work, the connecting door won't open, the lock of one of the entrance doors is faulty. In short: it's a bit too much. We could have done without it. The hotel, among other things, isn't even cheap!

HELSINKI

Today we go to the capital. First, though, a pleasant tradition: a stop at the Harley dealership located on the outskirts of Helsinki. Here, we make several purchases (some for us, others on commission) and we meet a nice saleswoman who speaks Italian very well since she's engaged to an Italian. Here the prices of Harley items are much higher compared to Italy or other countries we've visited. The saleswoman explains that in Finland, certain items like motorcycles and cars are subject to the luxury tax. This inflates prices by a good 25% or maybe more. We buy several t-shirts anyway and the saleswoman will even give us a little discount. In Helsinki, everything worth visiting is in the Kauppatori area facing the port. We park at the port (EUR 4.00 per hour) and visit the famous market.

Here we find food and non-food items and we recommend having lunch at the market's little tables with fish, meat or whatever you feel like. We also visit the monumental Senaatintori (Senate Square); the Orthodox cathedral and the Lutheran cathedral (a white and light blue building with a large staircase). In the afternoon, we head to our hotel in Helsinki: Sokos Hotel Presidentti. The name Sokos is a guarantee so here we find everything we need. The hotel is truly enormous: about 500 rooms. It reminded me of the Las Vegas hotels for its size. The indoor pool only opens at 6 PM. But the water is too cold, as in all indoor pools in Finland. We're not used to these temperatures! So we make a quick stop in the sauna and then return to our room. Right in the hotel's square there's a massive shopping center. We decide to have dinner here choosing one of the many fast food restaurants present.

We eat a margherita pizza that isn't bad at all. Max instead chooses the Berlusconi pizza and, as the name itself suggests, I'll leave you to imagine the mess that's on top of it. But he likes it (the pizza, I mean). Our room has beautiful large windows overlooking the lively square below. We have fun admiring the night lights and the animation of the square before going to bed.

HELSINKI

Pantagruelian breakfast at the hotel. Here there really is everything and Max and Clarissa, who love savory breakfast, take great advantage of it. I settle for the few sweets available since I just can't eat sausages for breakfast. We then take a taxi to reach the port (about 10 euros even though the route is quite short but we don't feel like figuring out the tram logistics). Today we'll take the boat to Suomenlinna. Ferries leave from the Kauppatori for the little islands of Suomenlinna. The crossing lasts about 20 minutes. It's a group of little islands connected to each other by bridges where a military fortress is located. Here we find a collection of military buildings housing various museums. We decide to visit the old residence of the island's 1st captain. Max goes as far as the opposite end of the island to take some photos.

A stop at the characteristic Cafè Vanille housed in a pretty wooden house. On our return to Helsinki, we stroll along the Esplanadi, that is, two large parallel avenues with the shops of the most important brands, separated by green areas. It's certainly a very lively and very cheerful area. We then take the taxi again to return to the hotel. This time the taxi driver rips us off and takes a slightly longer route (12 euros). Oh well.

TURKU ARCHIPELAGO

Today we've planned to visit the little islands of the Turku archipelago. Some can be reached by car via bridges; others require ferrying the car on large specially designed vessels. First stop at the marina of Pargas (or Parainen). Here we also visit the beautiful Gothic church. After Parainen we head by ferry to the island of Nagu. The car ferries are completely free since they replace bridges, where none exist. The ferry crossings are quite frequent since the stretch to be crossed is always very short. However, we've noticed that the crossings are more spaced out on weekends. Nevertheless the waits are never too long. Nagu has a bucolic landscape with forests, bridges and little lakes. We stop for lunch at the marina of Nagu and then head to the boarding point for the island of Korpo where we'll spend the night.

We then make our second ferry crossing (it's also possible to get out of the car to admire the landscape even though the crossing lasts a few minutes) and arrive at Korpo. In Korpo we stroll along the piers of a small marina and then our GPS leads us to our Hotel/Bed & breakfast where we've booked: Hotel Nestor. In my opinion this is the best hotel of our trip. The hotel is housed in a typical Finnish red house. They mistakenly assign us a bigger room than the one booked. But when the legitimate occupants arrive it's too late to carry out the transfer and so we stay in the big room at the price of the small one, thanks to the owners' confusion (it's really true: latecomers get bad lodgings). With a 500 m walk through the fields you reach the hotel's pier. Here our rowboat awaits and, once again, we take a pleasant boat trip, this time on the sea.

The hotel's exteriors are also fantastic: sunflowers, sheep, red houses, nice garden furniture. In short: everything invites calm and tranquility. Consulting the documentation available in the hotel, we decide to go for dinner at the little marina in front of the Buffalo restaurant. We have dinner on the benches of the marina and stroll at sunset along the beautiful piers: how lovely!

TURKU

We have a pleasant breakfast at hotel Nestor and then go back to ferrying the car to head to Turku. Turku is the second city of Finland; it was the old capital of Finland. We find it even prettier and much more interesting than Helsinki. There are certainly more places to visit. And then the canal area is very cheerful, lively and vibrant. We first visit Turku castle, located at the edge of the city. We recommend only an exterior visit of the castle because the interesting part is the inner courtyard which can be visited for free. The rest is not very interesting and the ticket price is rather high. Much more interesting and pleasant is the visit to the old pharmacy (Apotekmuseet) connected to the Qwensel house with typical furnishings of an old bourgeois family. We also visit the pleasant museum of rural civilization.

It's an entire district with wooden houses all visitable inside, housing workshops of ancient crafts. It's not a matter of vulgar reconstructions but of an original village of the era, right in the center of Turku. Having time available, Turku has many other museums and buildings to visit. But our time is limited and then we're quite tired. We stroll along the Turku canal where there are many boats used as restaurants. The prices, however, are rather high, so we decide to have dinner at a Heisburger, in the kauppatori, near our hotel. Our hotel is the Sokos Hotel Hamburger Börs & City Börs. We chose this hotel because it consists of a modern part flanked by an older part. In the older part the breakfast restaurant is housed in style.

RETURN

Good and abundant breakfast, typical of Sokos hotels, in the beautiful breakfast room of our hotel. It's the last day; we have our return home in the evening waiting for us. First, though, we still have some important stops. Unfortunately, though, the weather, which was favorable to us throughout our trip (sometimes even too hot) today is no longer so good. Today it's raining and so we have to revise our itinerary a bit. The first stop is the town of Naantali, a beautiful spa and seaside resort. It's early Sunday morning, it's raining and the town of Naantali, which should be very busy, is practically deserted. This, however, doesn't diminish its charm. Seen in another light it would be stunning: beautiful colorful wooden houses; the port area is pleasant with white-painted docks and walkways; nice venues, hotels and restaurants (all closed, though).

Given the rain we decide to visit a castle, so we stay indoors. So we visit the Askaine manor, Louhisaari Manor. The manor is beautiful; there are many furnished rooms to visit. It's a shame though that the visits are guided only and we join a Finnish guide, since there was no match with the English guided tour. We don't understand anything but it doesn't matter; we settle for what we see. At the end of the visit we realize it's time to head to Tampere airport. We arrive at our destination well in advance. We easily return the car to Scandia Rent and we even have time to shop in the only store of the tiny and spartan airport. Return to Italy right on schedule: Ryanair was very precise. In conclusion of this trip, we can say that we've seen lake landscapes that we'll hardly forget. The contact with nature here is very strong.

Finnish cities, on the other hand, apart from Turku, disappointed us a bit but, after all, the purpose of our trip wasn't these but rather the splendid lakes of which Finland holds the absolute record. Dani, Max and Clarissa