Helsingfors flygplats, på väg mot Åbo skärgård

Turku archipelago in winter splendour - ice fishing and sauna bathing

At lunchtime yesterday we landed at Helsinki airport. It was not quite as cold as we had been warned, but minus degrees, wintry and sunny. We were picked up by a minibus with organisers from Visit Turku and a bunch of travel bloggers from Finland, Estonia, Poland, Germany, UK and China. And so it was off to the Turku archipelago ...

Ice fishing and sheep farming

The first stop was at Stentorp sheep farm in Pargas, about 20 km from Turku. Here we were welcomed by the fantastically nice Jill Christiansen, who together with her husband Heikki lives in a charming Jugendvilla overlooking the sea. We first followed Heikki out onto the ice where he had drilled a hole and laid down a long net. Metre after metre, he pulled the net up until a ... walleye appeared.

Till slut kommer det en gös i nätet. Resebloggarna fotar entusiastiskt... — Eventually, a pike perch comes into the net. The travel bloggers enthusiastically photograph...

Then it was time to visit the Finnish landrace sheep and see the exhibition of clothes made from sheep wool. All clothes are designed by Jill herself and made by local knitters. The colours are natural and the patterns show elements of Finnish and Nordic culture, such as the Kalevala or Nordic mythology.

Finska lantrasfår på Stentorps fårfarm — Finnish landrace sheep on Stentorp sheep farm

Resebloggarna kikar runt och testar ullprodukterna på utställningen — Travel bloggers look around and test the wool products at the exhibition

Finally, it was time for fish soup with pike-perch and perch from the sea. Fantastically good of course! We learned that Stentorp's sheep farm is open every day during the summer (and other times of the year by appointment). If you are travelling around the Turku archipelago, for example by bike or camper, we can highly recommend a visit here!

You can visit the crafts exhibition/farm shop and view Heiki's watercolours and nature photos. In addition, you can rent the charming beach hut. Moominhouseif you need accommodation for the night.

Fisksoppa på Stentorps fårfarm — Fish soup on Stentorp sheep farm

Cottage accommodation and sauna in the Turku Archipelago

What else do you do in the Turku archipelago? Well, you spend the night in small cosy cottages and take a sauna of course! Renting a cottage is common here and the cottages can be anything from very simple to really luxurious. We are staying in a middle ground, a cosy cabin with a sauna, a hot outdoor whirlpool and... an ice bath.

When we arrived at the cottage in Korpo, we were served an absolutely fantastic dinner (I'll come back to the food in Finland!) followed by a sauna and bath. What was the bath? For me and Peter it was a cosy hot bubble bath. A few of the other bloggers tried the ice wake, but we weren't keen on it at all, so you'll have to make do without a picture of the ice wake ... Today it's time for new adventures!

Varm bubbelpool - mysigare än isvak om du frågar oss — Warm whirlpool in the Turku archipelago - cosier than an ice bath if you ask us.

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

Want more tips on things to see and do in the neighbourhood? In the beautiful the city of Turku you can visit Turku Castle and Turku market hall. Don't miss out on discovering Finland's glorious capital city. Helsinki. Below you will find even more tips for Finland.

18 January 2016 6:59

Finland

animal, fish & shellfish, craftsmanship, culture

Helena

Administrator

29 Comments

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Fantasy travel says:

Oh how cosy to live in cabins! I probably missed you completely on the flight yesterday, or we were not on the same? Anyway: hope you have a nice time (and a little warmer than us: -28°C brrrr)!

18 January 2016 - 7:16

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admin says:

Fantasy Travel, we looked for you on the flight but we must have flown at different times anyway. We flew 9:55 from Stockholm to Helsinki... -28 sounds cold! Not at all the same cold here...

18 January 2016 - 7:24

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Lennart says:

Nice excursion you are on!

18 January 2016 - 9:45

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Åsa says:

Too bad you didn't bring your flip-flops....(;

18 January 2016 - 10:06

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Ama de casa says:

Cowards!!! 😀

I can imagine that there is a lot of photography where you go - a whole bunch of bloggers... 😉.

Cosy accommodation and nice sheep! 🙂

18 January 2016 - 10:39

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Ama de casa says:

By the way, my Christmas bath is a New Year bath - and the year still feels quite new, so there is still time 😀.

18 January 2016 - 10:40

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Ditte says:

What fun! The Turku archipelago and its surroundings are really nice.
Perfect for cycling here and taking boats from island to island in the Turku archipelago and on to the Åland archipelago. Easy to bring bikes on the boats because they do not have to be booked in advance as a car/caravan often has to be.
How nice you live! And how much you have seen!
I'm sure it's good that you skipped the wake, you should do what you want for your own sake.
Wishing you a nice Monday.

18 January 2016 - 10:40

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Untangling says:

It looks like you are having a nice trip, great 🙂.

18 January 2016 - 11:09

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admin says:

Lennart, it's really super nice here in the archipelago 🙂.

Åsa, we have to blame the fact that we didn't have them with us, haha 😉.

Ama de casa, haha, yes, that's how you can see it 😉 It really didn't appeal at all... And sorry, New Year's bath would be by the way. And yes, you have no idea how many system cameras are around us every second. There is photography and filming and instagramming and snapchatting... absolutely crazy!

Ditte, it's really nice here! We have understood that many people cycle here but that motorhomes are also common. Will find out how it is with booking ferries. I know you encouraged the wake, but it really didn't appeal to us at all... 😉.

Ontripdk, very nice trip! 🙂

18 January 2016 - 11:46

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admin says:

Steve, it's nice to have a hot whirlpool outside when the air is cold.

18 January 2016 - 12:38

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Role o Carina says:

Lovely, but we probably prefer to choose a whirlpool over an ice pack! 🙂

Have fun and enjoy.....:-)

18 January 2016 - 13:01

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admin says:

Rolle and Carina, you must think like us! The whirlpool was cosy! 🙂

18 January 2016 - 13:21

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Mr Steve says:

It was a cosy and eventful start to the week.
How lovely to have a hot whirlpool on the veranda.

18 January 2016 - 12:36

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Lanclin says:

We usually stay out on Kimito Island outside Turku. My father and his wife saw up an icebox there every year :/ In my opinion, there is nothing nice or sensible about it 🙂 I don't care that it is said to be healthy!

18 January 2016 - 14:44

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admin says:

Lanclin, nice that you are usually here in the neighbourhood! 🙂 But ice cream... no... we have to try to find other ways to be healthy 😉.

BP, but how lucky that we can surprise a bit sometimes 🙂 And yes, so far it has felt very typically Finnish here, possibly with the exception that most people here seem to speak Swedish 😉.

18 January 2016 - 15:31

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BP says:

I didn't think I would ever see a picture of sheep in your blog, nor one of a freshly caught pike-perch;-) It's just to familiarise yourself with "life in the countryside";-).

The food was yummy! Oh so typically Finnish with sauna and whirlpool. Really cosy actually!

18 January 2016 - 15:10

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Ulf Wikar says:

Hey, bathing in an ice bath is probably the worst between the ears, but if you think like this, I stand in -20 degrees and freeze in just a swimsuit, imagine going down in the wake that is only 0 degrees, so hot, I myself think it is much colder to roll in the snow that is minus degrees.

18 January 2016 - 16:41

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Steel city anna says:

Looks cold except for the sheep 🙂 wouldn't have jumped into an icebox either. Finland feels almost closer and more like neighbours than Norway and Denmark, I think. The culture is more similar perhaps. I often feel that way the times I have met Russians too. It's a pity that the languages are so different, and that we haven't made an effort to learn Finnish most of the time when most Finns know some Swedish anyway and many very well, especially in tourist places. Speaking English feels like a defeat to me and I would love to see more of Finland.

18 January 2016 - 19:50

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admin says:

Ulf Wikar, yes you may have a point, I understand what you mean! It makes sense, although I'm not keen on rolling in the snow either 😉.

Steel city Anna, interesting that you think Finland feels closer than Norway and Denmark. I think all three countries feel culturally close. Sure, it's a bit boring to have to speak English, and sure, it would be fun to know some Finnish, but I don't really know how that would work... 😉 In the Turku archipelago, most people speak Swedish as their mother tongue, and in Turku about 7 per cent have Swedish as their mother tongue.

18 January 2016 - 21:03

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Mary of Rövarhamn says:

No, but oh how lovely. Now I was really jealous. Enjoy! <3 / Linda

18 January 2016 - 23:26

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admin says:

Mary af Rövarhamn, really lovely here and nice winter weather! 🙂

19 January 2016 - 6:23

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Solan says:

What a walleye!

19 January 2016 - 7:29

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admin says:

Solan, we finally got a good one 😉 We have had a lot of good fish here in Finland: pike-perch, perch and whitefish.

19 January 2016 - 8:42

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Catherine says:

Mm. Immediately got really hungry.

19 January 2016 - 8:53

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admin says:

Katarina, we have had a lot of good food here. I have not had time to tell you about everything yet, but it will come! 🙂

Active Days-Camilla, we're having a great time and there's a crazy amount of photography, all the time 😉.

19 January 2016 - 13:58

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ActiveDays-Camilla says:

Looks like you are having a good time! Interesting places you visit! And funny picture with photographing bloggers 🙂 .

19 January 2016 - 13:41

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friend ahlgren says:

Very nice that travel bloggers from all over the world visit us. For example, if you are travelling on to Åland via Korpo, you can first spend the night in Faffas B&B, which is close to the Barefoot Trail and within walking distance of its own beach.

20 January 2016 - 14:39

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admin says:

Ami, we have had a great experience in Turku archipelago! Thanks for the additional travel tips!

20 January 2016 - 14:44

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Ladies Abroad says:

It looks like you are doing very well!

20 January 2016 - 18:51

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Turku archipelago in winter splendour - ice fishing and sauna bathing

Ice fishing and sheep farming

Cottage accommodation and sauna in the Turku Archipelago

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

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29 Comments

Fantasy travel says:

admin says:

Lennart says:

Åsa says:

Ama de casa says:

Ama de casa says:

Ditte says:

Untangling says:

admin says:

admin says:

Role o Carina says:

admin says:

Mr Steve says:

Lanclin says:

admin says:

BP says:

Ulf Wikar says:

Steel city anna says:

admin says:

Mary of Rövarhamn says:

admin says:

Solan says:

admin says:

Catherine says:

admin says:

ActiveDays-Camilla says:

friend ahlgren says:

admin says:

Ladies Abroad says:

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