In this article, I'll tell you about a city we visited: Oulu. Jeanne's birthday was an opportunity to change air and discover a new destination!
Let's start with some information about the city. Oulu is the largest European city near the Arctic Circle. It is the cultural, administrative, and commercial center of the whole of northern Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia region, on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia, at the mouth of the river Oulu. You can probably see it better on the attached picture.
So, we left for three days, for a weekend. From Kuopio, it took us more than 4 hours of driving! It's a long way but the landscape we crossed was beautiful! Everything around us was white and it was as if we were in a "cocoon".
So, we arrived on Friday evening. Once we had settled in, we went straight to relax in a rather atypical sauna. Indeed, this sauna was on "water". The programme included a sauna, an outdoor jacuzzi and a swim in the icy lake! This experience was quite new for us! Indeed, in the Finnish people it is quite typical, and it made them laugh to see us having difficulties to breathe and to support the heat. This sauna was mixed. The setting was sumptuous, from the jacuzzi we had a view on the whole lake of Oulu (Oulujärvi), and on the other side of the city. It was a photo opportunity! But the funniest part was swimming in the lake. The water was frozen! It was a great experience, funny to tell.
The sauna's place
The next day we visited the city. We walked through streets, squares and parks covered with snow. Then we went to Nallikari Beach (Gulf of Botnia); we could walk on the frozen sea for a long distance. It was awesome and breathtaking! It was confusing! Now we can say that we are among those who have the gift of walking on water! We also visited the Tietomaa Science Museum. We made discoveries on various themes such as climate and local geography, navigation, mechanics, optics. There were many interactive games and simulators that test our perception of the world. It was a very interesting museum, we loved it. We also went up in the tower, which allowed us to see the whole city lit up!
The frozen lake
Finally, we ended this day in beauty by blowing out its candles!
And the next day, Sunday morning, it was already over. We packed our bags and went back to Kuopio, with beautiful memories in mind!
Lisa
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