As some of you readers might know, I did my undergraduate degree in Finland. I lived in a small town called Kokkola in central Finland and I went there from Nepal when I was just 18. Coming from Nepal, in particular Kathmandu, which I think has a pleasant weather all year round, adjusting to the Finnish winter was perhaps my biggest challenge on first year. It was September when I arrived, and I remember I wore all my warm clothes including mittens and winter hat while everybody else around was dressed for early autumn.
I remember on the first year as I was biking home, about 20 minutes in distance from school , my feet completely froze. It was a dark January evening, and I couldn’t move. It was because I hadn’t worn proper socks and boots for harsh Finnish winter. It took me lots of time, advice from locals and winter clothes actually bought in Finland to finally tackle the winter there. By the time March rolled around, I was pleasantly surprised as the days started getting longer and we could see more of treasured sun.
All this to say that I couldn’t wait to experience summer myself as everybody claimed that summers were short but gorgeous. As the school was out after the academic year for three months, picnics and outings started happening more often. On my first summer in Finland, I kept underestimating hour of the day due to the sun not setting until midnight.
I had to get dark curtains for my windows to be able to sleep and make sure to get groceries and such from the shops before it was 11 PM without even knowing. I spent hours playing basketball outdoors with some of my friends, biking to a nearby beach that I so loved and going to the nearby swimming pool. In Kokkola tori (town square), concerts, events and markets happened frequently in summer. The whole mood felt so different after months of cold and dark winter and happy faces could be seen everywhere.
One time we drove to a nearby lake (Finland is a country of thousands of lakes!) for some fishing. Before that, I had never done fishing and I actually didn’t like it at all – I realized that I didn’t have the patience. Once my friends caught some fish, the plan was to eat fish curry for dinner but I couldn’t eat the dinner as I saw them struggling and dying before my own eyes.
During my three summers in Finland, I visited small towns around Kokkola, Kalajoki, Swedish-speaking Pietarssari (or Jakobstad in Swedish), Turku, Helsinki and Tallinn in Estonia. My favorites were probably the towns in Central Ostrobothnia region because of the tidy and gorgeous countryside surrounded by plenty of stunning nature. I swam in the sea for the first time in my life in Kalajoki and it was an unforgettable experience.
What I enjoyed the most about these short drives to nearby towns from Kokkola was the scenery. Idyllic little villages, vast lakes and the summer sun casting a beautiful glow on the numerous trees on roadsides. Some of the towns were so small that they had as few as 3000 people living in it! What I also liked was how there almost always seemed to be sauna and place for barbecue by the lakes. We made good use of those :p Summer in Finland was all about the nature and it was undoubtedly my favorite time of the year.
Hi Pooja. I enjoyed reading this blog. I’ve never been to Finland but I’d love those lakes and forests and doing some fishing. I’d never be able to learn Finnish though. It looks very daunting.
Hi Dai. I didn’t speak much Finnish either. I got by just fine with English. Do you speak some Portuguese by now? The nature in Finland is fantastic, and even in big cities there are always lakes and forests around you. I really liked that.
Hundreds of words, Pooja, but joining them together is my problem
Wow, what long summer days. I would need blankets over my curtains too, to fall asleep. Would definitely take some time adjusting. Would love to visit Finland one day. 😉
Yes you’re right! Different outfits and even different curtains needed depending on the season when you live in such a northern country 🙂 Thanks for reading and commenting!
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Kokkola is beautiful.
Many young people I met, including myself, sometimes found Kokkola boring but beautiful it definitely is! 🙂
so gorgeous. i didnt know how to layer properly when i first moved to Idaho and thought i was going to die of winter…have a lovely weekend.
Layering is the key indeed! Takes time and practice to master I guess 😀 Thanks for reading and commenting Dixya! Hope you are having a great weekend.
Looks so calm, beautiful!
It is indeed! So calm and peaceful. 🙂
I do miss the Finnish summer!
I have been few times to Kokkola for competitions and few friends came from there/ studied there. From my parents cottage it is about 200km to Kokkola, so not that far away for Finnish standards.
Weird or not, I never had troubles with the sun not setting during the summers, same goes for my wife. In fact we never had anything to cover our windows during night time in the bedroom as it was just lovely to watch out the window and see the nature (our apartment was right next to a forest and a small lake in Vantaa!)
Oh so your parents’ cottage is actually quite near from Kokkola! I’d really like to revisit as it’s been more than three years since I was there but I don’t think anything has changed.
Hehe I actually liked window view in winter, mostly view of the sky and trees but the lights emitted by snow would make the sky look beautiful. I love Vantaa! Been there a few times, and I think it’s a really nice area in Helsinki region.
Vantaa is…well most of the areas are pretty bad in my opinion. We had a nice area right next to the Helsinki and Espoo border full of forests 🙂
Living in a Finnish town. It must have been a lovely and interesting experience. Btw I have somehow always loved the word Ostrobothnia. I have no idea why though.
It was a great experience. Taught me a lot of things too as I was quite young when I lived there. Ostrobothnia might be a Swedish word but I am not sure. Thanks for reading and commenting! 🙂
It is indeed. My pleasure 🙂
I have only visited Helsinki for a few days, but I loved it. How wonderful that you got to spend several years there. I really enjoyed reading about your experiences.
I am glad of my Finnish experience in life too. It was wonderful living in a Nordic country as I was always interested in that region of the world as a young teenager – and I got to actually live it for few years. Thanks for reading and commenting Tanja! 🙂
I loved Finland in the winter so must return in the summer!
Finland is actually great in all seasons because they are all so distinct and vibrant, especially in the northern parts of the country 🙂 You won’t go wrong!
There is something really special about the Finnish countryside and well, who doesn’t love a sauna!
I seriously miss saunas/sauna culture in Poland! They are only found in swimming pools or fitness centers here.
that could be your next business venture… introducing Poles today saunas!!!
Heheh good idea! 😀
Finland looks beautiful, but there’s no way I could handle those winters. That sounds brutal haha. Maybe a summer visit could be on the cards though. Thanks for sharing Pooja!
Haha yes! Long, cold and dark Finnish winters. But the distinct four seasons keep things interesting. Thanks for reading and commenting!