Last Trip to Tampere

Hey everyone! It did snow here, and it's wonderful, however, I'm going to write about my (last) trip to Tampere, because it's overdue.

My stay here in Finland is almost over, so I decided to make a final trip to Tampere before going home. Valkeakoski is a really nice place, but it is still a small town, and some things are missing. When you need one of those things, you go to Tampere.


The bus leaves you off right in the city centre, which is great. I've always found it interesting how you have industrious areas right in the middle of the city here. It's because they used to build mills on the rivers and use that for power in the old days. Now the mills are replaced with factories, the river is still there, and the town is larger around it. What you get is these kind of sites right in the city:


I've finally found a hobby game store, after spending nearly three months in Finland. The trick is, don't search for "hobby shop", cause you'll get places that sell power tools and whatnot. I am always grateful to the Wizards of the Coast site, for having that store locator.

The city is beautiful. Especially now that it's decorated for the holidays. It is then that I noticed, after finishing my shoppings at the hobby game store, the little characters made from the lights hanging between the buildings.


Yes, you guessed it, it's the Moomins. I remembered that there was a Moomin Museum in Tampere, and I soon went to search for it. It was an easy thing, being guided by the signs and all:


And this is the museum:


For those of you who don't know, the Moomins are fictional characters (aren't they just cute?), the creations of Tove Jansson, a Finnish/Swedish writer. I remember growing up on the Moomin cartoons (I also believe I have a comic book somewhere), and it is only now that I've visited the museum and revisited the Moomins in my head, that I realised how much they influenced my upbringing. I'm not going to write about them too much here. Read about them yourself, on Wikipedia. Here is the entrance, and on the right they have a souvenir store (full of Hello Kitty merchandise, though I have no idea why...).


For me it was a wonderful experience. Seeing the original art and all those figures was simply amazing. It almost drove me to tears. No, really... It was a very nostalgic moment. Anyone who loves Moomin as much as I do has to see this. I actually intend to buy the Moomin books, refresh my memory about them. They belong in the category of those books that can be read both as a child and as an adult (like the ones mentioned in an earlier post). How nostalgic...

(does anyone else think the original art is a bit creepy?)

I'll leave you now, for in a few hours I'll be leaving for Turku, and from their to Stockholm. It's the last outing I'll be making during my Finnish stay. Tune in next time, for Snowfall or That's a Cruise...