Finland

When I first saw the capital city of Finland I was very surprised. It was quiet, clean and minimum traffic. There were only buses and tram driving around. The centre has some very
famous buildings which are all renovated and in very good condition. People there were really friendly too (senior couple offered help as soon they saw we were lost). First day we slept in the hostel near the centre of the city and it was very tidy and comfortable, even the breakfast was good. But for the week we went in a village named Nummi Pusula, 60 kilometers out of the capital. All the houses were wooden (tradition in Finland, I haven’t seen non wooden house in the whole week) and quite big, combined in a small settlements surrounded by nature. Most of the one-family houses have sauna in the basement and living space in the first floor. For Finns that is one of the main aims in life. All of them also have a car and mostly a family pet too. Some also have summer cottage by the lake nearby also with sauna. This is also a tradition in Finland and the place where the whole family hang out together (they even have special days for going in sauna).

By Teja Gortnar