Name 3 things you would recommend for a visitor coming to your home town Savonlinna? That question was asked by Eva Kiviranta, the coordinator of PR Network and Social Media, when I met her in VisitFinland.
She told me about their campaign on VisitFinland´s Facebook pages. Every week they publish 3 reasons to visit a town in Finland. She asked me if I could give 3 reasons to visit Savonlinna.
Of course! I´d be happy to do that! was my spontaneous answer.
I will find three reasons, experience them by myself, and write a post about it. And I’ll do it with my husband on a sunny summer day and have some quality time at the same time without the children. That was my plan! I thought.
We had that sunny summer day a couple of weeks ago. So here’s SaimaaLife’s 3 reasons to visit Savonlinna:
Olavinlinna castle. The pearl of my home town. The beautiful medieval castle surrounded with amazing Saimaa lake nature.
There are many ways to experience the beauty of Olavinlinna castle. I’ve already experienced the castle many times by boat. It’s familiar from inside too because I’ve visited Savonlinna Opera Festival. So this time we decided to focus on getting some fresh air and enjoying the beautiful surroundings of the castle by walking.
There are many subgroups among the Finnish people. I’m half Savonian and Savonlinna belongs to South-Savo. Savonian people are known for their peaceful rhythm and laid-back attitude towards life. We are never busy. Or at least we seem so. Some say that we are lazy, but we say that we’re lazy in a healthy way. The ability to take it easy and not to hurry all the time – how valuable skill nowadays, when so many things urge you to be busy all the time!
Peaceful people make the atmosphere and surroundings peaceful. So there’s another reason to visit Savonlinna. The peaceful rhythm of Savonian life.
When we arrived at Punkaharju me and my husband were already hungry. I had arranged us to be the first customers of summer in cafè Inkerintalo in Kruunupuisto. (A surprise that I arranged to my husband in May when I visited Kruunupuisto to negotiate about Sauna Yoga cooperation.)
A peaceful (and delicious) moment without any hurry made miracles for us. Again. It doesn’t matter where you experience it or what you do. The most important thing is that you slow down for a while and let yourself enjoy the moment with all your senses!
If you’ve been reading my blog before, I guess it´s not a big surprise for you that I think Saimaa lake nature to be one of the biggest reasons to visit my home region. Our family spends most of our free time outdoors in Saimaa lake nature. We live on our boat home during the summertime and next autumn we’ll move even closer to nature because we have rented the cottage by the lake Puruvesi.
We just think that nature is the best place for a human being to be in. The beauty, silence, activities and all the delicious wild food. There’s so many things that help you to be well!
If you don’t believe me, believe Lonely Planet. It ranked the Finnish Lakeland as one of the best-kept travel secrets of the Europe in its recent publication Secret Europe.
The publication unveils 50 off-the-beaten-track destinations across Europe. Among the many protected areas, Linnansaari and Kolovesi national parks are mentioned in Lonely Planet’s publication. They are also located to South-Savo region as well as Punkaharju Nature Reserve. All of which are very familiar to me and all which I warmly recommend you to visit if you ever visit Savonlinna region.
After having our stomachs full it was time for me and my husband to experience the Finnish national landscape near Kruunupuisto. Punkaharju ridge area is full of beautiful paths to walk (or ski during the wintertime). They are easily achievable and well taken care of. Both small children and their grandparents can have a walk and enjoy these amazing lake views.
My home town Savonlinna is full of different possibilities for relaxation, activities, nature, and culture. This time our Savonlinna day was all about peace and relaxation. Next time it may be another kind of a day.
You find more Savonlinna travel tips and information about my home region from Visit Savonlinna.
Click these photos to see some more pics about our Savonlinna day!
