Oz Baby is a huge baby and children store in a semi-industrial zone a few kilometers from the Turku downtown. The trip is worth the drive, as the selection is unbeatable in the Turku region.

The place looks a bit like a factory store, but unfortunately the prices are on normal high-street level. As the store is spacious, everything is shown and the clerks are eager to answer your questions and in generally help you. There is a small playroom for children in the middle of the store, and usually dads are parked there, too.

www.ozbaby.fi, Satakunnantie 162, Turku, Finland, +358 2 880 0650

[This is a slightly modified entry from my company's blog.]

Despite (or due to) the hard times in financials, web related innovative companies are alive and kicking here in Finland.

During this year and especially this autumn, I and my teams in Exove have participated in a number of projects for companies to jumpstart their business. This work includes helping them to conceptualise their offer, designing user experience, and implementing the needed systems to actually run the show.

Besides readymade and on-going projects, we are working with a number of other startups that have good and grand ideas for services that will shake certain segments or niches on the markets.

There is happening a lot also outside of Exove, too. Finnish startup scene has been pretty lively for the past year or so.

This all is due to the fact that implementing a web based business has become really cost-effective compared to the old ways of doing software business.

If you are pondering on an idea, consider also discussing with us. Let’s talk.

A men only clothing shop is a rare sight in Finland, especially outside Helsinki. Turku’s Hansa center can boast having one: Brothers. The store is part of a Swedish chain, and this outlet is their first ones in Finland.

The garments are seemingly designed for young urban men that use some more money in clothing than in average. It is not a luxury store, though, and the price level is in par with H&M and Zara — as well as the quality and the design of the items.

Brothers, Eerikinkatu 15 (inside Hansa center), Turku, Finland, +358 2 231 0016

Panimoravintola Koulu is the biggest microbrewery in Finland, producing somewhat 170 000 liters of beer every year. A lot of that beer is consumed on their large summer patio behind the old school building that has been converted to a set of restaurants and a brewery.

The patio or the school yard is served from a kiosk that sells only drinks and some bar snacks. Food can be ordered, too, and it will be delivered from the building. We were not exactly hungry, so we decided just to bask in the sunshine with some drinks. The tables are spread around in the huge yard, so you can enjoy some privacy. Mind you, the yard is dusty on dry days and probably a bit muddy when it has rained.

Inside the building, the charm of an old school has been preserved well. The whole restaurant complex is huge, and they have several bars, cabinets and halls for almost any occasion.

www.panimoravintolakoulu.fi, Eerikinkatu 18, Turku, Finland, +358 2 274 5757

I and Aapo spent the last weekend in Northern Carelia with my parents. We left Sanna and Niilo home to sell stuff on a flea market and also Sanna to work on some pressing items.

This was the second trip Aapo travelled in a long-haul train. The travel time was four and half hours to Joensuu and more than six back to Helsinki, but more about the latter a bit later.

The trip to Joensuu was really nice. I wouldn’t have guessed how well Aapo behaved, watched DVDs and played in the play area of the train car. I could code, read a few presentations and in general work. The only hitch was that my MacBook’s Bluetooth chip decided not to work after two hours of use. It is still broken, need to bring the laptop to service soon.

There was a real winter in Joensuu and Polvijärvi. Almost ten centimeters of snow and a few Centigrade below zero. Aapo sledged, visited the local swimming center (in next town, 25 kilometers away…) and helped grandma to bake gingerbread cookies.

We started our journey back to Helsinki at noon on Sunday. First, we did some shopping in Joensuu and ate cakes in Café Houkutus (much recommended, by the way), and then embarked the train at three o’clock.

There was a snow storm developing and it hit southern Finland in the afternoon. Due to this, the train was more than an hour late. Sanna couldn’t leave home, as Niilo was already sleeping. So, we decided to take a taxi from Tikkurila station.

The plan sounded simple, but execution was not perfect. There were no taxis in the station, and we had to wait 20 minutes before getting one. Aapo was so tired that I had to talk to him all the way home, and he fell asleep twice — but fortunately woke up and was able to walk to the door by himself. I was buried under our bags and safety seat.

Sanna hadn’t cleaned the yard, and there were more than twenty centimeters of snow. So I spent half an hour removing the snow, cleaning up the car and driving it into the carage. I wasn’t the happiest camper when I finally was able to enter the house. Fortunately, I am not slow to forget…

Aschan has several coffeehouses and bakeries around Turku region. One of these excellent cafés is located on Hansa center, in the middle of the city. The café is quite small, but the space doubles with an indoor patio, and doubles again with another Aschan café on the second floor.

They offer a good selection of both sweet and salty goodies, accompanied with a selection of coffees, teas and soft drinks. The best part of the deal is the price; not exactly cheap but inexpensive compared to the quality and the size of the portions.

www.satukonditoria.fi, Eerikinkatu 15 (in Hansa center), Turku, Finland, +358 20 446 2949

Sokos department store is located adjacent to the market square, just next to the department store of Kuopio’s own people, Carlson’s. The ground floor makes you think that the store is really miniscule, but the second floor expands the space greatly.

Kuopio’s Sokos is part of Sokos chain that covers all major cities in Finland (except Oulu — a fact that I find somewhat puzzling). Their selection is geared heavily towards the middle class, so don’t expect any haute couture brands. Sokos is quite good at tableware, carrying Iittala and other Finnish brands.

www.sokos.fi, Haapaniemenkatu 24-26, Kuopio, Finland, +358 17 192 800

This is the thousandth post in Nomadig.com! More than four years have passed since I created the first incarnation of the site.

During this time, I’ve got two sons, moved to a new apartment, changed my employer twice, and finally established my own company.

The site has not fulfilled its original promise of freeing me to be a digital nomad — and now the times have changed. With the kids, you do not want to wander around, but stay put. Of course, it would be nifty to have gained enough capital to be independently wealthy, and be nomadic at least in mental sense. That hasn’t happened yet, but Exove is on its way to a bright future.

Despite not meeting the targets, Nomadig.com has given me a lot of good openings in both privately and business-wise. So let’s call it a moderate success.

I’ll plan to continue writing here, and reviewing the interesting places I’ve been. Stay tuned for the next thousand articles.