Dream Hostel blog

We were Lost in Music.

2012-10-21T22:10:00.003+03:00

Sara rocking out.

Lost in Music city festival hit the town few days ago and most of the Dream Team was out on Saturday at Klubi and Pakkahuone. It was an awesome night with loads of new bands and couple of must-sees. You still have a chance get lost in music tonight if you are fast!

Pinja and Janne watching Lapko's awesome show.

It was Pinja's last day here yesterday, we are sad to see her go. No more Tinja & Pinja jokes from now on :( We forced her to come and see some good music with us as a treat. Pinja raised her fist in the air like a real metal fan and went crazy in most pits... in our dreams :D We wish you all the best for your future young lady, come visit us soon!

Dude energy by Stam1na.

Thank you Lost in Music and our lovely guests during the festival!

Autumn feelings.

2012-10-14T23:06:00.003+03:00

Autumn is one of the best times to visit Finland and especially Tampere. If you are lucky the sun is shining and you can see the nature giving its best with bright colours. We have been having enough rain this year, so hopefully the autumn is better.

Public toilet in Keskustori.

I was talking with a customer last week who was very surprised about how Tampere has a lot to offer even at this time of the year! There's something to see and do every week from European Food Market to the city festival Lost in Music being held next weekend, fairs and concerts across the road from us in Tampere-talo, and of course you can just climb up to Pyynikki Observation Tower to see how the city looks like from birds point of view.

A view from Pyynikki Observation Tower.

Just to let you know in advance, we are going to have a secondhand market also this year, and the date is Sunday 25th November. If you are interested in selling your stuff, feel free to contact us to secure your stall.

Monsters of Pop

2012-09-15T15:35:00.000+03:00

Regina was there last year, beautiful beautiful beautiful.

Beautiful girls and fashionable boys are all going to be in one place (actually in three different venues) again this year when Monsters of Pop indiepoprock festival hits the city. There are few bands playing here all the way from Malaysia and Indonesia, wow! Check out the schedule and venues on their website.

If you are coming from outside Tampere to see your favourite bands, or too lazy to go home after a good night out, we are only 2mins walk away from Klubi and Telakka! Type in code "mop2012" at our website dreamhostel.fi to get a 10% discount off all rooms. There are also great deals for rest of the month!

"And I just cleaned up here..."

Be aware that DH staff are going to be in Telakka on the first night after washing away busy summer season at Kasari sauna. You too will have a chance to wash your worries and "travel sweat" away soon (shh... it's still a secret...)!

Local delicatessens: Armas Maitokauppa

2012-09-06T17:52:00.001+03:00

Small delicatessens are coming back to the Finnish street scene. Last year we got two new ones in Tampere selling only locally produced and fresh baked goods. Where else would you find ice cream that tastes like the real thing or have a hot chiabatta made from the best ingredients? Even better, get your cereal milk straight from the cow... Almost!

Fresh and homemade!

Armas Maitokauppa (milk shop) is located right in the city centre of Tampere and has been operating for just over a year. It's a cosy little shop n' cafe with friendly staff. Lots of fresh veggies, eggs, bread, and their own dairy products, cheese, yoghurt, raw milk; you name it! You must try their ice cream, it's seriously one of the best I have ever had (and I have had many!).

My main course and dessert.

Delicious Armas dairy products can also be purchased at supermarkets and Tampere Market Hall.

ARMAS MAITOKAUPPA

Tuomiokirkonkatu 17

Mon-Fri 10-19

Sat 10-15

maitokauppa.fi

Hostel life has been extra busy this summer but I will keep you posted more often from now on :) Local delicatessens and ice cream, here I come!

This blogpost is not sponsored. Tinja paid her own food altho she doesn't mind getting sponsored eating ice cream.

Busy Wednesday

2012-07-09T10:00:00.000+03:00

We have been listening to you again, our dear guests! There's been a lot of feedback about lack of reading lights, so it was time to hit the shops. Mr. Ville and our hardworking trainees had a busy day last Wednesday and now almost every single bed has a reading light! How cool is that?

A good example of a hardworking trainee.

...And another one! Aren't we lucky?

Maybe the last dorm will get its upgrade done next Wednesday!?

Summer fests!

2012-07-07T22:15:00.000+03:00

Lumous Gothic Festival started couple of days ago and yesterday was a pre-club at Dog's Home (few mins walk from the hostel) with Tampere's own boys IMPAKT! playing an awesome gig! It's not too late to join tonight's party at Klubi (also 2mins walk from the hostel)!

IMPAKT! @ Dog's Home.

Next week Tammerfest hits the city with various gigs, standup and even a cruise! Lots of fun happening from Wednesday til Sunday.

We still have few beds left in dormitories, so you better book your accommodation quick!

Summer greetings!

2012-06-21T19:24:00.000+03:00

We have been having the most beautiful start for the summer (excluding the horrible pollen attact), the sun is shining and we are looking forward to the Midsummer weekend! Martti is back in business as some of you "might" have noticed on Facebook :D

Our new trainee, sporty girl Miia and the same old Martti.

We have a football and few frisbees to borrow at Dream Hostel "sporting centre" for free of charge. What would be a nicer way to spend a summer day than playing in the nearby Sorsapuisto park?

Bicycles are for rent for 15 euros a day or 5 euros for 3 hours. We will give you a detailed cycling map and a helmet, so you won't get lost or hurt yourself while watching the beautiful scenery of Pirkanmaa.

Have you tried Turkish peppers yet? How about rye crisps? We like to give special Finnish treats to our customers every now and then. Altho I heard that few customers spit out a tasty Turkish pepper of their mouth straight away :p

On holiday until June

2012-05-20T22:08:00.001+03:00

Dream Hostel went to the Faroes.

Dream Hostel blog is holidaying in amazing Faroe Islands and Iceland and will return in June. I'm currently staying in one of the most beautiful hostels in the world, Dalvik Hostel. Worth staying here while travelling in North Iceland, and this is not a paid advertisement :D

Guys back at the hostel are updating Facebook regularly, so you better check out what they are up to in Tampere!

Dream Team goes to Sicily

2012-05-01T09:48:00.002+03:00

Dream Team had few days to relax in beautiful Sicily couple of weeks back. Three words to describe our small holiday in Trapani were cappuccino, gelato and food. What else could we have possible wished for?

A Babordo B&B.

We stayed at A Babordo B&B, had a nice breakfast every morning and were ready to explore Trapani and its beautiful surroundings. The sun was shining most of the time and quiet narrow streets of Erice were outstanding!

Gelato, breakfast and wine.

Extra kilos were not carried in the luggage...

"Ville and his wives" enjoying nice food, wine and the sun.

Happy Vappu everybody! It's business as usual at the Dream Hostel, maybe a funny hat or two can be seen...

zzzzzz

2012-04-27T21:38:00.001+03:00

Have a great weekend everyone!

Party party party

2012-04-20T21:49:00.001+03:00

Let's have this pic of Krisse the trainee be the first one :p

As some of you might know, we had our 2-Year Birthday Party few weeks ago. Earth Hour happened to be at the same time, so candles were lit at 8.30pm for an hour. Everything went well, nobody got too drunk or lost in the dark. It's time to show few pics from the party!

Marvelous muffins.

Mr. Ville and Mrs. Eve cutting the first slices of the delicious cake.

Even the young ones enjoyed the party!

Can you believe that Sini ate all these??

Anna, and trainees Krisse and Tiina.

MC Dana in da house!

It's time to lid the candles and enjoy the candlelight.

"Earth Hour is a worldwide event organized by the WWF encouraging households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change. The even first took place in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights." (Source: Wikipedia) Thanks for a great example Aussies, it was our 2nd year participating this event!

Earth Hour.

More pics coming sooner rather than later!

Dream Guest: Quentin Keijo Juho-Kaapo Partanen

2012-04-12T10:18:00.000+03:00

Keijo enjoying a drink at Kahvilla.

Hello there handsome! May I ask who are you?
Some might say I'm a guide in Lapland, others believe I'm a famous singer coming to Tampere time to time for a gig... I would say I'm Quentin Keijo Juho-Kaapo Partanen (or wish this was my real name).

Would it be too rude to ask your age?
I'm 36 according to my colleagues, 89 according to a website calculating mental age, 22 according to the years I've been living so far.

You are almost as old as Santa then! Why did you come to the Dream Hostel?
I was looking for a job in Finland and I needed a place to stay! I found this place randomly on internet and as the comments were quite good, I decided to give it a try. I stayed for almost one month. Usually it's not allowed but my level of gentlemanness allowed me to stay that long.

What's the best thing about the Hostel?
First, the receptionists were always helpful, nice and smiling. Sometimes they even make you a tea and toast but this is extremely rare so don't complain if it doesn't happen to you. They can also give you good tips about travelling, and sell you chocolate if you are too lazy to walk 50 meters to the nearest shop.

I bet you were using our Mini Market quite often...
The kitchen is big and very well equipped altho I didn't use it much, I hate to admit!

Ha, told you! Any other good things?
Beds are nice and sheets are clean. You feel like a baby in an ocean of fresh flowers surrounding you.

Sounds awesome, why would you ever want to leave this place??

Well, when i'm not in Dream Hostel, I'm just in my flat missing it... In fact I'm still guiding in Lapland and after that I'm going to south of France to my parents place. I don't have many plans for the future but wait and see. In France I will probably meet my friends and have an easy life but I'll miss the hostel and no doubt I'll come back there, I even have made some friends there now!

What's your favourite place in Tampere?

Showtime of course! Youhouu, no, I'm kidding! It's a bit too expensive for me! I think my favorite place is Cafe Europa. It is a very weird place but you always find someone to talk to and it's usually a young, newly educated girl and you can even eat delicious muffins. Otherwise you can always try to go to all the bars in Hämeenkatu. If you visit Fat Lady nightclub, don't forget to ask for two scarves I lost there, kiitos!

Thank you Keijo Juho-Kaapo Partanen for your time! By the way ladies, this guy is still single, so save him from France!

Winter came back.

2012-04-09T23:42:00.000+03:00

Siilinkari Lighthouse © LX

Everybody here were already looking forward to the perfect beach weather, and then the winter came back! At the hostel it doesn't change a thing tho, our rooms are warm in the winter and cool in the summer!

Lake Näsijärvi.

Keskustori.

Daffodils in Keskustori.

It's going to be more or less +5 degrees rest of the week, getting warmer and warmer every day!

Dream Team is leaving to Sicily tomorrow but don't worry you will be in good hands and we will be back soon!

Happy Easter!

2012-04-08T16:33:00.001+03:00

Look at my egg, jealous?

Dream Hostel is enjoying a sunny day and wishing Happy Easter to everyone!

Recycling

2012-03-30T22:48:00.002+03:00

I am one of the proud staff members at Dream Hostel who is very keen on Eco friendly things. So be warned, we are now doing our very best to brainwash everybody else.

Did you know that we recycle paper, cardboard, metal, glass, batteries and waste for energy? There are bins and drawers for guests to recycle their rubbish and we are happy to see that many of you are using them.

Trainee Tiina sending out a booking confirmation using smoke signals.

You may also cook a free meal for yourself from items left in free food baskets by fellow backpackers. Just remember to wash your dishes after use if your mother is not travelling with you. Washing up liquid is provided in a spray bottle to avoid over dosing and the dish brushes have replacement heads to reduce the rubbish. The amount of waste we are producing is getting smaller and smaller!

Free pasta, bread and cereals in the basket, are you hungry?

The next thing we are planning on experimenting with is cleaning the whole hostel with a baking soda, vinegar and other powerful and natural cleaning products from our own kitchen for a week!

Earth Hour is here tomorrow and we are going to turn off the lights right in the middle of the 2-year anniversary party. Find your way to the punch bowl in the dark!

Come and play with us!

2012-03-09T20:39:00.000+02:00


"Great game buddy!"

Something fun arrived to the hostel today: a table football! We already have pretty much everything from Yatzy to Trivial Pursuit and now this! Will we have time to do any work after this?

New look!

Dream Team: Dana

2012-03-05T12:43:00.000+02:00

How did you end up working at the Dream Hostel?

I was going to Sicily to do my practical training but it didn't work out so...

What? You were going to Sicily but end up here?

Sh*t happens! I started to bombard Mr. Ville and of course he was forced to take me!

What's the best thing about the hostel?

I can't name just one! It's very international, relaxed atmosphere, lots of cool stuff, nice customers and overall great experiences.

How are you spending your freetime?

I love going out, take photos or draw and have a latte or glass of white wine in a nice cafe. I also read books and comics and I'm trying to travel as much as I can! I'm addicted to shopping too.

Sounds pretty normal. Where would you take someone who's in Tampere for the first time?

My favourite place in Tampere is Pyynikki, forest near Rosendahl hotel and a beach near Ratina. I love sitting in a long jetty there... I also recommend visiting Kahvila Valo for great coffee and Klubi for the best gigs in town!

You better believe what this cool chick says! Well, she can't stop talking anyways... :p

Popcorn Friday

2012-03-02T14:14:00.001+02:00

It's today!

Postcards and something totally random

2012-02-25T10:41:00.004+02:00

These cards flew to Germany.

Do you remember the good old times when your friends, family and namesake of your second cousin used to send postcards whilst on the road? Why not to surprise them with your own handmade postcard while staying at Dream Hostel. We will post it for you :)

Looks like it's the perfect winter weather to go outside today! Hire your nordic ice skates from Bikini Bar (near Särkänniemi amusement park), discount prices available.

Dream Team showing how it's done... kind of... :D

Pyynikki and the world famous doughnuts

2012-02-18T20:45:00.012+02:00

A view from Pyynikki to Pyhäjärvi.

One of the most beautiful places in Tampere is Pyynikki, a view from top of the hill or observation tower is worth seeing. It's also a great area for exercising all year round; walking and running in the summer and skiing in the winter. Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the silence without any noise pollution.

Pyynikki Observation Tower and cafe.

Climb on top of the tower and see the city and both of the lakes, Pyhäjärvi and Näsijärvi at the same time!

The cafe is open every day from 9am til 8pm.

A cup of hot choco melts your frozen fingers.

Cafeteria of Pyynikki observation tower is a nice and idyllic place to enjoy the best doughnuts of the city with a cup of tea or freshly ground coffee.

The famous doughnuts!

The Best Hostel in Finland 2011

2012-02-11T00:49:00.004+02:00

As you already might know WE ARE the best hostel in Finland 2011! Wohoo! It's the second time already and the hostel hasn't even been up and running for 2 years. We couldn't have done it without our amazing customers tho, the winners are chosen based on Hostelworld.com customer reviews.

We mostly receive positive feedback on our friendly staff (it's coming straight from our hearts <3) and cleanliness (you should see how we race to the cleaning cupboards every morning after the check-out time). It's always good to receive some criticism and we have actually been listening to you! Last year for example, we got reading lights and tables to the small dormitories. Who knows what we will do this year... Maybe a swimming pool in the middle of the lounge area! Well, that wouldn't be very ecological.

If you have not stayed at the Dream Hostel before, maybe you should do this year!

Winter fun

2012-02-09T23:33:00.001+02:00

Merja getting ready with a help of Liisa from Hiking Travel.

Anna and Merja went to try nordic ice skating last week, organized by a local nature adventure company Hiking Travel.

Go Anna!

- "It's so much fun but quite hard! Think about skiing on skates", laughs Anna. "If you are a first-timer, you better do it with a guide", she continues.

Lauri showing how it's done.

Enjoying the amazing view.

Kicksleds, snowshoes, cross-country skis and many more winter fun equipments are available for rent at the Bikini Bar. For more information ask from the reception! :)

Finnish cuisine

2012-02-06T20:40:00.001+02:00

Kalakukko ("Fish Rooster") with European Perch.

The Monday Market is held on the first Monday of every month in Keskustori. Quite many stalls were from east of Finland today selling fresh thornberry juice, lörtsy and kalakukko. Kalakukko has a thick rye bread crust with fish and slices of bacon inside. If you ever go to eastern part of Finland you better try lörtsy as well. After eating an apple lörtsy you don't want to touch anything sweet for a week!

Winter wonderland

2012-02-01T02:02:00.002+02:00

Hrrrr.....

Hello there! The blog is back after few months of holidays! Who knew in November we would actually have a proper winter this year... But here it is! -20 degrees in Tampere today! Keep yourself wrapped up in warm clothes people!

There are lots of winter activities available in Tampere. Cross-country skiing is a very popular sport amongst those who didn't get traumatised by it at the comprehensive school.
Ice skating looks so classy and easy on telly that you must try your own spirals but without mini skirts. You will only get frostbites, not applauses!
If you are crazy enough (you were already when you booked your tickets!) you are not a true Finn without dipping into an ice cold lake. We know you will love it altho we prefer to stay in a hot sauna :p

There are still few Suomi scarfs, mittens and beanies left to purchase if you forgot to bring yours with you. They are great souveniers as well!

Viinikanpuisto in Nekala.

Whether you want to catch your own lunch by fishing through the ice, enjoy the sunshine in -30 degrees while ice skating or spend hours in the forest trying to figure out how to cross-country ski, just let us know while you are here/before arrival. Professional outdoor guides will take a good care of you :)

World premiere

2011-11-14T01:42:00.000+02:00

Autumn has arrived to Tampere but it's always nice and warm here at the hostel :) We have put up a box for mittens, scarfs and other useful autumn/winter gear. If you have any spare ones, please bring them over or take something you need!

One of our new promo pics was published on LomaSuomi brochure, page 30 :) More exciting news coming soon!