Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There are home-cooked local dishes (lunch/dinner buffet €10/25), two lakeside saunas,
rowboats, and bike hire (per hour/day €3/15). Treatment therapies span herbal baths (€12)
to
turvesauna
(a sauna/mud bath; per hour €25).
Hotelli Pielinen
HOTEL
( 045-264-0303;
www.hotellipielinen.com
;
Läpikäytäväntie 54;s/d €60/88, without bathroom
€40/64; )
Peacefully set near (but not on) the lake in Vuonislahti, Hotelli Pielinen has modern, good-
value rooms - ask for one with a balcony overlooking the hares loping about the garden.
In winter the ice road across to Koli's slopes makes this a handy base for skiers.
WORTH A TRIP
WOODLAND WOODCARVINGS
Paateri
MUSEUM, CHURCH
( 040-104-4055;Paateri 21, Vuonisjärvi;adult/child €4/2.50; 10am-6pm mid-May-mid-Sep)
Between Vuonislahti and Vuonisjärvi, Paateri was the home and workshop of Eva Ryynän-
en (1915-2001), Finland's most respected wood sculptor - as well as her greatest work,
Paateri Wilderness Church (1991). Carved flowers and animals adorn the beams; the
great tree-root altar is framed by a glass window that draw the living pine trees outside in-
to the building. Every surface of wood in Eva's home is embellished, and some beautiful
sculptures are displayed in her workshop.
Lieksa
013 / Pop 12,570
On the banks of Lake Pielinen, Lieksa is unlovely in itself, but from here you can easily
explore Koli or go whitewater-rafting, riding, canoeing and bear-watching.
Sights
Pielisen Museo
MUSEUM
