Return to Finland

It had been four months since I left Finland, and I was desperate to go back. Many of my friends there were lucky enough to be staying for a whole year, so I had been feeling a bit unlucky with only getting to stay for five months. I needed an excuse to return to Finland, and luckily it came in the form of...Vappu!

The overly-happy musician in Helsinki continues to play...good to see that nothing's changed...

Many countries celebrate May Day (1st May), but none do it like the Finns. In Finland it is a celebration of the start of summer and the graduation of students from university, so it's a lot happier and livelier than the 'traditional' anti-globalisation protests we have here in London. Generally it's a week of partying and heavy drinking (which is pretty much how the Finns seem to celebrate everything) and that sounded great to me. After finding that eight of my friends from across europe were also heading back for Vappu, I booked my ticket with just a week's notice, and dragged my housemate along for extra company.

Chilling with Metzi back on the balcony, just like old times. It may look nice but it was almost freezing!

I didn't 'officially' have the time for a week-long holiday such as this, as exams were coming up at university, plus important coursework deadlines, but I knew it would be worth it. Walking back through Helsinki was such a wonderful experience...it seemed that nothing had changed, it was almost like I had never been away. I got the train, just as usual, back to Leppavaara where my friends were staying (right next to where I lived last year).

The things you do in the middle of the night...

The moment I walked through the door into my friend's flat, a beer was placed straight in my hands and the partying began. We literally didn't waste a second! It felt just like being home again. In fact the only shock was the temperature...in London we were having a phenomenal, record-breaking heatwave for late April of 26 degrees. Upon landing in Finland, it was 5 degrees and very, very windy!

Rob, the beer robot. Unfortunately I cannot post the dance.

The best part of the first night back was definitely the sauna...I forgot just how relaxing it is, especially in the freezing weather. After five or six goes in the sauna we headed back up to the flat and partied until late. It was nice to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in months and gave us a chance to warm up our livers for the main event of Vappu that would be kicking off in a couple of days...