Oulu & Björköby

(warning: A LOT of pictures coming..)
 

So, on Thursday we arrived in Oulu. J is from there, so we lived at his parents' house (=his childhood home). On that day we asked a few of J's friends to come and spend the evening with us at their home, as his parents weren't there. We spent the night playing a board game and cards, and drinking. J's friends' dog was also there :-)

On Friday we took a bus (!!) to the city center, visited McDonald's, a few stores, Oulu's market square (with the police statue), bought ice cream, and just hung around, for a few hours in total. Then we went back "home". The evening included grilled food, Batman begins and sauna (as I told in the previous post). We had to go to sleep early so we weren't able to do anything so special.

a forest route to the bus stop.....

Oulu's market hall

And why did we have to go to sleep early? Because we had a wake-up call at 7am. J started hoovering (:D:D) and I put on some make up. J's brother and his girlfriend came to pick us up at 8am and we started our road trip towards Björköby. It took about 5 hours to drive there, we stopped once during the trip. First we went to J's sister's place (I met her and her family for the first time) and then we all jumped in a boat and went to a nearby island, where J's mother's cousin's (?) cottage was situated. She had her 60th birthday and that's why we went there. The island was nice (even though the weather could have been better) and we were able to see the lighthouse of Valassaaret, situated at the midpoint of Finland and Sweden. The evening consisted of drinks, food, socialization and so on. I enjoyed the night even though in the end I was exhausted because we had woken up so early.

On Sunday we just ate some breakfast there and then it was already time to leave. This time we stopped a few times during the trip and we were back in Oulu at 5pm or so. We were quite exhausted. In the evening we went to sauna, grilled some food and just watched TV (J's dad had bought a card with more than enough channels!).

On Monday we were supposed to be at the airport at 2pm but before that we had time to visit city center and a big, beautiful park called Ainolan puisto (that was a bit flooded...). We stopped in a cafe (liquorice ice cream, i'm addicted!). Then J's dad drove us to the airport. Our flight left on time, actually before it was supposed to leave. We were back in Helsinki at 16.30pm.

As you can see, the weather got better - actually almost perfect - just when it was time for us to leave. I wouldn't have minded staying there a few days more.. I like Oulu and I wish we could find some time to visit there again this fall.

By the way, in two weeks, we are going back to Björköby, to J's sister's place, for Rapujuhlat (=crawfish & a lot of drinking). We will spend a weekend there then.

@Oulu #2

 I'm gonna write more about this Oulu-trip when I have more time, but here's something to start with:

Now it's time for grilled food, Batman Begins and then sauna :-) Have a good weekend!

@Oulu

This morning we caught a bus (which was more than full) with J to Helsinki-Vantaa airport. We went to a café to wait for our flight and I also wanted to buy something small to bring with me even though J tried to say that I don't need to bring anything. Our flight was on time and the airplane was filled with people (also with screaming children.............). We landed at Oulu airport at 14.45 and a few friends of J came to pick us up from there. Now we are trying to make some plans for tonight. On Saturday we are gonna get up at 7am or so and then we are gonna get into a car and drive to Björköby because one of J's relatives has her 60th birthday then. I'm a bit nervous about meeting too many relatives all at once, but oh well, I'm adaptable!:-D

music

I like only a few Finnish artists or bands, but here's a good one - Apulanta has been one of my favorites for some years. Their newest album (Kaikki Kolmesta Pahasta) was published this spring, and this may be my favorite track from the album, enjoy!

start of a new week

Hey!

my new friend!

My weekend consisted of nothing so special. On Friday I came home from work at 8pm and went back there 7.30am on Saturday. I had a looong day and after that I still stayed at the shopping center because I met N, my friend who is going to Peru for exchange. They're leaving on Wednesday so this was the last time I saw her :( This fall is going to be weird at school without them but I hope they will have a wonderful exchange experience there. I wish them so much luck with everything!

one morning when I was going to work at 7.30am

Yesterday (Sunday) I didn't feel good at all at first, but when the feeling got better I went to visit another shopping center. I bought two towels (so that J doesn't have to use the pink one anymore..), a floor dyer tool (which can also be used to wipe out the dust, useful, I don't have to hoover so often anymore!), a movie (Hangover II, haven't seen :D), shorts and one top. I think that quite well in less than two hours (and I was supposed to save money...). I still went to a grocery store before going home. A bit later J came here, we ate pizza and watched Angels and Demons. I had read the book and also seen the movie before but J hadn't.

one evening when I was leaving from work:D

Now it's 9.40 on Monday morning, I should get ready now because I have to leave for work in less than an hour. I have a long day ahead of me. Tomorrow I'm going to a hairdresser, finally! Then I have an evening shift. On Wednesday I have a long morning shift, then I only have to pack up for our Oulu-trip. Our flight leaves at 13.45 on Thursday.

Finnish summer weather......

Have a great week, bye!

comparison

Many times I've been meaning to write about differences between Finland (/my hometown Espoo) and Spain (/Valencia). No, I'm still not gonna do it now (because I'm tired as h*ll and my body is died) but let me introduce you to the most notable difference, the biggest crisis I faced when I came to Finland.

Ah, this is what we call summer!

working & a 4-day trip to Mustio!

Hello again!

So last week I was at work on Wed, Thu, Fri and Sat. It was quite calm after all because many people had their summer holidays and the weather was good so people were out instead of coming to a shopping center. The situation changed this week - the day before yesterday (August 1st) it was notable that people had come back to work from their vacations and, in addition, the weather was bad so we were in a rush all the time. My work mates said to me that now we are back to normal, this is how it usually is and that it was exceptionally calm on July. But I'm happy that I got to learn everything during the calm period because it would have been confusing and stressful to try to learn and be trained during a rush. This week I've been working on Wed, yesterday, today and also tomorrow. Sunday is a day off. Then there are three working days left before our Oulu-trip. We are flying there on Thursday, so, in a week we'll be in Oulu.

Cosmopolitan-drink, a good start for the weekend!

On Saturday I had a short day at work and I was able to leave already at 12. I went straight to Espoon keskus and caught a train to Karjaa. My aunt came to pick me up and we drove to my grandparents' summer place, situated in Mustio. I was supposed to go there already earlier in the summer but I seriously haven't had time. I hadn't seen my aunts, my grand parents or my cousins for 6-7 months so it was good to see them all. There were also two dogs! I was there 'til Tuesday and for me it was relaxing to spend some time in the countryside again. The weather was surprisingly good almost every day (except for the nightly thunderstorms). My cousins (aged 5 - 11) wanted to go swimming many times a day but I was still not brave enough to go there. We also had a day trip to Tammisaari on Monday. We went around shopping a bit and after that we went to a restaurant at the port. I think everything was quite good - the food, the atmosphere and the company! Here are some pictures from those days:

My cousins got to make my bed and this is how it turned out...

walking in the grass without shoes - summer!

Tammisaari

in the restaurant

the "shopping street" in Tammisaari, by that time every place was already closed.

thunderstorm, it was completely dark at night (1st picture) 'til the lightnings lighted the whole sky up (2nd picture)

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!