Situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn is simply loveable, a jewel of the Baltic state. This medieval city is a capital of Estonia. The city center was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is easy to visit this atypical city, distances are short, and you can discover much in just a weekend or even a day. One of the oldest fortresses of Europe surrounds the city and reflects its past. You will see for yourselves how charming and beautiful Tallinn can be with its merchant’s house, cobbled streets, colored facades and red tile roofs.

If you are lucky like us to visit Tallinn during Christmas time, you could see the beautiful Christmas market, and degusted an excellent mulled wine.

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Last week, I went to Lapland with ESN. It is a wonderful experience, and I think it is one of the best times of my life. There, the days are short and snow covers the ground but do not worried you have enough time to do many activities. My favorite experience was the visit of the husky farm. Dogs are of rare beauty, with their blue eyes and their fur. We did have the opportunity to see some puppies, I wanted to adopt them! It was a truly experience, and I had a chance to be a musher. In pairs we rode a sled drawn by a dog team. It had no words to express my happiness.

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Helsinki, the beautiful capital of Finland, is a vibrant and bustling metropolis! The city is surrounded by the many parks, forest and island. The atmosphere is both relaxed and stimulating. Helsinki is a functioning city, and can easily be seen on foot. Its architecture, cultural offering, many shops, bar and restaurant make the city more attractive.

Sibelius Monument, Suomenlinna, Helsinki Cathedral, temppeliaukio Church and Uspenski Cathedral are not to be missed if you visit in Helsinki.

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ESN (Erasmus student Network) organizes a lot of trips. I booked one of them: The Lofoten trip. Lofoten is a Norway archipelago, located well above the Arctic Circle. This jewel of nature offers landscapes that are difficult to forget. Breathtaking mountains, wonderful fjords and beautiful beaches are unforgettable memories. The schedule of the trip was varied: group excursion around the fjords and hiking, boat trip on Trollfjorden, two nights in cottages, frozen bath, visit of the cities and ice bar… This trip gave us an opportunity to meet new people and just enjoy being together. Strong ties of friendship were cultivated during this week. If you ever get a chance to do your Erasmus in Oulu, one advice: book for this magic trip.

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In 1664, the first space tourist was Francesco Negri, an Italian priest. Since, many people travelled to the North Cape to experience Europe’s northernmost point. Last week, it was my turn. From the top of the cliff, the view is fantastic. Nordkapphallen is a visitor center which propose different activities: The Nordkapp Panoramafilm presenting the Nordkapp region in four seasons, souvenirs shop and restaurant.

The six-hour hike to the Cape Knivskjellodden is one of my best experiences. The beauty of the landscape, cliff and the sight are largely worth to fair a turning there. Upon arriving on the Cap, we signed our names in the log book and took pictures. We did it, looking straight at the north pole!

Nordkapp is also one of the best place in the world to see Northern Light. One night, we took the car, and the sky was filled with stars and northern light. My head is full of memories.

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“Dust off your leg warmers and tease up your hair, because it’s time to party !!!”. When ESN announced it party, my friend and I went to the second hand shop to find the perfect 80s clothes. I found a funny jacket that you can see on the pictures. Everyone played the game, it was a great success and will remain a long and pleasant memory for all participants.

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A Sitsit is a traditional student party in Finland and Sweden, but what kind of party is a sitsit? It is a very special dinner party with its own particular conventions, including drinking, singing and cheering. During this party every students have to respect the dress code: Gold diggers & sugar daddies. At the beginning, the “director” of the sitsit gives a little speech and announces the following song. After each melody, you have to chink glasses with your neighbors. People begin to eat in a warm and funny atmosphere. Some students played some sketch, it was very funny, but difficult to understand because it was in Finnish but I improved my skills in this language ! As the party went on, more and more songs were sang.

If you have the chance to visit Finland, you should participate in a sitsit.

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The sauna takes an important place in the Finnish life. Finnish people goes in the sauna from their youngest ages, and most of them take a sauna at least once a week. As the old saying goes: “first built your sauna, then your house”.

During the summer time, you can find in Oulu a floating sauna. What is it? The floating sauna is a sauna which is on the water. The concept is simple, you stay a long time in the sauna and when it’s really hot and you sweat a lot, you can jump in the river. After that, you start again!

I wanted so much to try this ritual, so with some friends of mine, we went in the Oulu floating sauna, it was a great experience. After the sauna, I just felt wonderful, relaxed and refreshed.

Inside the sauna, you can find a ladle of water, and if you add some water on the hot stone, the sauna temperature increase. At the beginning, I didn’t know, so I added copious amounts of water. The temperature in the sauna rose by about 10°C… It was a bit frightening.

I think I will remember this experience. Next step: floating sauna in Lapland on the frozen water…

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