Day 4. Birdwatching the Oulu region
Today we will head to the forests to look for Eurasian three-toed and black woodpeckers. Other possible forest species include a black grouse. With a bit of luck we might even come across a capercaillie. We will stay in the forest and try and find the magnificent Great Grey Owl. No-one will be left cold in the presence of this large breath-taking bird. Today we will also go for the notorious Ural Owl. This elusive Owl is the most difficult of them all to see – they have better eyes than we do!

Day 5. Oulu – Kuusamo
Along the way to Kuusamo we will stop to look at some of the extensive forest bogs and lakes and visit Jalava’s shop in Taivalkoski. Jalava’s shop was founded in 1883 and is a museum filled with rows and rows of old and new items.

In Kuusamo we will visit a nature photo exhibition “Hannun Jäljet”, where you can experience Kuusamo’s nature as never before in Finland’s first nature photography centre. In the Taiga forest we can expect to encounter a real feast for the eyes, while Goldeneye, Wood Sandpiper and Brambling are common, the real draw here is the undisputed list of eastern and northern species: Red-flanked Bluetail, Little and Rustic Bunting, Arctic Warbler, Siberian Tit, and Siberian Jay – to name but a few.

Day 6. Kuusamo

We will make an early morning excursion to see the Red-flanked Bluetail. The climb up to Valtavaara Hill to find the Red-flanked Bluetail is steep and the birds are never guaranteed to be singing, although the view is fantastic. The Oulanka National Park will take the visitors back in time, thousands of years, to the time when waters from the melting ice sheet shaped the ravines, canyons and riverbeds. Only about a kilometre’s walk away from the Oulanka Visitor Centre you will be stunned by the magnificent Kiutaköngäs rapids.

Day 7. Kuusamo – Oulu

It is time to say goodbye to Finland.

Language: English
Liminganlahti: The bay of Liminganlahti is about 30km south of Oulu.

Day 7
Tromso-Skibotn-Kilpisjärvi approx. 160 km
Eskelisen Lapin Linjat bus departs at 7.30 am from Tromso Prostneset and arrives at 11.10 am in Kilpisjärvi.
Overnight stay and breakfast at Kilpisjärven Lomakeskus
www.kilpisjarvi.net / www.kilpisjarvi.org

Day 8
Kirpisjärvi-Muonio-Levi-Kittilä
Eskelisen Lapin Linjat bus departs at 11.10 am from the bus stop and arrives at 3.25 pm in Kittilä.
Overnight stay and breakfast at Hotel Kittilä
www.harriniva.fi

Day 9
Kittilä-Rovaniemi-Pudasjärvi-Oulu approx. 370 km
Eskelisen Lapin Linjat bus departs at 3.35 pm from bus stop and arrives at 9.20 pm in Oulu
Overnight stay and breakfast at the Best Western Hotel Apollo.
www.oulu.com

Public Service:
Eskelisen Lapin Linjat

Routes:
Oulu-Rovaniemi-Inari-NorthCape-Honningsvag
1.6. – 20.8 every day
Tromso-Kilpisjärvi-Kittilä-Rovaniemi-Pudasjärvi-Oulu
2.6 – 18.9 every day

Please note…

For the Norwegian bus you can get the best bus ticket rates at the Honningsväg’s bus station.

Ticket from Honningsväg to Alta and the next day onward travel to Tromsö

Net prices Summer 2012: on request

Photos: among others Johan Wildhagen/www.visitnorway.com

]]> http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/from-bothnia-bay-via-lapland-to-the-arctic-ocean/feed/ 0 http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/brown-bears-in-the-vuokatti-wilderness/ http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/brown-bears-in-the-vuokatti-wilderness/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 09:22:18 +0000 Niclas http://www.nordicmarketing.de/?p=9258

Spend a night with brown bears in the wilderness, a good sixty minute drive from Vuokatti.

Here you have the opportunity to observe bears and other wild animals in their natural habitat. In the vicinity of the Russian border you can stay in comfortable hides taking photos and listening to the unique sounds of nature during a Finnish summer night.

Participants:  2 + people
Duration: 18 hours

]]> http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/brown-bears-in-the-vuokatti-wilderness/feed/ 0 http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-fashion-library/ http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-fashion-library/#comments Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:29:39 +0000 Kristin http://www.nordicmarketing.de/?p=8169

Are you looking for the latest fashion? Looking for designer clothing at a reasonable price? How about hiring clothes, shoes or glamorous accessories? Vaatelainaamo (clothing hire) offers fashion which is ecological, ethical and with a sense of community. You can choose a maximum of three pieces of clothing for two weeks at a time. The motto is “first come, first served” and as the Fashion Library is only open on two Thursdays a month, you might end up queuing.

Opening times: every second Thursday between 2 – 5 pm (the next opportunity is Thursday 22nd March 2012).

6-month membership:

• Standard: 75 €
• Students: 50 €

You can find clothing from the following designers in the collection: Antti Asplund, Camilla Mikama, Deadbirds & Lionheart, Fiona Timantti, Hanna Sarén, Iloa, Ivana Helsinki, Kaksitvå, Kirsi Nisonen, Minna Parikka, Minni f. Ronya, Mirkka Metsola, Pisto, R/H, Tyra Therman, vainio.seitsonen.

The range is continuously expanding and if you do happen to fall head over heels in a particular piece of clothing, then you can also buy it, but the first three things to be done are: rent, get dressed-up and dazzle with glamour.

Copyright:
Source: Tourist and Convention Bureau’s Material Bank.
Photographer: Ivana Helsinki.

]]> http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-fashion-library/feed/ 0 http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-wdc-2012-cafe-kaukos-virtual-world/ http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-wdc-2012-cafe-kaukos-virtual-world/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:48:31 +0000 Kristin http://www.nordicmarketing.de/?p=8258

Drinking a cup of coffee in Café Kauko in the centre of Helsinki will be a special experience….the café’s furnishings can be remotely controlled via their website. The café’s ambience can thus be changed in real-time…

In 2012, the year in which Helsinki is the World Design Capital, the remote controlled Café Kauko’s („Remote Café“) aim is to illustrate the significance of good design in everyday life. Sections of Café Kauko , which is free to all, can be remote controlled in real time online at www.youdesign.fi. Visitors to the website will be able to control the café’s design – chair and table height, lighting, music and other sounds. When a passer-by sits down at Café Kauko, another person can at the same time control and follow the visitor’s coffee break on the café’s website.

Apart from the continually changing furnishings, the „proper“ café guests can drink free coffee, have a free wireless connection and weekly magazines for perusal.

Café Kauko will be located in the Forum shopping centre in Helsinki until the middle of February. Café Kauko will also appear in several other locations during the course of 2012.

Opening Hours: (Finnish time)

• Mon.-Fri. 12.30 pm – 7.30 pm
• Sat. – Sun.12.30 pm – 5.30 pm

Address at the:
Forum Helsinki
Mannerheimintie 14
FI-00100 Helsinki

Copyright:
Source: Tourist and Convention Bureau’s Material Bank.
Photographer: Sakke Somerma, Hackman.

Contact & reservations: 

]]> http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/turku-tallinn-the-green-city-of-tallinn/feed/ 0 http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-world-design-capital-2012/ http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-world-design-capital-2012/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:36:05 +0000 Kristin http://www.nordicmarketing.de/?p=8322

Helsinki launched 2012 as World Design Capital (WDC). 30,000 people celebrated New Year’s Eve with an extensive light and video show. The buildings surrounding the Senate Square turned into artworks by using light and several well-known Finnish music artists and performers. Apart from Helsinki there are as well Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti hosts from the region.

Throughout the year programme will present some 300 events, exhibitions and projects, which makes World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 the most extensive design programme ever realised in Finland and one of the largest in the world. Developing the city through design and inspiring everyone to participate in a joint effort to improve the environment is one of the most important goals for the whole year.

Many of the projects have already got underway in 2011 and are set to jumpstart long-term projects such as the Tukkutori Wholesale Food Market, located on an area formerly known for its slaughterhouses, now in a process of transforming itself into a centre where food meets design. Tourists visiting Helsinki in January can already enjoy special Helsinki Design Menus in various restaurants around the city, get acquainted with the developing design district Arabianranta or make an excursion to the WeeGee Exhibition Centre in the neighboring city of Espoo.

Events for tourists and people of Helsinki represent about one third of the programme. They are summarized under the topics “Year of the Events” and “Exhibitions”.

Throughout the year of Design Capital many important personalities of the world of design from all over the world will get together at various meetings in Finland. The range of events is rich in variety. Almost every day starts something new. From January to March there are more than 80 events planned.

The programme can be viewed on the website as well as the mobile app WDC 2012.

A summary of the programme as a pdf-file gives an overview about the whole programme and the highlights show the 30 most important projects.

The Word Design Capital 2012 website presents news, blogs and columns about Design from Finland. Special video portraits present Finish Designers.

The World Design Capital is an initiative of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). WDC’s designation is unique as it aims to focus on the broader essence of design’s impact on urban spaces, economies and citizens.

You find further information and schedules on wdchelsinki2012 as well as on this video.

Copyright:
Source: Tourist and Convention Bureau’s Material Bank.
Photographer: Lauri Rotko.

]]> http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-world-design-capital-2012/feed/ 0 http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/arctic-gateway-birdwatching-in-oulu-kuusamo/ http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/arctic-gateway-birdwatching-in-oulu-kuusamo/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:42:16 +0000 Kristin http://www.nordicmarketing.de/?p=8339

Guided birdwatching tours in May 2012 in the regions of Oulu and Kuusamo.

Day 1: After your arrival at the airport of Oulu you will meet your finnish birdwatching guide, who takes you to the hotel. This takes only five minutes. If there is enough time that day you might go on an excursion to see some native species. Diner and overnight: Hotel Vihiluoto

Day 2-3: The region of Oulu is well-known for owl species such as eagle owl, Ural owl, great grey owl, boreal owl, short-eared owl and Eurasian Pygmy Owl that reed here. Most years northern hawk owl and long-eared owl have also been seen. We will spend much time in the forest and have many great opportunities to watch the owls at close range. Other possible birds we might see are black grouse, wood grouse, black woodpecker and Eurasian three-toed woodpecker. Depending on the breeding situation all mentioned species live in the region of Kuusamo, too, if we miss them in Oulu.

We will visit Finland’s most important wetland, the bay of Liminganlahti. It is an ideal place for special water- and coast species such as spotted redshank, ruff and caspian tern. “Foghorn calls” of the bittern are hearable. Plenty of migrating birds come here to rest, jung cranes and whooper swans spend their summer here. Seven watching towers offer best views over the bay of Liminganlahti. The surrounding fields are hotspots for the observation of migrating birds and other special species such as the Lapland longspure. The pallid harrier was a regular species during the last years.

The Botnian Bay offers a good route for migrating ducks and wading birds. If you wish we may watch the migration early in the morning from the peninsula. There good possibilities to see many grebes and sea ducks such as common scoter, velvet scoter and long-tailed duck. Even the yellow-billed diver comes here in swarms of red and black-throated divers. Diner and Overnight: Hotel Vihiluoto

Day 4: Today we will drive to the East to Kuusamo. Kuusamo is a small town close the Russian border. The route takes us through one of the most beautiful northern landscapes covered with forests and wetland, lakes and rivers. On the way there is time for bird watching. Diner and overnight: Sokos Hotel Kuusamo

Day 5: In Kuusamo a real treat for the eyes awaits us – the wide conifer forest of the north with very special species: Red-flanked bluetail, rustic bunting, pine grosbeak, Siberian jay, Siberian tit, black woodpecker, Eurasian three-toed woodpecker, black grouse, willow grouse, hazel grouse, wood grouse, red-necked grebe and little gull, all of them breed here.

To watch the red-flanked bluetail we have to climb up the steep hill Valtavaara is steep, but there is never a garuantee that the birds will sing. Though, the view is stunning. Mainly it is an easy walk with a fews steeper ascents. Therefore the tour is suitable for those with good physical condition. Then we will visit the untouched taiga of Oulanka National Park. It was founded in 1956 and extended in 1982 and 1989. Nowadays it covers an area of 270 km2. Oulanka is located in the very north of the conifer forest region. We will enjoy lunch in a comfortable, quaint restaurant. Diner and overnight: Sokos Hotel Kuusamo

Day 6: Today we head back to Oulu. Before the departure and during the trip you have the chance to watch birds. Diner and overnight: Hotel Vihiluoto

Day 7: Middle of may is a very hectic time for migration. Some species might have reached the region of Oulu while we were staying in Kuusamo. Before the flight back home we can have a look for species that we have not seen yet.

Service: 6 overnight stays in double room (double bed or two single beds) with bathroom/shower and WC, half board: 3 nights at Hotel Vihiluoto in Kempele, Finland. 3 nights at Sokos Hotel Kuusamo in Kuusamo, Finland. Meals at the hotel: breakfast, lunch and diner. Transport during the stay by VW 4WD minibus driven by Finnature guide and your tour guide (7 paying participants), 2 VW 4WD minibus (8-14 paying participants). Finnature guide is a local ornitholog during the whole stay, one group tour guide is for free.

]]> http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/turku-tallinn-turku-around-the-archipelago-by-bike/feed/ 0 http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-region-inside-helsinki/ http://www.nordicmarketing.de/en/helsinki-region-inside-helsinki/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:36:14 +0000 Kristin http://www.nordicmarketing.de/?p=8471

The glamorous interiors open a whole new world that tells stories  through out the whole history of Helsinki. This tour includes interiors  of several culturohistorical public buildings for example University  library, the castle yard of the bourse, art-deco cafe and minimalistic  toilet rooms.

The tour also familiarizes the visitor with Russian architect Carl  Ludvig Engel and his monumental empire- centre of Helsinki, the  buildings designed by young jugend-architects that were inspired by the  finnish national identity and the architectual golden age of Finland:  Modernism.

During the tour a guide with cultural expertse will tell about the turns of history and the goals of the architects and artists.

Customers own equipement needed: Comftortable shoes Participants: 1-10 Service languages: English. For groups on request also available in Swedish, German, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish and Finnish Starting place: Senaatintori, Helsinki Duration in hours: 2 Season: Summer Price: on request

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