The official dates for the Finnish Elma and Sauna Meeting 2024 are:
Monday 8th of July to Monday 15th of July The dates are chosen so that they will avoid overlap with the Kosmos festival (18.-21.7.) and danielj's post-FEM Norway adventures (after FEM):
FESM 2024 is going to be amazink since 2024 is the 22nd anniversary of FEMs and the first anniversary of FESMs and because everyone are coming and it will be the best FEM ever.
Who is coming?
No need to make some stupid lists since everyone are coming
The schedule
The schedule is still very preliminary (nothing set in stone), but here you go:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... 1170509058
All event contributions will be welcomed!
Tourism in Eastern Finland
There's lots of sightseeing possibilities and options even to park your wife + kids for a week.
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 masterpiece by our local Michelangelo. He 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
- Cozy sculptures, not creepy, good for kids
- 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.kagone.fi/
- A magnificent example of an Eastern-Karelian log castle
- Mediocre food
- Particularly intereting for those interested in history of (Eastern) Finland
Parikkala/Rautjärvi/Punkaharju:
- 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), we will also go to private sauna on Saturday
- 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://operafestival.fi/en/ | https://gosaimaa.com/en/about-the-region/imatra/
- Imatrankoski rapids with rapids shows |
- Imatran Valtionhotelli - an unique Jugend castle hotel, also great restaurant
- 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
How to get there?
The address is Mirananmäentie 66, Koitsanlahti, Parikkala, Finland.
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 20€ (if you book early) to ~50€ (if you book late).
Busses from Helsinki:
https://www.matkahuolto.fi/fi/
Price 20€ (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.
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Payments
FEM attendance monies will be used for covering running costs such as electricity, warm water and firewood and for improving the onion farm infrastructure for the pleasure of the FESM attendants. Parents are pensioners so any extra money will help for keeping the farm, which is their life work, in good condition. Now we have acquired a heat pump so that the house can be cooled when there's so many visitors:
photo1 photo2
And the clogging issues have been fixed
Payments are voluntary, here recommended amounts:
Code: Select all
0 nights 7€
1 15€
2 25€
3 33€
4 40€
5 45€
6 50€
7 55€
Some sick events brewing!!
