nature
The Finnish countryside is expansive, packed with forests, and incredibly flat. While we were away, we took the opportunity to experience it in the remaining weeks of the Finnish summer. Here is some of our highlight moments:
Visit to Naantali
Naantali is a small town roughly 25 minutes by bus from Turku. It is known for being one of the most important tourism centres within the country. Although it is primarily advertised as summer break destination, it was just as beautiful in an autumnal setting with so many trees, waterfronts and colours to see. After arriving at our bus stop we just picked a direction and started walking, surrounded by greenery and Scandinavian style wooden houses. We arrived at a small harbour with a huge amount of personal boats for sale, sadly all out of price range, and lots of established cafes and restaurants. Further exploring led us to the entrance of Moomin World, located on a small island across a short foot bridge. Unfortunately all the Moomin had got into hibernation, but this didn’t take away from the magical atmosphere. We also ascended a relatively short hill, but due to the flat landscape of Finland, the view was incredible… definitely a highlight of the trip.
Turku is surrounded my multiple smaller, rural villages which can be great places to take a weekend break from studying. There are many cosy Airbnb’s located in these villages, all fitted with saunas of course. Exploring these places is a great way to see Finland’s people and its nature. After visiting these places, it’s easy to see why the Finns care so much about sustainability and the environment.
Near the end of summer, the group decided to go on a hike around Sauvojarvi, a lake just outside of Turku. The hike took the whole morning and afternoon and was around 26km long. To begin with, the route was a mix of off-road marsh hopping and forest exploration (definitely planned) but eventually the team came across a verified route. Once we arrived at the lake, we were greeted with cinematic views of the lake and surrounding forest. When we finally got back from the long hike, a sauna session was absolutely necessary.