Every year I am eagerly waiting for my beautiful escape to Finland. I often get asked why I always travel to the same destination – it’s because I can’t imagine any better place for my holidays. This year I already went to Finland in June to get the chance to experience Midsummer, a celebration of the summer solstice. I can totally understand why Finns celebrate the endless and beautiful light of this season – together with the bright greens of the forests it’s breathtakingly beautiful and brightens your mood. Not just the city and its light spectacle were gems, but also this year’s accommodation: I found a beautiful, spacious apartment on Airbnb with so many details to discover. Every single room was gifted with a sense of beauty – an interior dream coming true! All in all my holidays were really nice and I am already daydreaming of my next visit which is hopefully soon to come.
Tampere in Autumn
With a notebook filled with adventures to embrace the autumn season I was travelling in late August to Tampere. Of course everything turned out differently than expected: I got sick, not just a few days, the whole stay. I was so looking forward to enjoying these holidays; at least it was still possible to get some beautiful activities done after lowering my ambitious plans.
Here are some tips what to do in the end of summer and/or in the beginning of autumn in Tampere:
Arboretum
The best place to recharge your batteries is in nature. The arboretum is a wonderful source of happiness to me. You know that you are close to the arboretum when you can spot beautiful old buildings and smell scents from roses to herbs. It was great to look at the transition of the flowers: Some roses were still in bloom, others already transformed to rosehips. There is also a rose variety called “Austriana” – a beautiful (of course) red coloured rose that attracted my attention.
The arboretum is a great place to calm down while watching the squirrels playing around, ducks swimming across the lake or elderly couples walking hand in hand. There’s also a lovely café to rest and to be happy with a drink of your choice.
Finlayson Art Area and Moomin Museum
Every year a large event for the visual arts takes place at the Finlayson area. For an art enthusiast like me it’s the place to be: you can find wonderful street paintings, sculptures, video and photo art as well as plenty of other free activities like workshops etc. This year I was really pleased to see that Rut Bryk was one of the participating artists. I always wanted to see her ceramics and I was really happy that it was finally possible. The exhibitions unfortunately last until the end of August. The Finlayson area is nevertheless a wonderful place to stroll around in autumn – it’s in central Tampere, but it’s probably the most beautiful part of the city that’s not currently under construction.
I also highly recommend the Moomin Museum in the Tampere Hall. I took part in the Moomin Museum Guest of Honour Competition earlier this year and my video got under the top 5 entries. I received lovely Moomin gifts and a free entry to the Moomin Museum. Actually it was already my third visit to the Moomin museum and I am still fascinated by the original Moomin illustrations by Tove Jansson: they are so little and so detailed – amazing! It’s definitely a must-see for all art lovers and Moomin fans of all ages.
Onkiniemi Beach
No holidays without visiting a beach – watching the sun set along a shore or a beach is always breathtaking. Also in autumn it’s a magical feeling. There was no one else – just me, the lake and the wonderful golden hour light. I had to share this beautiful scenery with someone and so I decided to make a video call to show my parents how beautiful Tampere actually is. The Onkiniemi beach is close to the Särkännniemi Amusement Park and is easily to reach from the city centre. I also highly recommend the Pyynikki and Rauhaniemi beach.
Nature in the City
The Pyynikki area stole my heart a long time ago. Whenever I am in Tampere I always try to stay close to this area – so I can easily take a walk there. It’s the place where it feels like home and where I can relax the most. Coming along the Pyynikki tower where you already can smell the best doughnuts in town there is a lovely path to Pispala. Pispala is probably the most romantic area in Tampere with its lovely wooden houses and a gorgeous view over the lakes. From Pispala you can go to Tahmela which is another favourite place of mine where you can also find a great beach. And from there you can return to Pyynikki. All along the way you can find beautiful viewpoints to rest and to simply enjoy nature. And if you take a closer look you might find some berries or see some squirrels or hedgehogs.
Before starting to write this blog entry I already caught myself at looking at flights to Tampere again.
I would have loved to walk on duckboards in the National Park, enjoy the view over Tampere from the Moro Sky Bar, take a look at the beautiful graffiti at Hiedanranta, have fun at Särkänniemi and attend some concerts. But there is always a next time...
My Top 3
Top 3 Souvenirs
- Mine Güngör Earrings from the Design On Tampere Market (otherwise they can be found at Forgemetnot or Seele)
- Marimekko Hieta Socks with the classic Unikko pattern from the Marimekko store in the Koskikeskus Shopping Centre (or in the store in Hämeenkatu 19)
- and of course some Moomin souvenirs from the Moomin Museum (I bought the Moomin Valley Poster which you can exclusively buy at the museum)
Top 3 Soundtrack
- Rea Garvey - Beautiful Life
- James Bay - The Best
- Idiomatic - Ready to Depart
Top 3 Spots that are new in town
- The Ratina Shopping Centre (with a Monki Store!)
- The Saunaravintola Kuuma
- the tracks for the Tram lines in Hämeenkatu
Mix and Match Tampere
Whenever I get asked why I like to travel to Tampere I always answer I love to go there because of the great mix of nature and city life. These two elements perfectly complement each other and for someone like me who needs both aspects to be completely happy, it is a great possibility to combine them. Depending on what you would like to do, it is easily to get around and it only takes a ten-minutes-walk to reach the city centre or some great outdoors.
One of my favourite places in the city is the Finlayson art area which is always worth to check out. I must admit I also fell in love with those little design shops like Forget-Me-Not, Taito, Seele, PikkuPutiikit or Uhana Design and I bought some really lovely Finnish handmade products there. This time I also visited the reopened Moomin Museum which can be found in the Tampere Hall. There would be so many interesting museums in Tampere, but unfortunately my stay was too short to visit them all. I can promise you that you will never be bored in Tampere – there are so many possibilities waiting for you to be grabbed.
Dreams of the Future
One day. Me and this beautiful little wooden house. In the north. My beloved home in the future. Dreams.
On the 4th floor
Alma’s apartment has always been a place which inspired me. Also this year her home felt like a great source for refreshment and spirituality. During sunset the apartment turned into a magical stage with shadow shows and light effects. It is sad to know that the apartment is sold now and I can’t come back there anymore. I will miss it, but those great and lovely holiday memories will stay forever.
Spotlight the Forest
When you are in Finland walking through the forests is an absolute must. I personally spent the majority of my time in the Finnish forests or near the lake. I figured out that I can relax the most when I walk somewhere alone just listening to the birds and my feet hitting the ground. Also the sound of the waves makes me feel grateful. I absolutely loved experiencing the calm.
Tampere | Travel Film
Holidays are great to try out something new. I spent ten days in Tampere and wanted to capture Finland’s beauty in a bit more vivid way – so I decided to make a little film. It was my first time using my camera not only for taking pictures, but also for filming. The film is far from perfect, but it was so much fun to do it!
In the video you can see the districts Pyynikki, Pispala and Rauhaniemi as well as the lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. I visited the brandnew Moomin Museum at Tampere Talo, the Amusement Park Särkänniemi and the wonderful Arboretum. One of my favourite places was the Finlayson Art Area with the colourfully painted streets.
In the next couple of weeks I will also post my travel photographs, but until then I hope you will enjoy this video!
Pyynikki
“Take a walk. Let the beauty of nature feed your soul.”
All kind of magical adventures take place in the Pyynikki forest. For me it’s the place where I can rest, explore, breath and enjoy. No day without a walk and happy feelings.
From Pyynikki to Pispala
Whenever I am in Tampere and I am looking forward taking a walk crossing my all-time-favourite districts Pyynikki and Pispala. Pispala is definitely the cutest and probably most romantic village in Tampere to discover and as far as I know it’s already widely considered as the most beautiful district in town. The unique urban design of this area is very inspiring and could be featured in every housing or home decor magazine. I discovered a great circular route where you come along those beautiful restored wooden houses and additional get magnificent views towards the two large lakes. If you are more into industrial charm the city centre of Tampere with its brick buildings is the right place to be. There are also lovely local shops to find - in case you want to add a little shopping tour to your walk.
Close to the horizon
Photographer Catherine Opie once said „The biggest cliché in photography is sunrise and sunset.” For understandable reasons the sky at this day- or night-time is a fantastic photo subject. First of all no sunrise or sunset is identical and offers many differences. In some the sun appears as an orange dot rising or disappearing into the distant horizon, in other it is not visible at all. The colours of the sky can shift from light to dark as in a colourful painting and sometimes it even looks like that there are actually some brushstrokes in the sky.
When I was in Finland a few weeks ago I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the sunset at Lake Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. For me it still has something magical when sky and water meet...
Särkänniemi
No matter when you go to Särkänniemi it’s always fun. The weather can be quite cloudy and your day itself a bit grey, Särkänniemi will change that and will bring you in a cheerful mood. The amusement park provides many popular and funny attractions for visitors of any age. There is also an art museum which is definitely worth a visit. The current exhibition presents ten hyper-realistic and life-like sculptures of the internationally significant artist Ron Mueck as well as a series of photographs depicting the sculptor at work. If you are in Tampere I would highly recommend you to visit the Sara Hildén Art Museum and Särkänniemi.
Näsijärvi
A cloudy summer day at Näsijärvi; a bit moody, but yet light-coloured and interesting to capture.
Tampere facades
On Wednesday I returned home from my holidays in Tampere, Finland. I have already been there many times in the past years. When I picked up my camera for one of my first walks there I knew I wanted to take pictures of a subject I haven’t take pictures of in Tampere. As someone who is in love with architecture I decided to photograph the interesting facades which have awakened my interest. The faces of buildings somehow represent the alteration in the city. So many houses were under construction, some got demolished and yet others were just simply beautiful in their current state. All those buildings are worth seeing and among them there are a few popular ones – just take a close look and I am curious if you spot them.
In the next weeks I will post some other series of my Finland trip.
