Oulu city in Finland is said to be the capital of northern Scandinavia. Oulu (pronounced " Ohw-Loo") is an old northern dialect which means "flood". It is one of the most populous city in Finland with an approximate population of less than 200,000. It's one of the most largest cities in the northernmost parts of the world (granted most of it is lakes and forests). It's also known as the location of the world air guitar championships (hell yeah!) and former tar and salmon capital of Finland (Ho-hum).
I'll be staying for 3 weeks for business reasons and I am glad to have a chance to travel somewhere in Europe. I've been to most places in Asia and North America and this is my first trip to Europe! Yey! At first, I thought I would be able to travel other parts of Europe but I found that Finland is quite far from other European countries... *sigh*. It would be a long travel by train and a very expensive one by plane. Oh well, then I'll just have to make the most of my stay at Oulu!
What I discovered though is that Oulu, is a quiet and quaint city in the edges of Finland. There are lots of natural parks and lakes and if you're a nature lover, this would be like heaven to you. I was born and raised a city boy and I do miss the hustle and bustle of city life but the quiet times I get here is, to quote a friend, "eerie-ly calming".
Finnish people are not ones for small talk so I rarely get to talk to anyone except when I'm at work and we usually talk about work. I also found out that they roam around quite late in the day. In fact, my first weekend (Saturday) here, I went out at 10am and there were barely any people in the streets. After lunch is when the people start coming out of their shelters and getting together with friends or go shopping.
There are a few landmarks to see in Oulu (that are quite near) which anyone staying here should not miss... there is the Oulu City Hall, which is a majestic building open for view for tourists.
For quiet reflection, there is the towering Oulu Cathedral which is not far from the City hall.
Also not to miss is the Market Square! This is where a lot of tourist go to... to eat, to shop and buy trinkets... and within the Market Square, is the Market Hall! The Market Hall is a landmark in Oulu since it's been there for over 100 years! It's a big barn like structure (made of bricks!) which houses stalls for different peddlers of trinkets, souvenirs, produce, meat, toys and other native handiworks!
There are also a few other things yo can do in Oulu, like a city bus tour (though I prefer to walk), a riverside cruise which takes about 4 hours and some other things (but it depends on the season) like rafting, boating, fishing and skiing. In January, right at the Market Square, there are reindeer pulled sled races! After you've seen those, there is basically nothing much more to see or do. What is left is to sample the food in Finland. In the Market square, you can find all sorts of cuisine to suit your tastes. There are arctic fish, leg fish, white fish and salmon for sale (already grill cooked) and they are delicious! There's also a restaurant/pub that serves reindeer meat and bear meat. I'm still thinking if I'm gonna try it...
As I am writing this, I have only a week left on my stay and I'll probably spend it going back to the Market square to see if there's anything I've missed. All in all, it was a good experience and maybe next time, I can go to some other parts of Europe! Yeah!!!
Mumbling my thanks in finnish... Kiitos!
