Turku's honeymoon is over

It has been a month since I came to Turku. I just realize how time flies and I want to spend every hour here meaningfully.
At the first beginning, I was totally unadjusted to everything here. I did not know how to buy basic stuff, how to communicate to others neither how to get a bus. But gradually, I'm getting used to the life here day by day. I like the way Finnish people say "Moi" or "Moikka" and "Kiitos" to me everyday. I also know now how to get a bus to everywhere I want to go. Furthermore, I feel like my cooking skills were improved from a 5 to a 9. I'm glad to see all the improvements I made. I feel more independent now.
After this first month here in Turku, the "honeymoon" has passed but I want to keep the curiosity and enthusiasm to Turku. I hope I will grape every moment during my exchange life and have millions of beautiful memories.

Country cooking

Country cooking

During my exchange stay in Turku I improved my cooking skills in so many ways. I love to cook and finally I had enough time to cook almost every day. Besides, I also learnt how to cook food from foreign countries such as Poland, Russia, Mexico and France. In our floor we used to do a "country cooking" once or twice a month. My floor mates cooked each a very well known dish from their country.

My Swiss friend and I started with our country cooking and we cooked "Rösti and Spiegelei". The French friends made delicious crepes with different toppings, Russians made their famous Russian salad, Pizza and Scharlotka (that is a Russian apple pie), my Polish room mate prepared Pierogi and from Mexico I tried self-made tacos and enchiladas. It was always so much fun to cook together and see how it works to prepare this dishes.

Sometimes, on a Sunday afternoon, we also tried to cook real Finnish food, for example cinnamon rolls which were actually pretty tasty.
I love to explore food from other countries and it was the best way to get to know it.
At home I already tried to recook the dishes but it was still not that good that it should be. I have to improve my skills a little bit more.

Home Sauna

Home Sauna

Another habit my floor mates and I used to do was the Sauna term on every (almost every) Sunday evening. In Student Village you can use the Sauna four times a month for free. The best thing about it was that the Sauna was just two upper floors than ours was. So, it was pretty easy to go for a quick or either long Sauna term. We were just dressed up with Flipflops, bikinis and a towel to go to our Sauna. The Sauna in our building was big enough for 8 people which was very comfortable. For me, it was the best thing after a great weekend spend some time in the Sauna to cool myself down and do something good for my body.  Also, it was great to talk to the others and exchange stories from our weekends. After the Sauna term we also had our traditional "tea party" in our kitchen. It was always a very relaxed atmosphere and we had good talks.

Trip to Tampere

Trip to Tampere

Tampere is a city in the South of Finland. It is one of the biggest one in Finland. It count around 226’000 habitants. It's about a 2 hours ride from Turku to Tampere. You can reach it by car, bus or train. The cheapest way to go there is by Onnio Bus. One way costs around 6€ (depending on the time you will go). To use the bus in the city of Tampere I recommend to buy the tickets through its App system called Nysse Mobiili. It around 2€ cheaper than if you buy it from the bus driver. If you love to walk, it's also possible to explore the city by foot.

My first trip I made in Finland was to Tampere. A couple of friends and I rented an Airbnb for two nights. It was a charming house not far away from the city with its own Sauna. Tampere has a lot of interesting museum, churches, an amusement park and a great nature. Next to the lake there are two Saunas. It was my first lake Sauna I experienced and I recommend it to anyone. There were just locals in it and it was great do have a dip in the lake. Even the water temperature was around 0 degree. 
Also, I recommend to go to the viewpoint Pyynikki. You will have an amazing view over the whole city.

Breakfast Club Stockholm

Breakfast Club Stockholm

For all brunch lovers out there, I really recommend to eat at Breakfast Club in Stockholm. It's a small and very popular restaurant in the area of the main station of Stockholm. On Weekends, there is always a big queue with people waiting to be seated. But it's worth it to try it out! The dishes are big, freshly made and tasty. You can also have good beverages as coffee, smoothies or tea. It's signature are its "freakshakes". Those are fancy milkshakes. I had the "donutELLA" which is stuffed with Vanilla ice cream, milk, Nutella, topped with cream & hazelnuts, crowned with a donut! I'm sure that was the best milkshake I ever had in my life. Go, and convince yourself.

Stockholm by ferry

Stockholm by ferry

From Turku to Stockholm there is a ferry which goes every day. Usually, you book a round trip. This means you go from Turku to Stockholm by ferry, you will have a rest in the harbor of Stockholm for one hour and after it you will go back to Turku. All in all it takes 24h. A lot of pensioner do this cruise. I recommend to book also a round trip even you go to Stockholm and stay there for a few days because it's cheaper than you book just one way. You can book a bunk in which four persons have space. If you are planning to sleep inside, it's space enough for just two people. It's quite comfortable to stay in this bunk. There is also a TV, a separate shower and toilet, a mirror, table and a little wardrobe. The check- in works like at the airport and you also have to do a security control.

On the boat there are also duty free stores, clubs, bars, restaurants and a casino where you can enjoy yourself. The alcohol used to be much more cheaper than on the mainland years before but nowadays, it's almost the same price. Big amounts of beer or long drinks are cheaper but the strong alcohol is the same price. There are also restaurants on the ship which offers "all you can eat (and drink)" menus. It's worth it.

Don't wash your face!

Don't wash your face!

Something very strange I want to share with anyone who wants to stay in a cold country such as Finland; Don't wash your face if the temperature is under minus ten degree. You better not put on some make up, suncream or other cremes. If you do, your whole face will be frozen in some minutes which make you feel like it's even much more colder than it already is. In addition, your skin produces a natural grease film which protect it from the cold. Whenever you wash your face, this grease film will be wash away as well. I didn't washed my face for one week as well and it felt surprisingly good - better than I expected.

Inhabitants from Lapland do not wash their face during the whole cold period in winter. Furthermore, they wear woolen socks instead of the "normal" synthetic socks and loose cloths. The reason for it is that the air between the skin and the cloths can warm up and it keeps you warm as well. If it's freezing cold, you should also wear different layers. Those are my advices for staying alive in the cold!