FoodBanter.com - Going to Finland

TB wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> I am going to Finland for a mix of business and pleasure next week for
> 4-5 days. I will be in Tampere for a couple of days for work followed
> by a few days in the Jyväskylä region trying to hike around the lakes
> there.
>
> Any suggestions about wine or food-places (restaurants, markets) in
> the region would be most welcome. As would be any general suggestions,
> too.

Hi,

Unfortunately I can't help you with good places to eat in those regions.

As far as buying wine and other alcohol (excluding beer, cider etc with
max 4,7 % alc) is concerned, the only place to buy bottles is the state
monopoly shops, the Alko.

Some Alko outlets specialize in wine, there's one such in Tampere, at
Sokos (a department store) at Hämeenkatu street in the centre. No such
outlets at Jyväskylä, afaik.

Alko has a website at www.alko.fi, and they also have an English section
with a price list. I do not, however, know whether it's up to date.

As far as general interest is concerned, I'm not very familiar with
either of these areas. The old Finlayson factory area at Tampere is
rather interesting, and there's a beerhouse there with their own
brewery. It's called Plevna, I think.

In Tampere the Pispala area might also be interesting to visit.

If you're interested in military aviation, there's an aviation museum at
Tikkakoski, about 40 km north from Jyväskylä
(http://www.jiop.fi/ksimuseo/) (the homepage is embarrasingly
amateurish, though).

You'll find some more general information homepages (www.tampere.fi,
www.jyvaskyla.fi) of both of these cities. Both have a section in English.

If the weather is as good next week as it's been since last week, you
won't be cold. The daytime temps have been over 20 deg C. It will be
cold near any larger lake, though, as the lakes around Jyväskylä might
still be frozen. The lakes can't have been open more than a week or two,
anyway, so the water will be cold.

Cheers,

-Topi Kuusinen, Finland