After my exam on Friday, I joined some friends on a weekend getaway to a cottage in the Finnish archipelago. We left on Friday and came back on Sunday morning; ready for Vappu, the most important holiday in the Finnish calendar. It has been a truly wonderful and contrasting 4 days. The first days were taken up by the cottage weekend and its incredible views and peaceful relaxation; immediately followed by two days of uncontrolled, alcohol-fuelled mayhem that not only enveloped the entire city of Turku, but the entire country of Finland. Cottage Weekend in Korppoo Countryside cottages are very common in Finland; many people own their own cottage in the Finnish countryside, lakeside areas, Lapland (in the Arctic Circle) and in the archipelago. The archipelago is located in the south-west and western coasts of Finland ... read more

Since I decided to come to Europe for my exchange trip, I longed to visit St Petersburg and Moscow (I also would love to see Siberia, but we'll leave that for another day when I can speak Russian). I was looking forward to St Petersburg and generally I was not disappointed. It was nice to find out that Turku was actually the first sister-city of St Petersburg. So I was going from one sister to another...which sounds a bit dodgy. St Petersburg was founded (only) about 300 years ago by the Tsar Peter the Great. It was the centre and capital or Russia for many years until the Soviet Revolution, when the captial was moved back to Moscow. During its reign as the supreme city of Russia, St Petersburg developed culturally in leaps and bounds and ... read more

Stockholm is simply an amazing city. I went in winter time for only 3 nights (practically 2) and I loved it. I will definitely be here in summer time to explore it more deeply. Out of all the capital cities I have been to, it is the best. And remember, that's only my winter perception! Stockholm is incredibly easy to get to from Turku. Just hop on a ferry that costs E20 and you're off. However, the ferry takes 10 hours and it's quite boring when you're by yourself. I tried meeting and sociallising but everyone kept to themselves, which sucked. Fraz had booked a hostel for me as I was staying the first night by myself. I was to meet Fraz, Joel, and Fraz's cousin Shaz (yes, I know how Fraz and Shaz rhynes). Finding ... read more

So after my "eventful" depature (to say the least) I had arrived in London in relatviely good condition. Mahen Uncle picked me up from the airport, and we managed to travel from Heathrow to Epsom (in Sth-West London) in about 1.5 hours, which is a rubbish time. We were driving between 6 and 8am or something, and as you can imagine its near peak hour traffic in London (of all places), so it was pretty slow going. It was great to see my relatives there again, even though I see them quite often as they are constant visitors to Perth during Christmas time. Shantha Aunty was, as always, quite excited to see me. She had taken 2 weeks off so it was great to spend some time with her and we talked about many things including ... read more