I had an idea to for once visit a swimming pool somewhere yesterday. Pre-pandemic, I might have gone swimming several times a week. The pandemic interrupted that, but even after the pandemic issues are mostly gone, I don't find myself going too often. I've only been to Finnish swimming pools couple of times a year recently. Maybe being too busy, or trying to use the time for walking. Anyway, missing a lot. But what a nice treat the visit to the Matinkylä swimming pools were!
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January 2023, Matinkylän uimahalli, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Water, Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
My train trip through Europe also involved one boat ride, from Turku to Stockholm. A day boat... arriving just in time in Stockholm for the night train. But, more importantly, the boat had three nice things going for it: (1) a cabin included in the ridiculously low 30€ price, nice for conference calls and naps, (2) decent restaurants to eat at, and (3) a spa with several saunas and pools, all with views of the archipelago as we were sailing towards Marienhamn.
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November 2022, Maarianhaminan satama, Maarianhamina, Finland
Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool)
Hotel Maria-Luisa is in the suburbs of Prague, near the military / museum airport (see this article). I almost always choose hotels based on their spas, pools, and saunas. Unfortunately, this time their wellness area turned out to be closed for renovation. Oh well, we were probably too busy anyway to get to the saunas during their opening hours. But the pool was open, and looked nice!
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July 2022, Hotel Maria-Luisa, Prague, Czech Republic
Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Pool, Outdoor)
Hampton Inn... a good but not remarkable hotel... New Jersey... nice state but not remarkable... South Plainfield... newer heard, but ok and again not remarkable. A plain hotel in Plainfield?
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July 2022, Hampton Inn South Plainfield-Piscataway, South Plainfield, New Jersey, USA
Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water)
Vrnik is a small island off the bigger Korčula island in the Adriatic Sea. Vrnik has only a handful of houses and remnants from its past as a quarry for stones. There are two restaurants, but no shops, and no services. But it has great, clean, beautiful waters. The beaches are rocky but it is a pleasure to swim in them.
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July 2022, Vrnik Beach, Vrnik, Korcula, Croatia; Vrnik shore, Vrnik, Korcula, Croatia
Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Sea, Beach); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Sea, Nature);
Korcula is a wonderful historic town (on the island of Korcula :-) ) And there's a wonderful swimmable beach ... rocks just outside the east city wall, under the restaurant walking path. You'll be under pine trees, on rocks, with some steps leading to clear water.. can't get much better than this!
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July 2022, Korcula wall beach, Korcula, Croatia
Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Sea, Beach)
Mali Kozjak is a mountain ridge in Split, Croatia. Near the airport, in fact. I had seen this on a previous trip, and it looked interesting... was there a hike? After perusing through the Wikilocs and Starves of the world, and some (maybe not enough) local advice, it seemed like there's a nice walk up via the Planinarski Dom Putalj mountain hut. I chose to hike up a bit further north so that I could descend to the hut. But boy did that generate some headache!
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June 2022, Planinarski Dom Putalj, Kaštel Sućurac, Croatia; Svrka Sv. Luka, Blaca, Croatia; Veli Vrj radar station, Vučevica, Croatia; Orlovo gnijezdo - Planinarsko sklonište, Kaštel Kambelovac, Croatia; Gojača Beach, Kaštel Sućurac, Croatia
Climbing (Mountain); Hiking; Urban-Exploration (Military, Buildings); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Sea, Beach)
A fun day, starting with emergency skiing 🎿 the quickly disappearing snow on my local hill at 6am, continued with sailing ⛵️to Suomenlinna on Markus’ boat - thanks! From then on the company picnic day was just starting 🙂 Lot more fun followed, e.g., a sauna 🧖♂️ and swim 🏊♂️ in the Suomenlinna boat harbor.
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June 2022, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland; Suomenlinnan vierasvenesatama, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland; Cafe Bar Valimo, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sailing; Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Sea)
I have not gone to public swimming pools before this. Now I did, as I was returning from the great skiing in Vihti, and needed to be fresh before going to the office. Good time to visit, though, 10am-ish, with the morning people already gone and pretty much no one else around.
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May 2022, Kirkkonummen uimahalli, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Swimming (Water, Indoor, Waterbody-Pool)
Lame, but I did not swim in spring 2022 until May 28... but it was good, even if a bit cold still. Brr... but the sunsets and blueberry bushes were spectacular!
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May 2022, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake); Sauna (Normal)
I've made many trips to the summer cottage this year. It is always wonderful views. And usually great swimming. But now the waters are too cold, and I seem to spending most of my time under the building, trying to block holes that the mice use to come in. Lots of fun, but not really beautiful pictures.
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September 2021, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Swimming (None)
While skiing in Hintertux, I stayed across the street from the Adler Inn, and was lucky to be able to visit their saunas and spa as well. What a wonderful experience!
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August 2021, Adler Inn, Madseit, Hintertux, Austria
Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Pool, Indoor, Outdoor)
I had an opportunity to visit the Zaglav, Milna, Zenka beaches while on the island of Vis in Croatia for a few days.
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August 2021, Zaglav, Vis, Croatia; Zenka, Vis, Croatia; Milna, Vis, Croatia
Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Sea, Beach)
I visited the Murvica beach after my exploration of the Zmajeva Pećina cave. on the south shores of the Brač island in Croatia. A welcome swim, not only for washing off the sweat of the climb, but also because it is such a nice, secluded beach and easy to swim at.
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August 2021, Murvica beach, Murvica, Croatia
Swimming (Waterbody-Sea, Beach, Outdoor)
Lauttasaari, such a nice place. They even have a backup beach on the other side if the one beach is covered by slimy algae!
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July 2021, Veijarivuoren uimaranta, Helsinki, Finland; Särkiniemi harbour beach, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (None); Swimming (Water, Beach, Waterbody-Sea)
Yet another day with not just one but two new lakes to swim at!
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July 2021, Karskogin uimaranta, Kirkkonummi, Finland; Storträskin uimaranta, Kirkkonummi, Finland
Swimming (Water, Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake, Beach)