The first week of classes flew by and we all wanted a day away from JYU. The city of Tampere is 2 hours away from Jyväskylä by bus and tickets were super cheap. This meant waking up at 6am to catch the 7:30 bus which is a 30-40 minute walk from student housing. The buses weren't even starting their routes yet which obviously means it was way too early for any of us to be awake. Once we arrived in Tampere we realized that even though it is the second-largest city in Finland there still isn't a whole lot to do. There is beautiful nature, lakes to explore, museums, and shopping but for college kids on a budget, there's not a lot of cheap things to do. We first set off for Pyynikki which is the forest park in Tampere. We found a tower that we could climb that allowed viewers to look over the entire city which was gorgeous. There is a cafe right under the tower which serves amazing doughnuts so we had a small snack before regrouping and deciding where to go next. We ened up wandering around the city for an hour or two before Jana and I decided it was time for us to head to the Moomin Museum. Moomin is a hippo looking creature created by Tove Jansson whose books were published in Finland and became an international hit. The books were first written during the Winter War (1939-1940) and have more serious undertones to them reflecting what Jansson was experiencing. The museum takes you through the stories in a very interesting way. You feel like you are in the story walking through the museum with all the 3D models and interactive exhibits. We had such a great time in the museum. After the museum, it was basically time to get back on the bus and head back to Jyväskylä. I would definitely recommend Tampere as a city to visit and if I have time in the semester I might even go back for some more museums!
