Post Tour June 18-20
The Post Tour provides an introduction to Finland’s biggest lake region and forestry.
Ohjelma suomeksi (in Finnish) (pdf)
Schedule
- Departure from Mikkeli on 18th of June at 9.00 am
- Return to Mikkeli on 20th of June at 12 am
- The bus leaves from Mikkeli via Helsinki-Vantaa international airport to the central of Helsinki and will be at the airport at 4 pm.
Night of the Midsummer Sun - Magic of a Summer Night - Verdant Nature - Glimmering Lakes
18th June (9.00 am)
The journey begins from Mikkeli on Thursday morning. We start by visiting a genuine manor estate and have lunch. We arrive by 14 o'clock at Varistaipale in Heinävesi where a steamboat m/s Sergei takes us to Valamo Monastery travelling through old locks. During the journey we will hear about the Finnish nature, the ways the Finns spend their summer and about the Valamo Monastery. We will check in at the monastery hotel, and after having a light snack a guide takes us around the area. The evening continues with traditional and delicious Slavic supper and Orthodox Catholic church music.
19th June.
After breakfast and possible shopping the journey continues to the Finnish forest museum Lusto in Punkaharju. After lunch there is a a guided tour with work demonstrations in the museum and at the forestry centre. We also have coffee at ferryboat café. The Midsummer festivities will be held in idyllic Rantasalmi with cruises, smoke sauna and dancing.
20th June
Bus journey via Mikkeli to Helsinki via the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (4.00 pm). Lunch en route.
Lake Saimaa, Midsummer Festival
The Post Tour provides an introduction to Finland’s biggest lake region and forestry. It includes a Slavonic evening, a night at Valamo Monastery and a chance to join in Midsummer festivities.
Midsummer represents the height of the Finnish summer when almost all Finns head for the country if possible.
Punkaharju conservation area and
the Finnish Forest Museum Lusto
The Punkaharju conservation area is one of Finland’s best-known national landscapes. Punkaharju Ridge and the forest and arboretum of the Finnish Forest Research Institute are a fine introduction to Finnish forestry past and present.
The Finnish Forest Museum Lusto is a national museum and science centre. Its exhibitions, events, work demonstrations, theme days and auditorium programme create a wide picture of the Finnish forests and their significance to the nation.
Valamo Orthodox Monastery at Heinävesi
After the Second World War the 200 or so monks at the monastery founded in the 12th century on the island of Valamo in Lake Ladoga (in what is now Russia) moved to Heinävesi in Finland. They have there continued as a spiritual community rooted in the ascetic tradition of the Orthodox Church while at the same time running a tourist centre and hotel.
The Saimaa Canal – Heinävesi route
The Heinävesi watercourse passes through some of the most beautiful scenery in Finland, along narrow, winding channels, open stretches of water dotted with islands and six old lock canals.