If I haven't mentioned it yet, Elimäki, Finland has been my home for about 20 years. Well, we live outside Elimäki, but Elimäki is our local village. There isn't much there but it does have a nice feel to it after living here for such a long time.
So, what does Elimäki have to offer?
Elimäki has a small centre with a church, a pizza restaurant, a supermarket, more hair dressers than any village would ever need and the usual dentist and health centre. In addition, there is a museum, a summer theatre, a garden centre, a small ski centre that becomes a swimming place in the summer and a few nice cafes.
Yes, this sounds very nice, but is it a place to visit?
Mmm, well I have lived here for some time and even though I love the sameness of the place I'm not sure if I would visit Elimäki unless I had friends living here.
However, if you are travelling north from Helsinki and going through Kouvola, Elimäki is a nice place to stop for a coffee and a bun or pizza.
But how about following the sun?
After our trip from Heinola we decided to stop at our countryside home in Elimäki. We plan to do some maintenance and cleaning of the motor home before moving on next week.
Yes, maintenance is vital because no matter how careful we are little knocks and breaks happen. So being able to do little repairs yourself is quite important.
In addition, it is important to carry a good size tool kit with you. There is an argument regarding changing a wheel on a motor home is advisable or not. The type of tools to lift up a 3-7 ton motor home at the side of a busy road could be challenging. So, if you feel you could do that be sure you have the tools and the ability to do so by doing it before you are in the middle of nowhere in Spain or France.
Alternatively, remove the spare wheel and get good insurance cover as well as reducing the weight of your motor home.
OK thanks for reading, will get back to you soon.