I've been swimming around the country (and sometimes outside the country), which has been fun. But without my car -- which is being repaired, I can't go very far. So my local swimming hall it is in Kauniainen, or Grani as it is affectionately called. It was a nice weather to walk there in the snow!
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January 2026, Kauniaisten uimahalli, Kauniainen, Finland; Autotrio, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal); Car
By now, the nearest swimming halls that I have not been to is 1 hour and 45 minutes away. I picked Turku's Impivaara swimming hall as my destination in the west (in the east there was another one). This is a massive, massive swimming complex. I really liked the 50 meter pool, it was easy to swim a long distance in it.
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January 2026, Impivaaran uimahalli, Turku, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
The Elamus Spa (or Elamuste Keskus, in English the Experience Spa/Center) is a spa and recreation center in Tallinn. Their web site is here. I had been flying, skiing in two places, and caving in two more places. I had a bit of time before the flight, so a shower, sauna, and swim seemed to be in order! I was a bit unsure where to do that, I had a community wonderful-looking 50-meter pool swimming hall or a commercial experience spa -- the Elamus -- to choose from, among others. I chose the latter.
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January 2026, Elamus Spa, Tallinn, Estonia
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
Another day, another swimming hall :-) This time I went to Kärkölä's swimming hall -- mostly because I had not been there, and it was close-ish to my previous stop at Talma Ski.
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January 2026, Kärkölän uimahalli, Järvelä, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
I'm collecting things. Or rather experiences. Or visits to places. Ski resorts, swimming halls, caves... preferably as many as possible. Could I do a one day trip to Tallinn for some of the closest ski hills, caves, and spas that I had not yet visited? How many could I do in one day?
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January 2026, Vimka - Viimsi Mäepark, Lubja, Viimsi, Estonia; Nõmme Lumepark, Mustamäe, Tallinn, Estonia; Viimsi Koobas, Lubja, Viimsi, Estonia; Naage Koopad, Naage, Estonia; Elamus Spa, Tallinn, Estonia
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Caving (Basic, Man-Made, Rock, Surveying); Urban-Exploration (Tunnels); Caving (Basic, Rock, Surveying); Swimming (Water, Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
We drove up to the cottage for a nice sauna and swim. Except... the water is surprisingly hard.
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December 2025, Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland
Swimming (None); Sauna (Normal)
My car is on its final stretches [too expensive to fix after check-up declared the hull to be fixed], so driving it while it is still legal... so I drove up to Tervakoski for a visit to the their swimming hall. I thought it would have been an old, tired hall. And it looked like being from the 1970s. But inside it was actually quite nice. Recommended.
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December 2025, Tervakosken uimahalli, Tervakoski, Finland
Car; Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water); Sauna (Normal)
1.5 hour one-way drive just to swim? But it is a new (for me) swimming hall, and I needed a mini-vacation, so... I went. And it turned out to be worth the trip! While old, the swimming hall has been completely renovated, it was closed in fact for two years. It looks entirely new, maybe the pool area is a bit small compared to new ones but otherwise top-notch!
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December 2025, Paimion uimahalli, Paimio, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
We flew to the Finnish north and drove to Pyhä just before the big winter storm of the end of 2025 hit. And came back after it, missing the storm impact on our flights. However, it did it the skiing time. I was wondering if something was wrong with my helmet visor setup, because I couldn't keep it clear... could see almost nothing. But it wasn't the visor or my use of it, it was the supercooled water flying around and freezing on everything. Even the tops of my skis froze up with an ice layer. Clothing. Helmet. Everything.
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December 2025, Pyhä, Finland; Hotelli Pyhätunturi, Pyhä, Finland; Kairankutsu husky farm, Pyhä, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal); Travel
First I thought of driving to Jyväskylä's Laajavuori (4 hours away) to experience one melting slope.. but then I found out that I can drive only 1.5 hours to another melting slope in Messilä near Lahti... win! And it only rained a bit. But it was actually quite a lot of fun!
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December 2025, Messilä, Lahti, Finland; Lahden uimahalli, Lahti, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool, Water)
It was a long drive, and to the middle of nowhere... not a place I would expect to find southern Finland's best swimming hall. But it may be the best, just finished in 2022, so it is very modern scandinavic style, airy, lots of light. And works well.
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December 2025, Orimattilan uimahalli, Orimattila, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
In Luosto -- near the better known Pyhä ski resort -- there's an amethyst mine that runs tourist digging tours. In the summer you may hike to the mine, but in the winter the better option is to take a ride on a snowcat " Amethyst Pendolino" and visit the mine. A visit includes the ride, a presentation about the history and purpose of the mine, and then you get to .. digging. You may take the smallest finds home, and everybody is guaranteed a find. And afterwards you might also visit the Amethyst Spa, a Lapland Hotels Luostotunturi resort who has a spa with an amethyst theme.
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December 2025, Ametistikaivos, Luosto, Finland; Ametistikylpylä, Luosto, Finland
Urban-Exploration (Mines); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
In my quest for swimming at different places, I ended up this time in Loviisa. They don't have a proper swimming hall, but they do have a small swimming pool at the Esplanad, a service house / elderly care home. It is open for the public a few hours on four days during the week. The pool is only 16 meters long, however, and quite shallow from one end, so not easy to swim.
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November 2025, Esplanad, Loviisa, Finland
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool)
On a dark, late November evening, I drove to Vuosaari in eastern Helsinki. I had to complete my daily steps, so walked through the neighbourhood. In a landscape of high-rise residential buildings -- maybe they should even be called skyscrapers in Finland at 26 floors. There was also the glow of the local shopping mall, and then ... the swimming hall.
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November 2025, Vuosaaren uimahalli, Vuosaari, Helsinki, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Walking
It was a dark and rainy night when I made my way to Åkeshov sports hall for a swim :-) but the journey was surprisingly pleasant. Stockholm's public transport never cease to impress, the bus ride was smooth and comfortable, complete with USB charging ports on every seat.
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October 2025, Åkeshovs sim- och idrottshall, Åkeshov, Stockholm, Sweden
Swimming (Indoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
It has been a while since I skied properly. I skied in July at an indoor ski resort in Madrid and Oslo, and in June also in Oslo. But after that in August and September only on some snow piles outside ice skating halls... so it was time to ski again! Last year for October I went for a day trip to Levi (alt. link), but while fun that was a gruelingly tiresome travel and way too short time in Levi. So this year I went for the whole weekend.
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October 2025, Levi, Kittilä, Finland; Levi Hotel, Kittilä, Finland; Helsinki-Vantaa, Vantaa, Finland; Kittilän lentokenttä, Kittilä, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Walking; Hiking; Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Water, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal, Steam); Flying; Travel