naturedestinations – Styling by Una

Alvar Aalto and Säynätsalo archipelago

Town Hall in Säynätsalo, design by Alvar Aalto.

November in Finland can be grey and dark. Finns celebrate Father’s Day at 10th of November and our family decided to celebrate it by a little trip to archipelago close by Jyväskylä, Säynätsalo Islands & fight againts the weather. We were lucky to have a hint of snow around and the rain kept away.

Säynätsalo Town hall is located in the main island. The beautiful building is designed by Alvar Aalto himself in 1949. It’s a great destination to visit and it’s open daily except Tuesday. https://www.tavolobianco.com/fi/etusivu/.

Town Hall Cafe & Bakery, http://www.aabakery.fi , also fallow @aabakery.fi.

We have fallen in love with the little cafe shop on the ground floor of the building, Town Hall Cafe & Bakery. Cafe is cosy and decor is well designed to the buildings elegance. There is always interesting art to see on the walls by local artists. This time the paintings were by Tuula Vuoli-Vallenius. The delicacies the cafe has to offer are delicious and all locally made. Finnish design is present also in table ware. Just lovely, cosy and unique setting to experience!

Changing exchibition by Tuula Vuolio-Vallenius 4.11.2019-18.1.2020.

Classics are part of the interior, perfect fit!

The delicaties are so delicious, great way to celebrate life when you have a chance.

Design is well thought in a every little detail, finnish design is part of the table ware too.

Cafe is dog friendly and for us it’s one more reason to take a ride all the way over to Säynätsalo. While we are out on the islands, it’s a great chance to enjoy the beautiful outdoors as well. Depending on the weather there are many hikes to choose from. One of the easiest and most beautiful ones is the Lehtisaari track which is only 1,2 kilometres long but it’s located in a unique point from the island of Lehtisaari.

The track arount the point of Pikku-Lehtinen.

The point and the view, with beautiful rocks and lake Päijänne.

We were really lucky to see these beautiful pieces of ice art by nature. The weather has been really rainy lately and the lake is far from freezing, so we were really amazed to experience this.

Definately the beauty in the details by nature.

The stillness of nature was really calming experience. The greyness didn’t take the beauty away, instead it opened in a new way for us again. The main thing is to go out in the nature and be open for all the beauty it has to offer no matter of the weather. We found the beauty of grey November. Let’s try to make most of it!

The beautiul stillness by nature, lake Päijänne in November.

The stillness that somehow ends up giving you a lot of energy… wonders of nature.

Ruska holiday in Katinkulta, Vuokatti

Holiday Club Katinkulta and finnish Ruska, autumn colours & sun.

Nature is present anywhere you look, all beautifully maintained, Holiday Club Katinkulta.

Cottage in Katinkulta, cosy & classic design with all you need, https://www.holidayclubresorts.com/fi/kohteet/katinkulta/ .

Katinkulta is located in the middle of nowhere really, in the eastern Finland wilderness. The nature around the destination makes a stunning setting for holiday filled with outdoor activity at the any time of the year. Katinkulta itself offers many activities spa, gym, bowling, tennis just to mention few and the village Vuokatti gives you all the rest. October is not typically common to ski even in Finland but in Vuokatti it is possible all year around in the ski tunnel, https://vuokattisport.fi/hiihtotunneli/ . In October they also have the first track build outside too. We skipped the skiing this time and focused on hikes around the area.

The view from Kota, the fire place, up in Naapurinvaara.

The first hike we did was up to Naapurinvaara. The hike wonders around the old traditional farmland and thru the range of traditional finnish breed Kyyttö cows. If you are lucky you might get a sight of them too. We got to see them on the way back, really cute and calm fellows. The hike follows well maintaind tracks and is suitable for children. The kota, fire hut, is at the top of the hike and offers cosy resting spot to have packed snacks. Hiking routes around the Sotkamo area are easy to find from https://www.sotkamo.fi/vapaa-aika/liikuntatoimi/lahiladut-ja-reitit/ .

Traditional farm land by the hike in Naapurinvaara.

October can suprise us in Finland with great sunny days even though the amount of sunlight is slowly getting shorter and shorter during the days. We were really lucky to enjoy the one of the most beautiful sunny autumn days during our holiday. The colors of ruska are just gorgeous when topped of with the sun. The sunset in perfectly calm October eve was just magic.

The colours of Ruska in Holiday Club Katinkulta.

My favorite hike was Hiidenportti and I definately recommend it for you when you want to enjoy the wilderness in it’s best, https://www.luontoon.fi/hiidenportti/reitit . We did the Hiidenkierros hike and started of from Palolampi, which is located about 50 km from Katinkulta and did the hike about 5 km. We wanted to visit the laavu, the fire place, by the pond of Porttilampi, so we wondered of the round hike to have a break in this unique spot in the middle of silence and serenity of nature. The hike is quite demanding with rocky bits and lots of hiking up and down but the views are definately worth it.

Palolampi, starting point for our hike in Hiidenportti National Park.

The hiking routes are well marked with the colors. The hike Hiidenkierros was marked in purple.

Hiidenkierros, Hiidenportti National Park and the pond with frost.

The views Hiidenkierros, Hiidenportti National Park.

The pond was nearly frozen over, Hiidenportti National Park.

Duckboards to make hike a bit easiers, Porttilampi in Hiidenportti National Park.

Fire place by Porttilampi laavu, in Hiidenportti National Park.

Beauty of stillness & Porttilampi, Hiidenportti National Park, https://www.luontoon.fi/hiidenportti/reitit . @hiidenporttinationalpark

The ruska holiday gave us a great break in the middle of busy autumn. I feel the best treat to yourself is to head to the wild and just be in the nature. It gives you strenght more than you can realize, the fresh air makes wonders. Once again I found myself to prove that. The beauty lies in front of our eyes if we just stop and look. I feel really lucky we got to have this break. Which is your favorite nature spot?

The beauty of nature in a grey October day.

Summer memories from Åland

Rainy Sunday took me back to the last summer and our beautiful mini holiday in Åland, in the beautiful archipelago of Finland. Åland is located in the Baltic Sea, five hours ferry ride away from harbour of Turku. We traveled with Viking Line http://www.vikingline.com. Viking Line offers a good timetable for traveling with the family and car is easy to take with. Åland’s capital city is the picture perfect Mariehamn. Little streets with boutiques and restaurants are just in walking distance from where ever you stay in the city and the sea is just there.

In Åland the easiest way to go around is by car or by bike. For us the car was the only option this time ’cause we had only two nights stay. First evening we visited lovely brewery, Stallhagen, for dinner, http://www.stallhagen.com. They offer tasty food by daily changing menu. Easy going vibes and very chilled back atmosphere. Food was delicious and drinks were recommended to suit to your taste and the menu. They do have a good selection of non alcoholic drinks too. Definately a place to visit and dine while in Åland.

Ålands landscape is very picture perfect and you will bump into stunning views everywhere, that’s why it’s a great idea to travel without too tight time schedule. On the way to Kasteholm Castle there is a unique cafe by the road to have a stop over. Uffe på Bergen is open in summer time from 10 am till 8 pm and has a special observation tower to enjoy the beautiful view. Definately a worth while to have a stop over.

Kasteholm Castle is a nice destination to excperience a little bit of history. The castle has a lot to offer, nice walks around the estate and also an outside heritage museum where you get to learn how people lived back then. Place for lunch is Smakbyn, which is located next to the castle, http://www.smakbyn.ax. Smakbyn is definately one place you must visit when you love the good food. Fresh, tasty local ingridients are served in a unique and modern surroundings and dogs are welcome on the terrace as well. Easy to unwind and just enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

For me the best activity to do in Åland is just to enjoy the beautiful and unique surroundings. Sit on the rocks of the Baltic sea and just dream away, live in a moment. Stunning sceneries are every where and you can easily just be part of the nature. If you are looking a destinations to relax and unwind, this is it.

Åland stole our hearts and we will definately return. Summer in Finland is short and there are so many beautiful places to see, finnish archipelago is something you just must excperience and Åland is definately worth a visit!

A place where the cows enjoy the days too..

Åland, a special and unique hide away ..

In these rainy autumn days what could be better than travel back to summer memories while listening raindrops behind the window. Enjoy the Sunday eve!