Vappu!

Despite the cold weather, we had been out in the city all afternoon, meeting as many drunk Finns dressed in all sorts of crazy outfits as we could. We had gathered from some unnecessarily-long conversations with these people that the traditional celebrations in Helsinki would begin at 5pm with the 'capping' of the statue in the harbour, and it was something we didn't want to miss.

You don't see something like this every day...

Most students are wearing overalls, which act as a uniform for their particular department, e.g. Electronics is navy blue and Media Engineering orange. Adorned on these overalls are badges earned through different events, most of them parties involving heavy drinking. Some students were covered in a frankly alarming number of these.

The students are lowered over the statue. And yes, the top hat is apparently back in fashion

After spending the afternoon drinking in the park, we headed to the statue where I was to meet my other friends. Unfortunately the thousands of people surrounding it made the task a bit more difficult than expected, but I found them in the end, after being told to look for a 'giant bear'.

After the capping of the statue

The atmosphere was electric, everybody was so happy, although most likely because of the enormous amount of alcohol consumption, but it was quite a strange thing to see on such a cold day. It was also unusual to see so many people together at once in the city.

Andrew, Florian and me, feeling generally bewildered by the whole thing

Eventually the ceremony began, and I can honestly say it's one of the most random things I've ever seen. A group of students, hanging from a giant hat (itself connected to a crane), lowered over the statue and after a countdown placed a cap on the head. Apparently the cap is awarded to students graduating from university, so this marks the end of the academic year.

Heading toward Senate Square

The moment the statue was capped, the crowd went (even more) crazy, cheering and singing and firing off the corks from bottles of sparkling wine. It was an absolutely bizarre scene but a lot of fun to experience.

That's me about to sign somebody's leg

Afterwards we headed, along with the massive crowds, toward Senate Square and the steps of Helsinki Cathedral where more partying ensued.

Apparently a gas mask is standard student attire these days

There was a rather average free concert, featuring an unfortunate hip-hop act that tried to fire up the crowd and get them moving but it was far too cold and the people far too drunk to comply.

It's a shame Lordi weren't playing but it was still 2 weeks until Eurovision

I stayed for a while, at various times losing friends and finding others in the crowds, before queuing for about half an hour in a McDonalds to use the toilet. Afterwards I decided enough was enough and caught the train home.

Xavier and Josep getting in the party spirit

We partied in the flat the rest of the night, my third full night of such activity, but this time we knew we'd have to drag ourselves up in the morning(!) the next day for the traditional picnic.