Duration: 3 days
Season: all year round
Group size: 5-30 pax
Target group: students, special interest groups
Route: Mänttä-Vilppula-Juupajoki

Day 1 & 2: at Serlachius Museums and in the Art Town Mänttä
Day 3: at Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station, Juupajoki

Possibility to adjust the tour as needed, for example 2-days trip: 1 day at Serlachius and 1 day at Hyytiälä or 2 days only at Serlachius. We can also make a 1-day compact trip. Ask more from our sales service!

Program Example for a 3-Day Trip:

DAY 1: Industry and Sustainable Place

IN THE MORNING:

Take a train to Vilppula (from Helsinki or Jyväskylä direction). A guide with bikes is waiting for you at the station. Ride your way (ca 7 km) to Serlachius Museum Gustaf! You can also take the Serlachius shuttle bus from Tampere directly to the museum.

AT NOON:

Guided tour at Serlachius Museum Gustaf, the former head office of the G.A. Serlachius Ltd. paper company
The guide will introduce the history of the paper industry in Mänttä and Finland, tell about the changes in natural and cultural environment and show you around the beautiful old headquarters and the exhibitions related to the theme:

Behind the Pulp Gate – Work and Stories from Mänttä Pulp Mill
”The exhibition tells about the manufacture of pulp in Mänttä, in Finland’s last sulphite pulp mill. The interview-based narration highlights the people behind the process diagrams and production figures, approaching the topic from the perspective of everyday life and work. The stories, together with the other collection material, also provide insight into the cultural environment and environmental impacts of the forest industry.”

Paper Devil – The Life and Business Affairs of G. A. Serlachius
“Gustaf Adolf Serlachius, who established a paper mill in Mänttä, was one of the pioneers of paper industry in Finland. He made path for Finnish forest industry’s later success.

Lunch and discussion at the historical café of the head office
Let’s gather thoughts and ideas arising from the guided tour. The guide will take notes, which will be needed afterwards.

IN THE AFTERNOON:

Guided walking or cycling tour
Loan the museum bikes or Nordic walking poles and the guide will take you through the town. You will see and hear about the impacts of industrialization and ponder about the small-town’s possibilities for a socially and environmentally sustainable future in an ever-urbanizing society. This tour will take you also along a forest path, where you will experience the nature closely. 

Some snack to keep you going!
If it’s a nice weather, you will enjoy refreshments outdoors. Otherwise Museum Gustaf’s café is at your service! We continue the discussion about the sustainability theme. The guide takes notes for later use.

IN THE EVENING:

Finnish Evening at the Peltola Organic Farm
Ride your way to your accommodation in Vilppula (ca 9 km), Peltola Organic Farm. The farm owner will tell about their work, organic farming and the history of the farm. In the end of the evening, you’ll enjoy a traditional and organic Finnish dinner.

Good night sleep tight!

DAY 2: Sociocultural Sustainability

IN THE MORNING:

Wake up
Start with the farm’s hearty breakfast and then off you go with your museum bike! After 7 km peddling, you’ll reach the museum complex with an old manor and newer pavilion.

Guided tour at Serlachius Museum Gösta
On the guided tour you will see wonderful national art treasures as well as internationally awarded architecture made from Finnish spruce. The different aspects of sustainability are discussed through the artworks, design and architecture. You will also take a turn at the museum’s beautiful park and the little island close by.

In addition to the art and architecture insight, the tour will make you think about the meaning and importance of a cultural institute. What does sustainability mean in the culture scene? What about sustainability in the travel business? And how does sociocultural sustainability work in practice?

AT NOON:

Lunch at Restaurant Gösta
Walking and talking make one hungry! It’s time for a delicious, local and seasonal lunch at the lakeside Restaurant Gösta located in the museum’s wooden pavilion. 

During the lunch, chef de cuisine Henry Tikkanen tells about the restaurant’s idea of a natural, pure kitchen. You will also discuss about everything seen and heard earlier today, and our guide will once again write your thoughts down…

IN THE AFTERNOON:

Sustainability Workshop
The world needs creative solutions to overcome the environmental crisis. So, let’s be creative! In this workshop the things seen and discussed will be transformed into an artwork. Now is time to take out the mysterious notes! With the help of the guide, you will gather the thoughts, analyze and make something new out of them. But what it will be, will only be revealed on the spot!

Coffee time at Autere Cottage
After working intensively, is time to have some coffee and pastry. The museum café is located in a cozy and traditional cottage decorated with artist Hannes Autere’s works. 

Mäntänvuori Conservation Area
Your guide leads you to a wonderful cycling and walking tour on the Mäntänvuori, which means the mountain of Mänttä in Finnish. Well, the term “mountain” is a bit overexaggerated, but there will be some climbing ahead! The nature is reserved, and the area is surrounded by untouched, old forest. You can also visit an observation tower and a forest church.

IN THE EVENING:

Wine Tavern Vuorenmaja
After the outdoor activities, a tasty dinner is waiting you at the atmospheric Vuorenmaja on top of the Mänttä Mountain! The old ski cabin from the year 1928 serves today as a wine tavern offering also Swiss-type culinary flavours. You may also have a winetasting from the selected ecological wines!

Peltola Organic Farm
Time to return to your basecamp Peltola! In the end of the evening you can test a Finnish smoke sauna and dip in the lake, if you dare!

Sweet dreams!

DAY 3: Environmental Sustainability

IN THE MORNING:

Time goes so fast! After breakfast, you have to check out from Peltola, say goodbyes to Mänttä-Vilppula and continue your journey towards Juupajoki (by train or bus ca 30 min). 

Visit at Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station
”Hyytiälä is a historical forestry station that has become a center of international multidisciplinary research. Current topics cover many aspects of Earth system ranging from the depths of soil to atmospheric processes. The station is located in the middle of state-owned forests and peatlands, approximately one hour north-east drive from the city of Tampere, and hosts year-round facilities for field work, education and meetings.”

AT NOON:

Field trip to SMEAR II (Station for Measuring Earth system-Atmosphere Relations)
In this field trip (outdoors) you will get acquainted with the atmospheric measurements and the different aspects of climate change, such as greenhouse gas, carbon balance, carbon sinks and particulates.

Time for some lunch! 
In the distance of 1,5 km, you will find a historical inn Kallenautio from the 18^th century. Enjoy delicious lunch and the traditional milieu! There is also possibility to eat at Hyytiälä. During the lunch we’ll discuss about the day’s topic: environmental sustainability.

IN THE AFTERNOON:

Wrapping up
This Sustainability Tour is unfortunately coming to its end, but the journey towards a more sustainable world has only begun. What are the different aspects you have learned, examined and observed during your trip? What are the things you think will affect your daily life? How about the bigger picture – what could be the next actions? 

Train or bus will take you back to square one. But if you feel like extending your visit, it is possible to stay overnight at Hyytiälä or continue your sustainable trip somewhere else…

Farewell! Keep up the good work!

Got interested? Ask more and book:
tel. +358 40 166 3480 or sales@serlachius.fi

Duration: 6 days
Season: May – Sep

TIP: Extend your stay in each destination, if you wish. Remember to book a separate bicycle ticket (Intercity trains: 5 €, commuter trains: free of charge).
Train timetables: VR

PROGRAM EXAMPLE

DAY 1: Lake Tuusula
Cultural History & Cycling

• Take your bicycle or rent one and hop on the commuter train R from Helsinki to Järvenpää (ca 30 min). 
• Cycle your way from the railway station to the exciting Lake Tuusula, where you will find the ateliers and homes for many cultural figures in Finnish history. 
• The route around the lake is 26 km. Make the whole circle or just part of it. Stay overnight in a unique accommodation.

DAY 2: Tampere
Urban Nature & Culture

• Continue your journey by the commuter train R to Tampere (ca 1 h 40 min). 
• Enjoy the urban nature and culture of Tampere, taste some local delicacies and find a perfect basecamp for the night. Are you ready to try a public sauna in the official Sauna Capital?

DAY 3: Art Town Mänttä
Art & Culinary Pleasures

• Take a train to Vilppula (1 hour). Cycle your way (6 km) to the Art Town Mänttä and Serlachius Museums. 
• Visit the exciting Serlachius Museum Gösta and admire the awarded architecture, eat lunch at the top restaurant, enjoy the art exhibitions and surroundings. 
• In the evening check in at the local hotel, for example: Art Hotel Honkahovi, Mänttä Club or Hotel Alexander.

DAY 4: Art Town Mänttä
Stories & Nature

• After a delicious breakfast, visit Serlachius Museum Gustaf in the town center, a museum full of interesting stories! If you are still hungry for art after yesterday, take a turn in the annual Mänttä Art Festival (mid-Jun – Aug). 
• Take some snack with you and cycle to the top of the hill Mäntänvuori! 
• In the evening you can enjoy the hotel’s sauna and perhaps dip in the lake, if you dare…

DAY 5: Lempäälä
Chocolate and Cycling

• It is time to head towards south again! Take a morning train from Vilppula to Tampere and then off you go and cycle! 
• After 12 km of sporting, you reach Dammenberg Chocolate Factory and Outlet. Too good to be true! 
• Still 15 km of cycling and you will reach Vaihmalan Hovi – a boutique hotel and restaurant in Lempäälä. Sweet dreams after a real sporting day! 
• P.S. If you don’t feel like cycling so much, take the train directly to Lempäälä. No cycling – no chocolate!

DAY 6: Iittala
Design & History

• The commuter train R from Lempäälä (station at 3 km distance) will take you to Iittala in 20 minutes! This small town is the birthplace for the world-famous Finnish Iittala glass products. 
• Enjoy your day at the Iittala glass village, marvel at the real-time glass production, visit the museum, outlet and other exciting places.
• In the evening the commuter train R takes you back to Helsinki (ca 1 h 40 min).

What a wonderful and sustainable trip you had!