Oulun Kauppahalli on the market square is a traditional Finnish collection of small shops selling special foods, souveniers and other interesting items. The shops or stalls are along two corridors and the place is pleasant for a short stroll if you are in the neighbourhood. The prices are higher compared to normal shops, but the service is more personal.

There is also a decent café that sells soups and sandwiches among sweetier items.

Oulun Kauppahalli, Rantakatu (at the market square), Oulu, Finland, +358 8 311 7688 (café)

Oulun Koru is big jewelry store in Finnish standards. All relevant brands are available from watches to jewelry and silverware.

The staff is very helpful and knows enough to answer even some of the more peculiar questions.

Oulun Koru is not for cheapskates. Finland in general is not a good place to buy jewelry, except if you are interested in Finnish design — that is, by the way, quite unique compared to the rest of the world.

Check out Lapponia Jewelry that has several excellent collections portraiting Finnish nature. They have both golden and silver jewelry. Karelia Koru is another brand; they have got inspiration from medieval or even older Finnish designs.

www.oulunkoru.fi, Kirkkokatu 19 (Rotuaari), Oulu, Finland, +358 8 311 2290, oulunkoru@oulunkoru.fi

I’m writing this travelogue in-flight between Stockholm and Munich, squeezed in a tiny seat of Canadair Regional Jet between the wall and elbows of older gentleman that is sleeping — fortunately not snoring or drooling. Yet…

Leaving Helsinki
I had surreal feeling in the taxi to the airport. It was still quite early morning, especially for a Saturday, but I felt that it must be almost noon — maybe I had been awake longer than usual on weekend. Thus I had sort of phobic experience that I was already late from my flight, even if the clock in taxi was just 9.10 and my flight was scheduled to depart at 11.05.

The Helsinki-Vantaa airport was full of people flying in charter. They blocked the aisles and occupied the shops. While checking the latest offerings from Stockmann, duty-free and Sand, I got to hear a short lecture about the virtues of American Express credit card, especially compared to Visa (spends too much on advertising, no benefits whatsoever) and Diners Club (too big annual fee, not enough shops, and in general a card that has a glorious past but no future). I was able to resist the temptation to get yet another card to my wallet.

I bought a big chunk of chocolate, 300g of Fazerin Sininen, the best chocolate that I’ve ever eaten — and yes, I’ve tasted a lot of Swiss and Belgian brands, too. I was able to check my emails before boarding, fortunately nothing major and no spam in Nomadig.
Read the rest of this entry >

Vima: sells fashionable clothes for both ladies and gentlemen in the center of Oulu. The store is conveniently located on Rotuaari, just next to Stockmann. In fact, you can walk from Vima: to Stockmann without even noticing that you have moved from a store to another. Just remember to pay your purchases first…

The first floor has men fashion and shoes, the second floor is for ladies, the third has Benetton and Sisley shop-in-shop and the fourth floor hosts a cafe.

The garments are designated mostly for young urban people, but you can find the basic suits and other paraphelia there, too. The prices are normal Finnish street prices, so no bargains can usually be found.

www.vima.fi, Kirkkokatu 16 (Rotuaari), Oulu, Finland, +358 8 885 1200, info@vima.fi

Kansallinen Kirjakauppa operates three bookstores in Turku area. The biggest shop is located next to the market hall.

The store is a fresh exception to the chained bookstore landscape in Finland. The selection is good and there is a decent English books section, too.

The prices are par with the other bookstores, but during book bargain weeks (late January and early February) you can make real finds in store.

www.kansallinenkirjakauppa.fi, Linnankatu 16, Turku, Finland, +358 2 283 1000, info@kansallinenkirjakauppa.fi

I’ve spend a couple of days packing everything that I need for the trip to the US. The clothes, shoes and toiletries have been easy, as I have a permanent set of items that have been found good while on the road.

For entertaining me during long flights, I’ve packed four pocket books and filled iPOD with all my beloved projects, including an off-line copy of Nomadig. I definetely have enough time and hopefully some energy to open the laptop and continue working on them — the another scenario is that I’ll play FreeCell…

The laptop has an eight hour battery, so that should be enough. I’m planning to plug iPOD with an USB cable and hack away using it as a workspace. I’ve installed Emacs, Apache and MySQL to the laptop on earlier occasions, so I just need the data. The iPOD is fully charged, so it should not drain the laptop battery — but you never know before you have tried. I’m planning to plug the computer in the airports for repleneshing the batteries, but sometimes the outlets have been hidden too deviantly.

I have also noise-cancelling earphones with me to make sure that crying kids and snoring adults don’t disturb my hackathon. Bon voyage!

Old Bank is a public house that has been renovated in an old bank house near the Turku market square.

The settings of the pub are quite grand; the over hundred years old building boasts with glass paintings and ornaments. Try not to be too drunk to be able to enjoy the atmosphere.

Otherwise, the place is an ordinary Finnish bar. The crowd can get quite loud especially on Fridays and Saturdays, and there is smoke everywhere. There is a smallish patio during summer months.

www.oldbank.fi, Aurakatu 3, Turku, Finland, +358 2 274 5700

Viikinkiravintola Harald transfers you back to the time when Vikings roamed the shores of Finland. The restaurant interior is made of unfinished wood and you sit on sturdy chairs next to very sturdy table.

The food is not from ages, as back then there were not much spices available and the food must have tasted sort of bland.

The descriptions of the food make you smile and sometimes also wonder what you are going to get. The portions are big and the taste is ok, nothing spectacular though.

www.ravintolaharald.com, Aurakatu 3, Turku, Finland, +358 2 276 5050