A Glimpse Of Finland by rail

Another must in Helsinki is Suomenlinna, a fortress spread out over 6 islands in front of the coast. Take a ferry and just start walking around and visit one of the interesting museums. Or, if you want to fully immerse yourself in all things Suomenlinna, take a guided tour!

Feel like discovering your first lake? Lake Suolijärvi is right next to a suburb of Tampere; it’s a great spot to escape the city. Many locals use it to do their exercise! Walking around the lake takes only a couple of hours but requires some sturdy shoes and general fitness. It's a forest path, so expect some rocks and branches that might bring you off balance. Besides that, make sure to bring your camera... the scenery is amazing!

Neulamäki Nature Reserve

Neulamäki is only a 20-minute bus ride away from the city centre of Kuopio. The place doesn’t necessarily scream ‘beautiful nature’ when you arrive. But no worries! Taking that first step onto one of the forest trails shuts out all aspects of ‘daily life’… it’s like you’re all alone with the trees and the animals and insects that call the forest their home.

There are more than 180.000 lakes in Finland, the biggest being over 1370 km2 in size. So saying that there’s a lot of water in Finland would be an understatement. Travelling here by train is an amazing way to get from A to B, and you’ll also see some of the natural sights. But I can guarantee you that it gets even better and more beautiful when you leave the train.

Rent a lake cottage

One of the best ways to immerse yourself in to Finnish nature is to do what the locals do: rent a lake cottage! Okay, a lot of Fins own one, but in our case, we rented one for 3 full days. I dare to say that spending some time in this cute little cottage, including a traditional Finnish sauna, was the best part of this trip. 

Linnansaari National Park

Linnansaari national park was an hour away from our cottage. The park consists of multiple islands and it lies in the Haikivesi lake, which is part of lake Saimaa. The main island is called Linnansaari, and it's only reachable by boat. There are beautiful hiking trails on the island, with an amazing viewing point when you're at the half way point of the circular hiking trail.

Even in summer, you can't call this island crowded (we were in the boat with about 10 people in total) so it's a complete oasis of silence and beautiful nature... If you want, you can spend a couple of days on Linnansaari; there’s a campground with a dry toilet (no plumbing) and a nice big barbeque to cook your food.  

Berry picking

There’s a big chance you’ll be walking around in one of Finland’s beautiful forests and see people standing in the bushes picking berries or wild mushrooms. During my Interrail trip, this happened a couple of times, so I’ve had my fair share of wild raspberries. And they were delicious! If you're lucky, you might also find blue bilberries, red lingonberries and golden berries, depending on where you are in the country.

Ready to follow in Shannen's footsteps? 

Grab your Interrail Pass, hiking boots and camera, and enjoy travelling by train in Finland. 

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