ITCHY FEET TRAVELS

Tampere, Finland

Aug 17, 2025

On a blustery rainy evening in Krakow some weeks ago, a few of us were sitting around the kitchen table in the hostel and trading tales. That is when I met her. Merve is irrepressible with the gift of making ordinary comments bounce with laughter. She is from Diyarbakir in eastern Turkey and we chatted about her life there and my fond memories of travels in that corner of the world. She now lives in Finland with her boyfriend. On hearing that I would be going up to Finland, she response was an unequivocal “You must come visit!” It was not just an invitation; it was a statement. I smiled to think we might be far away from Diyarbakir but the traditional Kurdish Hospitality is just as spontaneous and just as warm. I have many a story of such kindness; of course I had to visit!

Aboard a train from Helsinki, I zip through the countryside toward Tampere. The flat land is mostly farms dotted with small farmsteads. Some of the fields are heavy with harvest, some already shorn. In the background is the dark line of conifers. They remind me of the taiga that is ever present in the background on train rides in Russia. But these are not natural forests; I had read that about two-thirds of Finnish forests are farms, cultivated for timber. The seemingly endless piles of logs at some stations and goods trains flashing by piled with timber seem to attest to that.

Picked up at the train station, I meet Merve’s boyfriend Vaino, who is equally welcoming. A tour of the local museum was deemed a must and the museumaholic in me did not demur. I learned of the Finnish famine of 1866-1868 where almost ten percent of the population died, in some areas twice as many. I saw exhibits showcasing the progress made in Finnish society, in industries and factories.

But the weather gods are not in our favor and more than a little soggy, we scurried home. I am more than happy to sprawl on the couch and while away the afternoon chatting over wine. And being spoiled rotten with lahmacun that Merve made from scratch and smoked salmon on bread in the best of Finnish traditions. But there was another treat in store.

Their apartment had a sauna! Imagine that! Oh, everybody has a sauna, they laughed. Apparently, this is quite common in Finland but to me it seemed like the epitome of luxury. The cold, rainy day made it a perfect day to enjoy the sauna although I did not last nearly as long as either of them.