Combining his academic background in Finnish language and culture with his lifelong love of stamp collecting, some years ago Jonas (aka radiohead92) embarked on an internship at the Postal Museum in Tampere. Get ready to explore the fascinating world of Finnish postal history through his eyes, accompanied by some very special little travelers…
"Some years ago, I had the idea to combine my two main interests, Finland and philately. Finland has been an important subject for me through my studies of Finnish language and culture at the University of Vienna, philately since I was 11 years old when I started collecting stamps. I remembered the Postal Museum in Tampere, and asked if an internship there would be possible. Years ago, I had been in Finland for the first time, visited Tampere and participated the big International Meetup during the FINLANDIA 2017 Stamp Exhibition. Now I am a proud member of the Finnish Postcrossing Friends Association and have visited Finland many times. The Little Mail Carriers have observed and participated my whole internship at Postimuseo.
Tampere is a city famous for its industrial buildings, so it is not a surprise that it is called the “Manchester of the North” (Finns call it “Manse”, which is the Finnish word for Manchester). The Postimuseo is housed in a former building of a foundry, which looks really beautiful.
In the museum exhibitions that were featured back in 2022, you could see many interesting items of Finnish postal history, like the first motorized car of Posti or ancient writing instruments (e.g. a quill). Believe me, the little ones and I were stunned about this amazing exhibition everyday!
They were so many great other parts of the museum. Especially the library, full with interesting books about Postal History and Philately was a place where I had been often in my leisure time. No surprise, that the Little Mail Carriers wanted to explore the department of postcards immediately.
Behind the scenes, the full collection of European stamps of the last 100 years or the printing plates of the first Finnish stamps 1917 were amazing. I had the chance to see everything there, the staff of the Postal Museum was very friendly and willing to show me their treasures.
They were delighted to see my shining eyes and my tasks were varied. For instance, I had to scan old and expensive collections of stamps and postcards, or to sort stamps for the next exhibitions.
Sometimes I participated in the guided tours for school-children and wore an old postal uniform for them. It was very nice to see how the children explore the former and current postal items. Everyday I got a new, exciting task and the Little Mail Carriers were good and helpful fellows.
During the weekends, we traveled to other parts of Finland and attended some Postcrossing meetups, at Rovaniemi and Oulu. In Rovaniemi was the big Santa Claus Meeting on Arctic Circle, where we visited Santa Claus and its post office.
In Oulu we met some local postcrossers and, of course, the famous Toripolliisi, a sculpture of a former local policeman.
The Postcrossing meetup at Tampere, held at Postimuseo, was also special. The Little Mail Carriers were the V.I.P.s there! Finland (and Tampere) are famous for the Moomins, so the little ones had to visit the Moomin Museum, which is situated in the fairground of Tampere, the venue of FINLANDIA 2017.
In short, my internship at Tampere’s Postal Museum was a dream combination of my passions for Finland and philately. Surrounded by fascinating postal history and with the Little Mail Carriers as my steadfast companions, I experienced firsthand the rich stories behind mail and the vibrant spirit of the Finnish Postcrossing community. This adventure has left me with lasting memories and an even deeper appreciation for the connections Postcrossing fosters worldwide."
A big thank you to Jonas for sharing his amazing adventure at the Postal Museum with us and the Little Mail Carriers! We’re so glad they had such a fantastic time exploring the world of Finnish postal history. Until their next journey, happy travels, little ones! ✈️
40 comments so far
Thank you for this visite to Finland. Again an interesting story...
Wow! Hope the little postman has a chance to visit China's postal museum XD
Hello Jonas! Great to read about your Finnish adventure here :) Thank you for the report, very interesting!
Maybe you can take the little ones to the Austrian Postmuseum, too? ;)
Great story!
Such an interesting and educational adventure! Thank you for sharing your experience with us. 😊
What a wonderful story and so much fun! I love the moomins so that must have been great. Thanks for sharing!
I love the adventures of the Little Mail Carriers! I'd love to take them on safari with me to South Africa! What a fun time you have with them! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful Postcrossing adventures! Connecting globally is everything.
What a fun and educational adventure! Thanks for bringing us along Jonas!
An intership at an amazing Postal Museum!?! I didn't know you could do something so wonderful...and to have the Little Mail Carriers as your 'roommates' is even better. Thank you for sharing your experience with us Jonas, and I loved all the photos too.
So cute! Love this!
wow, such a nice visit! Keep walking Little M.Carriers!
xoxo
Thanks for sharing this very interesting and educational adventure with us. I cannot visit here so it was great to see it through your eyes with help from the Little Mail Carriers!
Love these mail carrier journeys - I know postcrossers will adore the moomins statue.
Adorable <3
Thank you, travellers.
I like it very much to learn more about the postal history. :)
Love this! 💕
I am jealous of the little postal carriers! What a wonderful adventure!
Sounds like a fascinating experience, with many wonderful memories. I appreciate you sharing! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed your stay in my hometown of Tampere. Welcome back!
I have visited Finland several times, it is an amazing country and the people so open and exciting if you play Jazz music anywhere near them. I am so happy to have this tour around Finland with the Little Mail Carriers. I am amazed they are still going strong in their travels. Postcrossing is an amazing social experiment and the Little Mail Carriers embody that so well.
Thank you for sharing your life story with us. I wish you all the best! Toivotan sinulle kaikkea hyvää!
I've been to all these places too. Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu and Rovaniemi. I love Finland and collect stamps since primary school. Thank you for the reminder of the Postimuseo, I loved it!
Z veseljem sem prebrala to zanimivo izkušnjo in izvedela kar nekaj novega. Hvala za predstavitev. Vse dobro želim.
Many thanks for the report. I love Finland. :)
This was SUCH a fun entry to read! Thank you, Jonas, for hosting and sharing the adventures of the Little Mail Carriers! That museum is amazing and I would LOVE to travel there one day, simply to see it!!
Best wishes, happy travels and Happy Postcrossing!
Nice to hear about your time here in Finland and thrilled to know you can study finnish in Vienna too!
I remember "meeting" the little mail carriers in a meetup in Tampere. It was so cool.
Amazing story dear Jonas. Hope to see you again soon.
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful journey!
Very interesting! One of my best friends is from Finland so I had to forward this to her. :-)
I thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the Tampere Postal Museum. Thank you Jonas and the Little Mail Carriers.
Hello Jonas,
what an exciting Tour through the Tampere Postal Museum.
Hope to see you in Vienna at any PCR metting again.
Hei Jonas, great to hear about your stay in Finland with the Little Mail Carriers! Thank you for sharing. Hope that you had fun and learned more Finnish during your time. Terveisiä Mikkelistä!
Hi Jonas! Thanks for sharing your trip! It seems like a great combination of you, Finland, and the little postmen!
Hello .. I miss Finland . This was a great story …. Thank you for sharing. First time I heard of moomins was when I was there . I know the little mail couriers have been to Greece too but their adventure hasn’t made the blog yet…
Great story, thank you for sharing it!
I have visited Moomin museum years ago - must visit it again! It is a MUST for all moomin lovers!
Thanks for the very interesting and entertaining story :-)
What a fun story! Thank you for sharing.
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