Largest inland city in the Nordics gets new service from Amsterdam....

Latvian Government-backed airBaltic has launched direct flights between Tampere and Amsterdam, with the service operating twice a week on Wednesday and Sunday.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “We opened our Tampere base a month ago, and now continue to improve the connectivity provided to and from this dynamic city. So far the demand from Finnish passengers has met our expectations.”

airBaltic performs direct flights from Tampere to Oslo (Norway) and Copenhagen (Denmark), Frankfurt, Munich (both Germany) and Amsterdam (Netherlands) as well as sunny leisure destinations Malaga (Spain) and Rhodes (Greece) in addition to continuing flights to Riga (Latvia).

Towards the end of last month,  the carrier welcomed its 36th Airbus A220-300 jet, registered as YL-ABJ, in Riga. This is the fourth of eight planned Airbus A220-300 aircraft deliveries for airBaltic in 2022. This aircraft is a part of the 50 Airbus A220-300 which airBaltic has ordered. In addition, airBaltic holds 30 options and purchase rights for the same aircraft type.

Tampere is the largest inland city in the Nordic countries and according to some reports, it is Finland’s most desirable city to live in, which perhaps is the reason why more than 240,000 people call it home. The city is Some 105 or so miles north of Helsinki in southern Finland, on a narrow isthmus between two lakes, connected. 

Tampere is a rather pretty urban centre where the main city streets with red brick buildings, small cosy cafés, and all surrounded by the forest.  It seems to have a magical charm or atmosphere that tingles the consciousness of visitors and locals alike. 

The red brick part of the city, is the old industrial hub, once full of factories, manufacturing plants and other industrial buildings, these old 'red brick buildings now house hotels, cafés and museums. It has a feel of Manchester about it, which seems to take on a life of its own.  One of the city's top hotels is there too, the Hotel Torni Tampere, which you enter via an old former railway depot.

The Särkänniemi amusement park is a must-see attraction, regardless of age, it holds plenty to see and do and keeps you entertained, it is also rather pretty.   There are many wonderful eating places, serving a variety of foods,  from local delights like a black pudding type of sausage or oddly spicy doughnuts and fish of course. 

There are a handful of museums in town, including one devoted, perhaps surprisingly, to Lenin! It's where Lenin and Stalin first met in 1905 at a secret meeting of revolutionaries. The exhibition tells the common history of Finland and the Soviet Union from the beginning of the 20th century to the break-up of the Soviet Union and Putin's Russia.

Another museum worth a visit is the Moomin Museum which features illustrations by Tove Jansson, 40 miniatures, tableaux about Moomin events and a tiny Moomin House. Apparently, there are some 2,015 exhibits on display, but I've not stopped to count them! 

Take a look -  The world’s only Moomin Museum - The world's only Moomin Museum is in Tampere, Finland 

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