Who is coming?
- adi
- A.K.B. (full time)
- bene (7 nights, 11.-18.)
- danitah (full time)
- FinMan
- Haamu
- igge (3 nights, Thu-Sun)
- insane guy (3 nights, Fri-Mon)
- jblaze (6 nights, 11.-17.)
- jonharkulsykkel (full time)
- Kortsu (weekend)
- Kopaka (6 nights, Friday - Thursday)
- Lousku (full time)
- Luther (full time)
- nick-o-matic (full time)
- Pawq (full time)
- Ramone (7 nights, 11.-18.)
- Markku (full time)
- Mielz (6 nights, 11.-17.)
- Orcc (4 nights, Fri-Tue)
- roope (4 nights, Thu-Mon)
- Ruben (full time)
- Stini (4 nights, 12.-16.)
- Spef (9.-18., helping in organizing)
- terb0 (three nights, 11.-14)
- veezay + Antti (full time)
- vender (1 night, Sun-Mon)
- zebra (3 or 4 nights, starting from Thursday)
- Zero (full time)
- Zweq (10.-18., helping in organizing)
- talli
- Abula
- Bbl Bce Cyku
- chris
- Frosty (DeaD_MoroZ)
- ILKKA
- mr
- Pab
- Suharice
- Zox
- Hosp
- Ismo
- Smibu
- axxu
- Bjenn
- Boomer
- csorfab
- farnsworth
- Frostidllo
- dz
- Harald Hasch
- Honza
- J-Sim
- kzon
- Mats
- milagros
- Mira
- niN
- Olliz
- Polarix
- pseudo
- Quantz
- Stooq
- Tigro
- Tisk
- TL
- Xarthok
To see it perhaps the best way is to check the pictures of previous FEMs, kindly provided to us by Markku:
http://mm.1g.fi/kuvat/FEM2014/
http://mm.1g.fi/kuvat/FEM2015/
http://mm.1g.fi/kuvat/FEM2016/
http://mm.1g.fi/kuvat/FEM2017/
http://mm.1g.fi/kuvat/FEM2018/
FEM spreadsheet
This google docs spreadsheet is to keep track of different plans and needed things:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0
When is FEM?
FEM will be one week from Thursday 11.7. to Thursday 18.7.. Since it is my home and it is not rented, you can stay there also before and after FEM and perhaps do some tourism in Finland and use it as your base. You also may help in arranging/cleaning if you stay extra there =) Anyway, the main point is that it is possible to be flexible with your flights and other travel.
Tourism in Eastern Finland
Especially for people coming from other countries or more faraway parts of Finland I would recommend to do some local sightseeing. I did my best to create a semi-comprehesive list of sights to you.
Koitsanlahti village:
Parikkala sculpture park (2km)
- http://www.patsaspuisto.net/english/ | http://www.patsaspuisto.net/
- Seriously a must see for everyone, a world-famous place
- A local man created a huge sculpture park into his own yard and allowed people to visit there for free. Now he is dead and there is a small voluntary but recommended entrance fee
- https://www.iloinenpässi.fi/
- Local food and souveniers
- For example bison burgers (there is a local bison farm, mb poss go there too)
- Signs that tell you not to go any further to the border zones
- Do not go any further
- https://www.facebook.com/marjatilahallikainen/
- Berries and berry products
- https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koitsanlahden_hovi/
- https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanhan_Su ... oitusmaat/
- Mainly for those interested in history of (Eastern) Finland
- I think only poss to eye ouside now
- https://maurikin.blogspot.com/2015/06/p ... smaa.html/
- Mainly for those interested in history of (Eastern) Finland
- https://www.visitparikkala.com/ | https://www.visitparikkala.fi/
- https://www.rautjarvitravel.com/ | https://www.rautjarvitravel.com/fi/
- http://www.visitpunkaharju.fi/en/ | http://www.visitpunkaharju.fi/ | Punkaharju has notably beautiful roads on ridges inbetween lakes, just driving there is an experience
- http://www.uimolansavusauna.com/
- Public sauna on Wednesdays (7€/person), a private sauna is 140€
- We will probably go there on both Wednesdays
- http://www.saimaansaunaseura.fi/?page_id=16
- Public sauna on Mondays (7€/person), a private sauna is 230€
- https://www.kollaa-simohayha-museo.fi/en/home | https://www.kollaa-simohayha-museo.fi/fi/etusivu
- Kollaa battle was a famous battle during the Winter War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kollaa/
- Simo "The White Death" Häyhä was probably the most famous WWII sniper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4/
- http://www.papinniemicamping.net/index.php/en/ | http://www.papinniemicamping.net/index.php/fi/
- a beautiful place, but just one example of cottage/camping possibilities here
- poss rent cottages much closer, even in Koitsanlahti/Parikkala
- https://www.simpeleenantiikki.fi/in-english/ | https://www.simpeleenantiikki.fi/
- Entry fee (10€) limits quick visits for authentic local farm antique souveniers
- https://www.visitkarelia.fi/en/ | https://www.visitkarelia.fi/fi/ | North Karelia (Joensuu area)
- https://www.gosaimaa.com/en/ | https://www.gosaimaa.com/fi/ | The general area of lake Saimaa has very good swimming / camping / hiking possibilities
- https://operafestival.fi/en/ | https://operafestival.fi/
- A famous opera festival in a medieval castle in a small island
- https://www.instagram.com/visitlappeenranta_official/
- https://www.lappeenranta.fi/CityOfLappeenranta/ | https://www.lappeenranta.fi/Lappeenranta/
- Poss stay in my apartment for night (I live there)
- Beautiful harbor area and historical fortress
- Good swimming / camping / hiking possibilities
- There is also a possibility for visa-free cruises to Viipuri (Vyborg) and event to Saint Petersburg
Attending FEM will again cost something this year, but I don't know the exact prices yet. We do not do any renting this year, but things like electricity will still cost for my parents. Also there will be some expenses in the organizing part as it will be necessary to buy some stuff. Also I am planning to have weekend work parties to clean and organize the FEM venue, and I am going to offer food from the FEM payments and free attendance for the participators. Moreover, by showing up early for doing the last organizing things or staying late for cleaning and re-organizing might free yourself from the attendance fees.
How to get there?
If you are not coming by a car or carpooling you should first get yourself to Helsinki by plane or ferry and then take a bus/train.
Trains from Helsinki:
https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/frontpage
Price 19€ (if you book early) to ~50€ (if you book late).
Busses from Helsinki (Onnibus):
http://www.onnibus.com/en/index.htm
Price ~10€ (if you book early) to ~20€ (if you book late).
Only the 17:00 departures go all the way to onion farm (rest of them stop at Lappeenranta).
Busses from Helsinki (norm busses):
https://www.matkahuolto.fi/fi/
Price 19€ (constant price (I think??)).
Optionally, you can also fly to Lappeenranta if the few flights that exist match for you:
Arriving flights
Departing flights
If these options work for you, Lappeenranta would be the most convenient option. You basically get out of plane, show passport and get through quick security check (Lappeenranta airport is more like a bus station than an airport), take a shuttle bus or walk to train/bus station (they are close) and in one hour you are at onion farm.
You can even arrive from St. Petersburg. There are busses to Lappeenranta and Imatra and you can get a train ticket all the way to onion farm as well (train change in Kouvola).
After you are in either Simpele or Parikkala, someone will pick you up. Simpele is preferable if you come from the south. However, not all trains stop in Simpele since this year, so you might have to go all the way to Parikkala. But all the busses stop there.
If you come by car, there are two possible gravel road routes to our farm, shown on the map. However, if you are coming from Parikkala direction or go to Parikkala to do shopping, please avoid the one small bit of road drawn in this map. It is being maintained by a local farm, and they collect fees from villagemans that use it (it is norm system in Fin countryside). However, we don't pay anything to them so we should avoid traffic which can be related to us on that road.
Is there going to be some rules or other kind of boring stuff?
Yes. FEM is a big community for one week, and as a by-product of fun fun fun there are also plenty of tasks that need to be done to keep things rolling and the place in non-chaotic condition. Most improtantly:
- Please recycle - there will be own bins for norm waste, cardboard, biowaste, metal and glass. Also bottles and cans worth deposit money will be and as per tradition, they will be returned to the shop and obtained funds will be used as cabin rent money.
- Please contribute to keeping the place organized. This includes
- taking the trash out
- emptying the dishwasher
- making the dishes
- keeping the fridge organized (There has been some problems with the fridge space during the last two years. So please try to use fridge space reasonably and organizedly. Drinks can be stored in an outside ground cellar. It's not as cool as fridge but you can take some drinks from the ground cellar to the fridge or freezer shortly before you use them. Also when you leave make sure that you are not leaving anything to the fridges, or if you do, please make sure everyone know that those items are for everyone)
- all other kind of miscellaneous cleaning and organizing of the place
- Please contribute to end cleaning before you leave. In each FEM the biggest problem has been that at the end there are massive amounts of trash and dishes everywhere and unlabeled food items in the fridges which means hours of work for the last mans standing. So when you leave please take some trashes out and/or do dishes and make sure you are not leaving any unlabeled food items in the fridges. If you don't want to take some foods with you please donate them for common good or throw them away.
- Returning the empty bottles and cans to the supermarket and giving the €€€ to me (for FEM-money)
- Boiling some cofe if there's no cofe left
- Making common food
- Taking care of warming the wood sauna
- Most importantly: contributing to the program and competitions or at least making battles for EOL if there isn't anything else going on - the meeting is about Elasto Mania after all =)