Frankly, before coming to Finland, I wouldn’t have expected to say those words: “It’s so hot outside!” But, what if I told you that the temperature in Tampere has been above 20 degrees since a couple of weeks?
Thanks to the warm weather today - which by the way is gonna drop by 6-7 degrees by tomorrow 😢 - I could go for a peaceful Sunday getaway in Pispala and had a chance to enjoy the breathtaking sceneries😌 So, keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!😎🌍✨
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Being the second oldest city of the country, the tiny old town of Porvoo welcomed us with its beautifully designed colorful wooden architecture, narrow cobblestone streets, boutique shops selling handmade products and crafts, and a magical picturesque view under the snow.
In Porvoo, most wooden houses are concentrated in the old town, which is proposed to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With its proximity to Helsinki, Porvoo is easily accessible. We could get there by bus from Helsinki in only 50 mins! And we really enjoyed wandering around the old town despite the heavy snow.☃️⛄️ So, keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!?✈️?✨ Early in the afternoon today, I took a walk on the frozen Näsijärvi, one of the lakes surrounding the city of Tampere. Yes, seriously, walking on a lake!
The first moments of stepping on the icy surface of this frozen giant was truly astonishing! As an expat who was brought up in the Mediterranean, walking on ice was something unprecedented. Even though the first few minutes of my walk have been full of concern, as if the ice would somehow be cracked, I felt relieved after seeing people skiing and biking. Then I went with the flow: enjoying the scenery, while listening to soothing music and watching people sliding... The photos you’ll see in this album may remind you the scenes from a movie taking place in the post-apocalypse. But they’re for real, and another reason to fall in love with mother nature and with Finland!🇫🇮💎 Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!☃️📓✨ Winter reflections from Tampere... If I define it in a few words, I would say that it’s super cold but joyous and peaceful at the same time. The cover of white snow indeed illuminates even the darkest nights here. Plus, in the last two days, the shy sun finally turned its face towards us, from behind the layers of fluffy clouds! Well, how would you define the winter in your current location?😊
Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji!📓✈️😎✨ Have I ever told you that my passion in traveling has been bolstered even more after reading “the Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton, whose ideas and thoughts I internalized so much? Just like he does, what I try to do during my journeys is gaining as much experience as I can get, exploring as much landmarks and hidden spots as I can, and learning the stories of as much people as I can. Well, it’s been almost a week since I came from Turkey, and didn’t have a chance to write you so far. In this last week, it felt like I’ve never been out of Finland for 3 weeks, my break now seems like a dream to me: puff, came and went, all of a sudden. Now I’m home, keeping up with my routine, but at the same time planning new journeys to various places, not with the purpose of reaching a particular destination, but of having further experience through my expectations.✈️😎 “Maybe what makes a good traveler, what makes a fulfilled traveler has less to do with the particular destination that you’re going to, and much more to do with your attitude towards it; much more to do with the way that you’re looking at what you’ve come to see.” -Alain de Botton, the Art of Travel Well, there is a lot to learn from and to be influenced by Alain de Botton in terms of traveling. Either at home or on expedition, you can watch the short clip below and get some idea of what he tries to make a point.😌✨ Keep calm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji! Pride, joy, and a flood of emotion... Yesterday, in December 6, Finland has celebrated its 100th year of independency with a great vigour and excitement, in an amazing atmosphere; and commemorated its history that paved the way to its independence.
Though the thermometers indicated -7 degree Celcius most of the time, nothing stopped the Finns (and us, as a bunch of foreigners😄) from attending the celebrations in the central square of Tampere. But why is this so important for the Finns? Exactly a century ago, in December 6, 1917, Finland declared its independence from Russia. In these 100 years, the country has seen an immense development and growth in many sectors, as well as reached high levels of life quality. I, as a non-Finn who is studying in Finland, admire how the country has done so much in these past 100 years. And am happy to live here in this happy country🤗✨ As in Finnish, hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää, Suomi!*🇫🇮🇫🇮💯 *Happy independence day, Finland! As the first snow of the season has fallen to the city of Tampere, winter has shown its face to us: pure and infinite whiteness! This has been the first time I've seen snow in October, and most of my Finn friends also defined this occassion as "quite unusual" even though this snow won't be the permanent one. My "first"s were not limited to this. For the first time, I biked on the snow: Yes, I guess this is a new branch of sports which I call as "snow biking"! Full attention, utmost dedication and maximum control of the bike: yes, this is snow biking. But it's surely the time to switch to winter tyres 😊
I know this snow is not the last one. Winter has arrived here, but not yet shown its "real" face. The days in which we will miss the temperatures above zero are yet to come! Keep calm and stay tuned at Bossoloji! ✈🌍✨ Today I could eventually go out of Tampere after a few weeks. Our destination was Turku! Being the 6th largest city of Finland, the city of Turku has the title of the oldest city of Finland, as the city was settled during the 13th century. The former capital of Finland was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2011, together with the Estonian capital city of Tallinn.🏛🌿
Despite the rain today, it was easy to walk around the city as the must-see places are so close to each other. If you are planning a journey to Sweden or Finland, you can give Turku a chance to visit!🌍✨ Stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji! Last night turned out to be incredible and unforgettable with the beauty of mother nature. For the first time in my life I was able to see the northern lights! And the place where we saw the lights is not far: only a few minutes away by walk from the place I stay in Tampere! 🌌
Seeing the northern lights has always been my dream. Now I look back with the fulfillment of a big milestone in my bucket list... Oh Finland you are so amazing! 😍🇫🇮💫 So keep kalm and stay tuned about the updates at Bossoloji! Today, it has been exactly one month since I came to Finland, and in particular, to Tampere. My expectations and first impressions about the country and the city are more or less the same. And now I feel like I am part of this community, and almost fully adapted to the environment. But let's recall what my first impressions about Finland and the Finns were: unsmiling nature of people (which then I understood that it's not the case - and I'll explain it below), the beauty of nature, orderliness and youthfullness of the city of Tampere... And let's go one by one, in order to see whether these impressions/observations have changed recently:
In the first two days of my stay in Finland, one of the observations I made about the Finns that they are not smiling at all. But they are! This nation is happy, and they show this in their everyday life too. Cashiers at the market, salespeople at the shops, people on the streets; they show their kindness, respect to other people and the environment, and good energy every single time! Yes, the beauty of nature mesmerizes me! The country is in a great harmony with nature! Lakes, forests, and parks with infinite shades of green and blue are so nested in the cities. The place where I live in Tampere is just a few steps away from the forest and lake. And people in Finland can fully enjoy their right to environment: they can pick berries in the forests (because it is their right to do so), walk in the forest even at night (and nobody says anything or disturbs)... Thirdly, the orderliness and youthfullness of Tampere. With approximately 40,000 students studying at two universities and one university of applied sciences, the student population in Tampere is undeniably high: almost 1/5 of the population of Tampere! It is also noteworthy that the city has been voted as the most student-friendly city in Finland. (1) And what has changed so far? Initially, while the only word I know in Finnish was "kiitos" (which means "thanks"), now I have learnt the basics of communicating in Finnish (thanks to the language course 😅). It has a bunch of similarities with Turkish, as they are in the same language family. Every time we start a new subject, it is good to see that I can invoke Turkish grammar easily 😊. Besides my knowledge in Finnish, I got over the bureaucratic procedures such as getting a Finnish identity code, opening a bank account, selecting my courses. Yes, studying abroad broadens your horizons, makes you learn a new culture, and develops your adaptability skills. This is pretty much of my one month in Finland. I hope my thoughts about this city and the people don't change in the future 😊 |
About MeHey there! I am a travel enthusiast, who was born in Istanbul, and now studying in Finland. I am a part-time traveler, but would like to become a full-timer soon! Categories
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