Hi Leutz, zu Beginn kurze Ansage an meine Stammleserschaft: hab versprochen, diesen Eintrag über meine Finnland-Reise auf Englisch zu verfassen (letzte Woche gelernt) – ich hoffe, ihr seht es mir nach. Wenn ihr ganz lieb ‘bitte’ sagt, übersetze ich ihn euch vielleicht mal
… sonst halt einfach die Bilders anschauen, die sprechen sowieso für sich. Puh, das wird ne längere Angelegenheit.
OK, here we go: ever since Marlena had first told me about Mika and Matleena (which she met at her parents’ wedding), I was dreaming about going to Finland to pay them a visit. Now, after quite some time of planning and considering, last week I finally took the courage to ask mum and dad if I could go. I wanted to travel on my own (with respect to mum’s supposed horrible fear of flight), but she wouldn’t let me and said she’d come with me … and then obviously dad didn’t know what he should eat while we’d be gone or something, so he also decided to accompany us. All the better, I thought.
But still, I was really surprised to see Marlena with her parents show up on the train station. She probably had the very same idea. What a coincidence! |
Well anyway, when we arrived at the airport, I was starting to get a bit nervous because of all the horror stories mum had always told me, but I have to state this: flying is actually quite fun.


I mean, sure, it can be a drag when there are no turbulences and you’re just flying straight without anything happening, but the take-offs and landings are cool. Luckily, we had three of them on our journey to Oulu. Good for me, but I couldn’t get mum to share my delight … and believe me, I tried really hard.
Finally we arrived in Oulu where Matleena and Mika picked us up (this is Matleena on the right). And they were every bit as nice as Marlena had told me. By the way, if you’re a regular reader of Jasmin’s Corner, you might think that I only meet nice people. That’s a misconception. It’s just that I don’t usually take photos of the not-so-nice people. Matleena and Mika, however, deserve lots of photos |
And then the next great coincidence happened: they told us they’d be getting married two days later and that we’d be invited. I was a little afraid that we didn’t bring a suitable dress for me, but mum and dad reassured me, so we were happy to accept the invitation.
 After a long and exciting day, I was put to bed, but something wasn’t right: I wasn’t tired at all, and it wasn’t even beginning to get darker. I sneaked out hours later and took the photo on the right. According to all the clocks in the house, it was supposed to be midnight, but as you can see, this couldn’t have been the case. So my only explanation is that mum and dad did some secret stuff in the afternoon and wanted me out of the way. They continued this strange behaviour during our whole stay in Finland. I will keep you informed as my investigations proceed. |
Next day (or maybe it was still the same, who knows…) we went to the city center of Oulu. My first bus trip, by the way. Yeah I know, not that exciting compared to the first flight, but I let mum take a picture nonetheless.



And then it was wedding day. I was excited for several reasons. First of all we were promised not less than 1 ceremony and 2 (yes, two) parties. And then of course, as you might remember, there is this other forthcoming wedding that I’m planning, so I was looking for last-minute inspirations. |
The ceremony took place in a beautiful location nearby a river, in a small medieval wooden church. Best part of it was that you could lie in your carriage just outside the church and still don’t miss a thing. Marlena made use of this option. I however tried to soak up as much of the ceremony as possible, but unfortunately found it hard to focus (I was unconsciously still investigating, see above), so I took dad on a small walk outside. I arrived back just in time for this wonderful picture of the brandnew married couple.

Well, let’s get the party started!



These were all taken from the first party. And what a party that was! I was introduced to lots of people, got handed over from one to another. I really felt like the star of the day.
So much so, in fact, that I started to feel bad for Matleena and Mika – that’s why I pretended to get in a bad mood, so that mum and dad had to put me into the carriage. |
And that was it for me. I took a last picture of everybody (except me) and was then sent to bed while the others went on to the 2nd party. Cruel world, but eventually I’ll have my revenge. |
Next day we were all waking up with a bit of a hangover, so we decided to have a lazy day, and therefore I took the guys to the beach, another ‘first’ for me. Lesson of the day: sand, although looking and feeling great, doesn’t taste too good.



Yes, that’s really everything I can tell you about that day, I told you it was a lazy one.
Monday however was packed with excitement again. Not only did I discover my true origin (Thuringia, sure, who are you kidding? Just look to the right!), but we also went shopping in the city, which is where I found my new favourite hat. It was actually a bit too warm for wearing it that day, but I just didn’t care! |


Finally, the last chapter of our trip started that same afternoon when Matleena, Mika, Mari and Valtter picked us up for a picnic. Oh my god, I inexcusably forgot to mention Mari and Valtter until this point! What was I thinking! Here they are:


Mari was Matleena’s maid of honour, and she and her husband Valtter were kind enough to offer us their apartment during our stay. As if that wouldn’t have been enough, Mari also tried to teach me some Finnish. She did a very good job at that, but learning two new languages in just one week is a bit challenging even for my high standards. Kiitos anyway!
Where was I? Oh yeah, the picnic: that was just about perfect! Beautiful scenery, and the best weather in the whole year (Mika confirmed that). Marlena seemed to enjoy it even more than me, which was pretty difficult. |
Suddenly, Mika’s father showed up and brought a fishing rod, which he used to catch the biggest fish I ever witnessed someone catch! Ever! |
And then it was Valtter’s turn, and he actually caught the second-biggest fish I ever witnessed someone catch. How cool is that! |
But, you know, all good things come to an end, so, after a very emotional goodbye, we went on our plane home. The last highlight of this week so stacked with highlights was travelling by train from Frankfurt to Stuttgart …

… which is where our journey finally ended. Now my fingers hurt from typing, so I’ll better go to bed and take a rest. If mum finds out I’m still awake she’ll be mad anyway, so: see you around.
Love, Jasmin.
