Jyväskylä
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Jyväskylä is a city located in Central Finland, 147 km from Tampere and 270 km from Helsinki. There are so many students in Jyväskylä (a third of the total population), people call Jyväskylä "Athens of Finland". The city may be easy to hitch in or out or not, depending on your luck.
Hitchhiking out
South-west towards Tampere, Turku 9 E 63 or west towards Keuruu 23
There's a pretty good hh-spot just next to the university's campus called Mattilanniemi. Coming from the center: follow the street called Kauppakatu (the name changes into Seminaarinkatu and then to Alvar Aallon katu). Turn left to Kramsunkatu. There's a bridge for pedestrians over Rantaväylä to the university campus. Don't cross the bridge but go down the small hill to the "shoulder", the side of the road, of Rantaväylä. Walk a bit closer to the traffic lights.
Another option for south is to take bus 14 or 21 to Muurame, 16 km from Jyväskylä, take the ramp to the main road (n°9), walk less than 1 km in direction Jyväskylä until you'll see a gas station, in front of it there is a bus stop with a huge space to pull over, and cars go slow because of speed limit.
For west towards Keuruu it might be smarter to follow the train tracks west to Keuruuntie. Soon after Länsi-Päijänteentie road there's a bus stop.
East toward Varkaus, Kuopio E 63, South towards Heinola, Lahti E 75
The intersection for hitchhiking east or south is located east of the city in the suburb of Vaajakoski. Take bus number 3 from Matkakeskus in the city center until the Vaajakoski ABC petrol station (the bus ticket will be around 2€). At the petrol station you can ask drivers or (much faster) thumb directly on the road. There's a nice bus stop if you're going to Kuopio.
If you are going south, there's not so much space for a car to pull over, but hitchhike right next to the roundabout where cars are going slowly and someone will stop. Don't accept a lift only to Levonmäki, as it's not easy to hitch further from there.
EDIT, March 2015: Busticket: is now 3,30€ Bus 3 doesn't go to the ABC station anymore. There're not much busses going there. in my case. sunday morning no one went there. so go by bus no. 1 direction Haapaniemi. Appr. 15min after main bus station you will notice a big roundabout (to right highway to back Jyväskylä city center, straight to Kuopio / Lahti. The bus will go straight and will leave the street just at the next crossing. leave the bus there. go back to main road. then it's you decision: you will see a bus stop just at the main road to Lahti / Kuopio. you can hitch from there with sign. or you walk further 2km to ABC petrol station and use the spot mentioned in the old post.
Free hotspots
- Baari Vakiopaine Kauppakatu 6
- Bar/Restaurant Sohwi Vaasankatu 21 (password: vodka)
- Vihreä haltijatar Kauppakatu 13 (sid: haltsu)
- Poppari Puistokatu 2-4 (Ask for password from bartender)
Links
- City of Jyväskylä - Official International version of the site
- Map of Jyväskylä
- Wikipedia: Jyväskylä
> 500.000: Helsinki
100.000-500.000: Tampere • Espoo • Vantaa • Turku • Jyväskylä • Oulu • Lahti • Kuopio
50.000-100.000: Pori • Seinäjoki • Hämeenlinna • Rovaniemi • Vaasa • Lappeenranta • Kouvola • Kotka • Salo
20.000-50.000: Mikkeli • Porvoo • Kokkola • Hyvinkää • Nurmijärvi • Lohja • Rauma • Järvenpää • Kajaani • Tuusula • Kirkkonummi • Kerava • Nokia • Kaarina • Ylöjärvi • Kangasala • Raseborg • Riihimäki • Imatra • Vihti • Savonlinna • Sastamala • Raisio • Varkaus • Jämsä • Kemi • Raahe • Tornio • Iisalmi • Hollola • Hamina • Siilinjärvi • Valkeakoski • Lempäälä • Äänekoski • Heinola • Mäntsälä
