Beach season opened at the cottage. Someone did swim but I will save the full immersive experience for later 🙂 March is earliest that we’ve been to the cottage, ever.
Full story
Alternate link
March 2026, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Swimming (None); Sauna (Normal)
The Dragon Claw Cave, or 龍爪洞 as it is known in Chinese is a sea cave at the end of a small bay in the peninsula that extends between the South Bay Beach and Ching Hom Kok Beach, in Hong Kong. There's a nice but challenging path from the South Bay Beach to near cave, but as you near the cave the path turns into more difficult, at some point other hikers warned of a wild boar, then the path required an assisting rope, and then further down ... I didn't dare climb all the way down for the last 20 meters, for a fear of falling to the sea. But it is a beautiful cave even from this distance!
Full story
Alternate link
March 2026, Dragon Claw Cave, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong; South Bay Beach, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong; HKIA, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Caving (None, Rock, Morphology-Erosion); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Sea, Beach, Outdoor); Flying
Day trip to Purnu ski hill (Hiihtokeskus Purnu), a medium-sized ski hill south of Jyväskylä. Wonderful winter day and light! Trees with snow cover were amazing. It was a great ski mountain too. This was my first trip with the fixed Volvo, it faired well, no breakages. On the way back I stopped at the Vierumäki sports academy swimming hall, which was also a nice experience. I thought it would have been crowded on a weekend, but by seven pm it was more or less empty.
Full story
Alternate link
February 2026, Hiihtokeskus Purnu, Hartola, Finland; Vierumäen uimahalli, Vierumäki, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
Visited Lohja Spa as an after-work detour. Just an hour from home, and in the middle of pretty much nowhere (amazingly, it is in Karjalohja, not Lohja) it was quite a find indeed. It is a small hotel and a spa, but with not too many quests, I had almost all of the 25 meter pool to myself, they had five wonderful saunas and six pools.
Full story
Alternate link
February 2026, Lohja Spa, Karjalohja, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
Finally, I was able to visit the Yrjönkatu swimming hall in Helsinki. It is right in the city center, a block away from the Stockmann department store. I've been wanting to for many years... did not recently due to the renovations that have been going for several years. But now it was opened just a week or two ago, and despite expectations it wasn't totally slammed full of people. In the pool I was at times even alone on my lanes. What a place! It is like a palace, a glimpse into a lost world. The tiles, the style, the air .. very, very well done.
Full story
Alternate link
February 2026, Yrjönkadun uimahalli, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
The closest swimming hall that I have NOT been to is now almost two hours drive away, and this evening I went there. Kaarina swimming hall is a small community hall, 25 meters long pool with just four lanes. But two younger/older children pools and one therapy pool, so that was a surprise. Overall a nice visit.
Full story
Alternate link
January 2026, Kaarinan uimahalli, Kaarina, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal)
To celebrate today’s National Alpine Skiing Day, I did a tour of four ski resorts that I have not been to: Ellivuori in Sastamala, Hiitteenharju in Harjavalta, Ruosniemi in Pori, and Salomonkallio hill at the Nakkila Golf resort in Nakkila. It took two days though 🙂The resorts are between Pori and Tampere, a cornerof Finland that I haven’t spent much time in.
Full story
Alternate link
January 2026, Ellivuoren hiihtokeskus, Sastamala, Finland; Hiitteenharjun hiihtokeskus, Harjavalta, Finland; Rantakartano, Pori, Finland; Ruosniemen hiihtokeskus, Pori, Finland; Salomonkallion hiihtokeskus, Nakkila Golf, Nakkila, Finland; Harjavallan uimahalli, Harjavalta, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal); Car
I've been swimming around the country (and sometimes outside the country), which has been fun. But without my car -- which is being repaired, I can't go very far. So my local swimming hall it is in Kauniainen, or Grani as it is affectionately called. It was a nice weather to walk there in the snow!
Full story
Alternate link
January 2026, Kauniaisten uimahalli, Kauniainen, Finland; Autotrio, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal); Car
By now, the nearest swimming halls that I have not been to is 1 hour and 45 minutes away. I picked Turku's Impivaara swimming hall as my destination in the west (in the east there was another one). This is a massive, massive swimming complex. I really liked the 50 meter pool, it was easy to swim a long distance in it.
Full story
Alternate link
January 2026, Impivaaran uimahalli, Turku, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
The Elamus Spa (or Elamuste Keskus, in English the Experience Spa/Center) is a spa and recreation center in Tallinn. Their web site is here. I had been flying, skiing in two places, and caving in two more places. I had a bit of time before the flight, so a shower, sauna, and swim seemed to be in order! I was a bit unsure where to do that, I had a community wonderful-looking 50-meter pool swimming hall or a commercial experience spa -- the Elamus -- to choose from, among others. I chose the latter.
Full story
Alternate link
January 2026, Elamus Spa, Tallinn, Estonia
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
Another day, another swimming hall :-) This time I went to Kärkölä's swimming hall -- mostly because I had not been there, and it was close-ish to my previous stop at Talma Ski.
Full story
Alternate link
January 2026, Kärkölän uimahalli, Järvelä, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
I'm collecting things. Or rather experiences. Or visits to places. Ski resorts, swimming halls, caves... preferably as many as possible. Could I do a one day trip to Tallinn for some of the closest ski hills, caves, and spas that I had not yet visited? How many could I do in one day?
Full story
Alternate link
January 2026, Vimka - Viimsi Mäepark, Lubja, Viimsi, Estonia; Nõmme Lumepark, Mustamäe, Tallinn, Estonia; Viimsi Koobas, Lubja, Viimsi, Estonia; Naage Koopad, Naage, Estonia; Elamus Spa, Tallinn, Estonia
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Basic, Man-Made, Rock, Surveying); Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Basic, Rock, Surveying); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
We drove up to the cottage for a nice sauna and swim. Except... the water is surprisingly hard.
Full story
Alternate link
December 2025, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Swimming (None); Sauna (Normal)
My car is on its final stretches [too expensive to fix after check-up declared the hull to be fixed], so driving it while it is still legal... so I drove up to Tervakoski for a visit to the their swimming hall. I thought it would have been an old, tired hall. And it looked like being from the 1970s. But inside it was actually quite nice. Recommended.
Full story
Alternate link
December 2025, Tervakosken uimahalli, Tervakoski, Finland
Car; Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal)
1.5 hour one-way drive just to swim? But it is a new (for me) swimming hall, and I needed a mini-vacation, so... I went. And it turned out to be worth the trip! While old, the swimming hall has been completely renovated, it was closed in fact for two years. It looks entirely new, maybe the pool area is a bit small compared to new ones but otherwise top-notch!
Full story
Alternate link
December 2025, Paimion uimahalli, Paimio, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
... or was it Mäntsälä? In any case, I ended up at the Riihimäki swimming hall. Had not been here before, but wow, what a nice surprise. Only 50 minutes from home, and a completely refurbished hall, airy, nice new design, quiet & empty. Two Finnish saunas, and nicely hot and another that's a bit milder, plus a Turkish bath. Recommended!
Full story
Alternate link
December 2025, Riihimäen uimahalli, Riihimäki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water)