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          Here we are ! I arrived in Finland few days ago and it seems that I found my home ! The last days were busy and intense, I met so many people and I lived so much adventures. But before the details of my finnish experience I have to explain my unique road trip in Europe because it’s a big part of the journey.

                  The new year started very intensely for me, after a great party with my closest friends I started my trip from the south of France to Lyon the 1st of January 2015. Then, the 2^nd I found my friend Regis to star tour travel. If you have to remember one person of my adventure, it’s obviously Regis alias Reg. Five months ago we didn’t know each other but we have been pick up in the same University in Helsinki, so we decided to spend some time together in order to organize our adventure in Finland. We have many things in common, both like meeting people and both like living life the most as possible.

         We have been lucky because we didn’t have to retake our exams, we were free to plan our trip … by train, isn’t crazy ? We decided to live our experience in an original way. Taking a plane is the easiest way to travel and it’s also very quick, it’s like nothing really happened. You are in your country and then few hours later you arrived and it’s done. I also have friends in differents countries, that’s why this opportunity was perfect to meet them again. At first I didn’t realize the extent of this decision. To put it in a nushell it’s implies  eight countries, eleven days of travel, fifty two hours in a train, twenty hours in a ferry, five differents money : Euro, Swiss franc, Danish krone, Swedish krona and Norwegian krone. It’s also implies many discoveries, surprises and especially good memories.

         « Let’s the adventure begin », I remember Reg in the platform in Lyon just before to go to Geneva . He was sick and his eyes were puffy. I said to myself «  Where am I going ? », I had so many questions and I admit that I was a little scary to begin this adventure. Four days before I was a simple cashier for the vacations in order to gain money and now I was there with my baggage on the side of the platform waiting for the train. «  I am going to Finland, it means snow, cold and Santa claus , am I dreaming?». I waited impatiently this day for many months especially in December during my exams and now this time was there within easy reach.

                           InterRail. One word, one company, thousands and thousands memories, we paid 200 euros and then we had access to every trains in Europe during ten days. InterRail is a really good way to travel and it's not very expensive. You don't need to make any reservations, if you miss your train you can have an another one. For me, InterRail means freedom. Let's take a look on the video to realize the goal of the firm. Enjoy it! Cheers. 

   My name is Joëline Studer, but my friends called me Joy for a long time, it’s much easier for foreigners . I am a second year student at ESDES Management school in Lyon. Usually people describe me as someone active who thrives from challenges.

Finland is one of these challenges. Why did I choose Finland ?

Well, I am very lucky that I had the opportunity to have a gap year before to start college. I have been to differents countries like the Philippines and Hawaii for example. These countries are beautiful and the experiences were amazing. But after all, I felt that now I have to discover my continent better. It’s true that I didn’t spend many time in Europe expect France, Germany, England or Spain. To me the Scandinavian world is an example for us, these countries suceeded when we felt, the way they live and the way they work are very interresting.They found many good solutions to our problems. Moreover Finland has the reputation to have one of the best education in the world.

         In my opinion, we have to live an experience in a very cold country at least one time in life with snow and hot chocolate. Moreover this country is not very famous, most of my friends don’t really know about this area. I taught it would be a great opportunity to have my own experience and my own vision about Finland.

As I explained before, I came to Finland by train. We decided to go to Helsinki together with Regis. What a good idea!

We started our trip from Lyon the 2nd January to Amsterdam. We spend few hours in Geneva, Basel and then Frankfurt. We arrived at home very late but we finally found our Couch surfer near the city center. His Name is Janusz, a polish guy and we meet him through a website called CouchSurfing. The concept is simple: Share your apartment for free for one or few nights in order to help people to travel in a easier way. We learnt a lot, instead he likes politic and debate. CouchSurfing is perfect for meeting people, it's a good opportunity to exchange with foreigners. 

         Helsinki is the capital and have a good emplacement to travel, it’s such a crossroads and have a beautiful harbor. It’s true that the capital is not always the best way to discover a country but a capital is usually the heart of the city, I taught that maybe I could undertand the country better if I stay in Helsinki.

         The history of Finland is fascinating, because of the location, Finland has been taken by Russia and Sweden many times. We can feel it in the architecture and in art.

         I already have plans to travel around like Lapland and St Petersburg. Europe is full of surprises, full of differents culture, it’s my time for me to discover this continent better and to have a great time over there.

The currency of Finland is the euro.

The most important cities and towns in Finland are Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa or Turku.

The president of Finland is Sauli Niinisto . 5.3 million people live in Finland. Finnish and Swedish are the official languages of Finland. Most people in Finland speak Finnish, but about 6% of Finland's people speak Swedish as their mother tongue Finland became independant in 1917 with the Revolution Russes

Finland is a highly industrialized First World country. The most important Finnish industrial products are paper steel, products such as machines, and electronics.

Hola! 

I just went to Lapland, it was one of the most interesting experience. Lapland. What is Lapland? Is it only a block of snow? 

I went there for vacations with 13 other Erasmus friends. We had a cottage in Levi. The atmosphere was really nice.

First we saw the Ice Village 

And then we had so much fun: Huskies, dinner, slides, 14 friends in a cottage , Snowmobile, Snowshoes.. Lapland will stay in my heart forever! I even met the SantaClaus for the Valentine's day. I even ask: Hey Santa, would you like to be my Valentin?