Day 13 – 26/04/26

We had to wake up early because we were taking a boat to Estonia at around 9 a.m. We got up at 7, got ready, and headed to the port of Helsinki. The cruise took about 3 hours, during which we rested and had breakfast. When we arrived, we walked around the city until we reached the PoCo Pop Art Museum, where we saw famous artworks like those of Marilyn Monroe. After that, we visited some clothing shops, such as Bershka, to see if they were different from those in Spain. Since we didn’t have much time, we quickly went to the old town of Tallinn, which is very different from the modern center, with older architecture, traditional houses, and stone streets. We then went to a viewpoint to see the whole city and later visited a well-known church with a unique design that stood out from the others. Inside, we were surprised to see small shops where visitors could buy items. After that, we explored more local stores, especially ones selling amber jewelry, which is very typical of the region, and bought some souvenirs for our families. At the end of the day, after walking around and visiting some shopping centers, we met Jimi’s mother at a hotel and returned on the cruise to Helsinki. The trip back also took about 3 hours, during which we had dinner and relaxed. When we got home, everyone went to sleep, while we took some time to do homework and study for upcoming exams.

Day 12 – 25/04/26

Today we woke up more relaxedbecause it was the weekend, but soon after getting up, we went to the harbor and took a boat to an island where there is a famous castle in Helsinki. However, we got lost and instead we found an old bunker in ruins, which we explored for a while. After that, we walked around the island and then returned to the boat. Back in the city, we visited different shops to buy souvenirs and gifts for our families. We also entered some luxury stores, like Louis Vuitton, where the door is usually closed and staff welcome you, ask what you are looking for, and guide you through the products. Of course, we didn’t buy anything. Then, we went to Stockmann, where everything was also quite expensive. Later, we had lunch at an Asian buffet, where we tried different types of chicken, all very tasty. After that, we visited the Helsinki Central Library, a large modern building with several floors and excellent facilities. We also explored some shopping centers. They are smaller than in Spain, but much closer to each other and even connected underground. This allows people to move around easily without going outside when it’s very cold or snowing. These underground connections also link shopping centers with the train station, metro, and tram, making transport much more convenient in winter. At the end of the day, we took the tram and went back home.

Day 11 – 23/04/26

First, we went to school, where there was a darts tournament. The top 10 players could qualify, and Ignacio just missed it by one position. After that, we continued with our classes until the end of the day. Then, we went home and later traveled to Helsinki, the capital of Finland, Ignacio by train and Enrique by car. When Enrique arrived, he explored the neighborhood where Jimi grew up, walking through the forest and noticing how different Helsinki is compared to Tampere. Later, they met a friend and went fishing on an island. Jimi explained how to fish, but we only managed to catch some rubbish, like a plastic bag, pieces of wood, and even some mud. Meanwhile, Ignacio arrived in Helsinki and visited the city center, seeing some of its most famous landmarks. Later, Enrique also went to the center, where he met Ignacio. We talked about our day and made plans for the next one, deciding to explore the city in more detail and buy souvenirs for our families. After that, Enrique continued exploring the center with Jimi and his friend, visiting different churches, both Lutheran and Orthodox, as well as the city hall, the president's palace, the harbor, and other places. Meanwhile, Ignacio went back home to get ready, as later he went out for dinner with the family at a restaurant in Helsinki’s train station.

Day 10 – 23/04/26

After waking up, we went to school, but we didn’t stay for the whole day. Jimi’s mother picked us up mid-morning so we could visit some museums, which close early, so it’s better to go in the morning. First, we went to a museum where we visited different sections. The first one was about football, showing the history of various national teams and clubs, with decorations inspired by this year’s World Cup. Then, we explored a video game section, where we discovered that some famous game developers are from Finland. There was also an area about radio, explaining how it worked in the past and how it has evolved over time. After that, we visited two of the most interesting sections, one about Finnish wildlife, showing the animals and how they live in different seasons, and another about ice hockey, with trophies, famous players, and even a place where you could shoot a puck at a virtual goal. Later, we went to another museum focused on old textile factory machines, where they explained how they worked and even showed their internal parts. To finish the visit, we went up the tallest tower in Tampere, about 120 meters high, where we enjoyed amazing views of the city, the surrounding towns, the large lakes, and Finland’s nature. To end the day, we watched a hockey match (Tappara vs Ilves) at a friend’s house. The game ended 5–1 for Tappara, and after that, we went home to rest. 

 Day 9 – 22/04/26

In the morning, we went to school and alternated classes so we could stay together. During the morning, we had decided to meet in the afternoon to walk around the city. After school, each of us went home to get ready, and later, around 5 p.m., we met up. At first, we walked around a lake, going through the forest and enjoying some very beautiful natural spots. After a while, we took the tram to the city center to find something to eat. We were recommended a buffet, but it was closed, so we ended up having dinner at Taco Bell, one of the few places still open, since things here close quite early, usually around 7 or 8 p.m. After that, we each headed back home to rest.

 Day 8 – 21/04/26

In the morning, it was another calm school day likethe previous ones. We went to class, did our work, and then each of us went home. Later, we got ready to go to an ice hockey match, the semifinals between the two local teams from Tampere. When we arrived, the stadium was impressive, with a capacity of around 10,000 people. During the game, there were different performances, such as restaurant promotions, professional ice skating shows, and music. The match was very exciting, full of speed and adrenaline, even more than football in Spain. Enrique supported Ilves, while Ignacio supported Tappara, the two rival teams in the city. The game ended 3–2 in favor of Tappara, but everyone enjoyed it, even if their team lost. After the match, each of us bought a shirt of our team and then went home to rest. On the way back, we met a group of university students from Cantabria who were on Erasmus in Hervanta, and we talked with them about university life and the differences between Spain and Finland.

 Day 7 – 20/04/26

Ignacio:
After going to classes, we had lunch and spent some time resting and doing schoolwork. In the afternoon, since my partner was still in Lapland, my exchange student and I went to the gym for a while, where we trained together. Coming back from gym we went to a supermarket and we bought a croissant dought in a can. Later, we had dinner and prepared the croissants all together.

Enrique:
We woke up late after resting from the previous day and walked to a public grill in a small cabin. Before eating, we visited some local museums that showed how people lived in the past, including how they transported wood and information about typical Finnish traditions like animals, skiing, and fishing. After that, we went to the grill and lit a fire to cook traditional Finnish sausages. Going to public grills is very common in Finland, especially in winter, when people meet in groups even though it can be difficult to light the fire because of the cold. Later, we returned home, packed our things, and got ready to leave. At 6:20 p.m., we took a bus to the train station, and around 7:40 p.m. we got on the train back to Tampere, a journey of about 11 hours. During the journey, the train stopped around 50 minutes in Oulu, a famous city in Finland, so we went to visit une of the main monuments there, a statue of a policeman.

 Day 6 – 19/04/26

Ignacio:
We woke up and had breakfast, then we ate some crepes that are very popular at local festivals in Finland before heading back to Tampere. When we arrived, we spent some time resting at home, watched basketball on TV, and had typical Finnish sausages for dinner.

Enrique:
Today we woke up much earlier than usual because we were going skiing on one of the biggest mountains near Kolari. We took a bus, and when we arrived, we rented ski equipment for me. Then we went to the slopes to practice, because it was my first time skiing. The first few falls were hard, but by the third run I was already improving. Little by little, I learned how to turn and stopped falling. After about an hour, I knew the basics, so we decided to go to the top of the mountain. We went down a slope along the side of the mountain that ended near a lift leading to a higher area. When we reached the top, we took some photos. Jimi skied down, but since I’m not as experienced, I went down by lift.
At the bottom, Jimi suggested going up again for one last run. We were very tired, especially me, and the snow was quite melted, which made skiing more difficult. Even so, we went down the slope one last time before taking the bus back. When we got home, we went to the sauna and then we rested.

 Day 5 – 18/04/26

Ignacio:
We all woke up around the same time and had breakfast with toast made from a very popular bread in Finland. Then, we cleaned and prepared an bathtub, filled it with water, and cut wood to heat it. They also showed me how to cut and prepare firewood properly. After that, we had lunch, chicken with roasted vegetables, and then we went to Bore, the town where the family grew up. There, they bought some things and left one of their boats for repair. When we returned home, we heated the bathtub again and tried a typical Finnish dessert made of melted cheese with milk and jam from a local fruit. For dinner, we had stuffed baked potatoes. Later, we tried one of the most popular Finnish traditions: we first spent some time in the sauna, then went into cold water (around 10°C), and finally into the hot bathtub (around 40°C).

Enrique:
When we arrived in Lapland, we were very tired after sleeping on the train. Still, we left our luggage in a cottage where Jimi’s grandmother lives, and where we would stay for a few days. After that, we went to the forest behind the cottage, where I saw snow for the first time in my life. It was a bit frozen because of the low temperatures at night, but during the day it became softer as it started to melt. Walking in the forest was difficult because our feet sank into the snow, but we kept going. At one point, we found an axe and some logs, so we cut some firewood. After lunch, we explored the village of Äkäslompolo, visiting a supermarket decorated with a giant reindeer statue. Then, we walked on a completely frozen lake with amazing views, where some people were fishing and others were cross-country skiing. After spending more time exploring the village and playing in the snow, we went back home, used the sauna,                                                   since there was no lake nearby, we jumped into the snow instead.

 Day 4 – 17/04/26

Today was a calm school day. We went to classes together, we did our work, and met more people. After school, we separated because each of us would spend the weekend with our Finnish host family.

Enrique:
After school and having something to eat at home, Jimi and I went for a walk in a forest near our house. We passed by some lakes where people usually swim after the sauna. After the walk, we went back home to pack some things for our trip to Lapland, in the north of Finland, where there is still some snow and where we will see things that are hard to find in Tampere. Once everything was ready and we had eaten, we went to the train station to take a train to Kolari. The journey takes about 10 hours, and we will spend the night on the train.

Ignacio:

After school, we went back home, had something to eat, and got ready to go to the family’s cottage. It was located outside the city, about an hour and fifteen minutes away by car. When we arrived, they showed me the cottage and some of the rooms, and we went for a walk around the area, which belongs to the family. I also saw other cottages owned by some of their family. Later, we had dinner salmon with sauce and they explained that salmon is a very typical fish in Finland.

 Day 3 – 16/04/26

Today we wanted to solve a problem we had. When we arrived at school, each of us had to go to different classes, Enrique with Jimi and Ignacio with Voitto. This meant we couldn’t stay together, which made things more difficult. So, during lunch at around 11 a.m., we looked for a solution, we would alternate classes. We would go together, first to Jimi’s class and then to Voitto’s, depending on which had more free seats.

During the classes and breaks, we met more friends of our partners. Everyone was very friendly and tried to make us feel comfortable by starting conversations and asking us questions about Spain.

After school, we went home quickly because we wanted to visit a famous museum in the city center. Museums are free, but they close at 6 p.m., so we didn’t have enough time since school finished at 4 p.m. and we still had to go home first.

Even so, we went for a walk around the city center and visited some shops. We also tried some typical local sweets, while they continued showing us important places. First, we saw again the place where energy is produced using water, as they said it looks different during the day. Then, we visited a Catholic church on the way to the Nokia Arena, the best ice hockey stadium in the country, where we will watch a semifinal match between two local teams next week. After the tour, we went to the bus stop to come back home, passing by the train station.

 Day 2 – 15/04/26

Today was our first day of classes in Finland. School started at 9:45 a.m., which we found surprising because in Spain classes usually start much earlier. When we arrived, we saw a large campus with different buildings depending on which subjects students study.

Inside the school, what impressed us the most were the facilities. There are sofas and a lot of technology in every classroom. However, the best part is how friendly everyone is, teachers, students, and our exchange friends all make you feel welcome and help you feel comfortable. They also support you if you need help to follow the lessons. Another thing that surprised us was the food, which was much better than we expected. Interestingly, many of the products sold in the cafeteria are made by cooking students, as there are practical courses similar to FP in Spain.

After school, we visited the center of Tampere, where we saw some shopping centers and walked around the city. There, we met a Brazilian man who spoke Spanish and had studied in Granada. He told us a bit about his life and where he came from.

One of the best parts of the day was in the evening. After dinner, we all met at a friend’s house to watch an Arsenal Champions League match, their favorite team even though football is not very popular in Finland. Before the match, we played a car game and talked about the differences between Finland and Spain. After the game, everyone went home to rest.

 Day 1 – 14/04/26

We woke up early to start our trip at 6 a.m., traveling from Seville to Málaga. The journey took about 2 hours and 40 minutes, and we arrived at the airport around 9 a.m. After checking in our luggage and going through security, we went straight to the boarding gate, where we waited to get on the plane.

The flight lasted a little over 4 hours. When we arrived, our host families were waiting for us and welcomed us after we collected our bags. One thing that surprised us was the difference between the airports: Málaga’s airport is very large, while Tampere’s is much smaller.

After leaving our luggage at home, we were shown around the center of Hervanta, an area where many students live because it is close to the university campus. There are several buildings, and each student goes to a different one depending on their studies, which are identified by letters.

In the center, they explained the main places, but since we didn’t have much time, it was a quick tour. They showed us the first place where energy was produced using river water (1), the front of the theatre (2), and a building similar to a town hall (3), which has a fountain covered with glass to protect it during big ice hockey events.

(1)                                                         (2)                                                          (3)