Day 145 I wouldn't want it any other way

145 days have passed, and it's time for me to go home.

I wouldn't say that time has passed quickly here, but looking back, the happy times does seem to flash across as if they only happened in seconds and not in days. I still remember my first day here in Helsinki, amazed that my plane could still land despite the snow on the ground of the airport. I was excited about the snow, excited about everything, but at the same time, extremely nervous about what I was getting myself into. It was only 4 pm, and the sky was pitch dark. I remember looking at the moon, the dark woods next to my apartment, the white snow on the ground and just feeling that I am in for an adventure of a life-time.

Before I went on this exchange, I tried to lay out what I wanted to achieve and do here:
1. Meeting people from everywhere.
2. Travel to eastern european countries.
3. Write a blog and update it everyday.
4. Take Finance courses here.

In a way, I have achieved everything.

Meet people from everywhere- Done.
Exchange would not be the same, if not for the fellow exchange students here. I remember not knowing anyone (except Andy from my school) before I came, nervous whether I would meet friends or not. Then going to the orientation day and being divided into tutor groups, getting to know more and more people. I wish I have more time to engage in conversations with more people and know people better. There are so many friends I get to only talk to them towards the end of exchange, it's really such a pity that we haven't talked sooner. I befriended Barbora (she comes from the exotic country of Slovakia, and she studies in Vienna), we always hang out and explore different places together. Such good memories!

Travel to eastern european countries- Done.
One of the reasons why I went to Helsinki is to travel to european countries, especially eastern european countries, which are not very well known to Hong Kong people. I have travelled to Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest, Riga, Tallinn and (non-eastern european places), such as London, Stockholm. I am happy that I managed to have a great time in all the countries, especially in Bratislava, where I met Barbora's cool friends.

Write a blog and update it everyday- Done.
Having a blog is quite a dangerous thing, especially one without any security locks. But I think that this exchange is such a unique one that I wanted to share with everyone about what I did everyday (if they are interested) and I want this to be my memories. So this is what I did, I wrote a blog every single day, from Day 1 to Day 145. I am extremely proud of myself for doing it.

Take Finance courses here- Done.
I wasn't really satisfied with the information system courses that I took last semester, everything the IS courses taught me was too technical, as opposed to the courses in Global Business. I didn't know what I wanted to do with myself, so I wanted to explore some options here on exchange. I have only taken Finance courses here and 1 Finnish culture and language course, and so far, I am satisfied with what I am dealing with.

I did everything I wanted to do here, plus quite a bit of surprises. I think these surprises and experiences combined helped me to move on to the next step of maturity. Exchange is a great way to challenge yourself and to hit a new high when you have hit a plateau in life.

This exchange, in a way, slowed me down, and made me more aware of myself, how I deal with situations, and analyze what I can learn from it. I remember on our biking tour in Budapest, Barbora and I had a long talk about what we have learnt from the exchange, and what we can do to improve ourselves. It is so good to have a friend to share all these things to, and together, grow up and be a better person.

Exchange people here are extremely interesting and some inspiring. It made me realize (yea, this is cliche), the world is actually quite big, and there are a lot of different kinds of people living their lives. I am really amazed by the things that people do/did before they go on exchange, compared to them, my path seems mundane and boring (haha).

Talking about luck, I think it is really on my side during the entire exchange. I met good friends, for life, had extremely fruitful experiences academically and personally. Quite a bit depressed at first, because I don't know what I am going to do this summer, but everything worked out at the end.

So this is the end of my exchange. I don't know whether I would return to Helsinki or Finland in the next 10 years, but everything that happened here, it would forever be in my memories (plus I have this blog to remind myself, I think I will make this blog a book). This experience is such a unique one, that I wouldn't want it any other way. I am so sure that all my friends are moving on to something big and something interesting. All the best to all of you! Thank you for making my exchange such an interesting one!

Stay young my friends, I hope we will meet again someday! If any of you ever go to Hong Kong, drop me a line on fb, or e-mail!

Day 144 My last day in Helsinki

My last day in Helsinki. I was supposed to meet Julie for a kahvi at m-bar, but my ankle was so swollen and painful that I could only hop with my right leg and cannot land on my left, so I had to call it off.

I was packing a lot, also weighing my luggage, so far, my big luggage is about 25 kg, 5 kg overweight, argh... why is everything overweight? Me, the suitcase, my other suitcase, and did I mention, me. It would be funny (in a mean and sad way) if the airline had to charge extra for an overweight person.

Andy arrived in Helsinki last night, and we decided that we would eat together at Ida, so I don't have to walk around. Edit came and joined us as well, because Edit has an internship in Hong Kong this September, and she wanted a bit of advice from us (she calls us HongKongees)

We ate some of the Slovakian sausages and smoked cheese. Amazing stuff. We were all satisfied at the end of the meal.



I am quite worried about getting to the airport tomorrow, since my ankle is still hurting quite badly and I have 2 suitcases and multiple hand luggages to bring. I think I will call a taxi.

Goodnight Helsinki, sweet dreams.

Day 143 Bye bye Barbora, bye bye Bratislava

Last night was a very fun night, today, I leave Bratislava to Vienna airport back to Helsinki.







I love Bratislava. If I were to describe Bratislava to my family, I would say it is a city with a very tight community. It seems that everyone knows everyone in the city centre of Bratislava, or it was Barbora and Vladiko who know everyone. But the city has very close human connections, it is just amazing!

Today marks the end of my last trip in Eastern Europe. I don't know when I will attempt a tour in Europe again in the future, but I will definitely return to some more exotic places.

Day 142 More sightseeing in Bratislava!

Today was an extremely pretty day in Bratislava, the sky was blue, sun was shining as brightly as it should...

Barbora decided that we should pay a visit to the castle in the suburban area in Bratislava.

(Photo: We were so lucky that Barbora was driving us to the castle, or else, we would need to take the bus and everything, which will probably take an hour to get there.)

(Photo: The castle from down the hill.)

(Photo: Across the water is Austria! Bratislava and Austria are really close!)

(Photo: And of course, I couldn't hide my excitement.)

(Photo: Then Barbora took me to the city centre. This is taken from the tower high up.)

(Photo: Juraj brought along his skateboard, but he was too tired to skate, so Vladiko showed me some tricks! I was a bit worried because he was wearing sandals.)

(Photo: Our dinner with the Sedova family. Thai curry and Kung pao.)

After the dinner we were extremely exhausted, but Barbora persuaded me to "grab a beer" in the city centre and go back and sleep. Turned out, we didn't just "grab a beer"!





I met up with Barbora and Vladiko's friends, they are all very cool! It is such a pity that it was my last night there and couldn't talk more.



We crashed at Becky's place after the drinks, because we were all too tired to go back to Barbora's home and Becky's place is really near the city.

Day 141 Vienna!

Today, we woke up really early in the morning for a day trip to Vienna. The train ride from Bratislava to Vienna was only for 1 hour or so, so we decided to take a day trip there.

(Photo: Free-riding in a Vienna tram to the city centre.)

(Photo: One of the famous shopping streets in Vienna.)

(Photo: Inside the South Tower. We walked almost 150m up the stairs.)

Maybe because the night out yesterady was too tiring, we were so exhausted by mid-day in Vienna that we sat at a cafe and didn"t want to move.

(Photo: This cafe is one of the oldest cafes in Vienna!)

We then had lunch at an Asian restaurant, which is near the market place. Amazing green thai curry and sushi, with good price as well!

(Photo: We then walked around the market place.)

What a day what a day... so tired!

Day 140 Bratislava, finally!

I have been extremely interested in the country of Slovakia and in the city of Bratislava, ever since I befriended Barbora.

So after much anticipation, I am finally here in Bratislava, Slovakia!

Early in the morning, we took CD, the Sedova"s family dog for a walk near the woods.

(Photo: We were walking and CD was playing in the mud.)

Then we had a really good home-cooked lunch of pasta with mushroom white sauce!


After the meal, we went for some sightseeing in the city.

(Photo: The famous communist bridge.)

(Photo: The castle.)

(Photo: At the parliament.)

(Photo: Some cool graphics on the wall.)

Then Barbora and Big V took me to the Slovak pub for a Slovakian dinner.

(Photo: Garlic soup.)

(Photo: Fried cheese.)

(Photo: Then we met up with Barbora"s friends in one of their hangout places! It was very near the market square.)

Day 139 Last day of Budapest

Today marks the last day of my visit to Budapest.

We left the Grand hostel, quite early in the morning. I have to say, this hostel is just about the weirdest hostel I have ever stayed at. The hostel is right next to the tram rail, so throughout the night, every one hour or so, there is a tram roaring through, waking us up.

(Photo: The crazy hostel. Imagine the owner of the hostel, hm... let me see, where is the greatest place to build a hostel... ahaa, next to the rail!)

(Photo: I really like the style of the tram in Budapest. It is quite ancient but with a lot of character.)

We headed to the Budapest castle. Weather was really nice, I wished I had my sunglasses with me!

(Photo: Our boy band photo.)

(Photo: Inside the famous church.)

(Photo: In the castle region, overlooking the city of Budapest.)

After the whole morning and early afternoon of walking and sight-seeing, we were so extremely tired that we went and chill.

(Photo: chilling...)

(Photo: Barbora and Vladimir"s friend, David, also known as Daiko, he is just about the calmnest person I have ever met! Never panic, never piss, never angry!)

It was again raining as we left Budapest to Bratislava with the car. There was a guy from the car in front of us, throwing up.



After driving for about 2 hrs, we got lost in the dark. But found our way after about 30 mins. Great driving Vladiko!



Finally, at about 11pm at night, we arrived at Barbora"s home, greeting by CD the dog!

Day 138 Exploring Budapest on a bike!

After a long day yesterday of getting lost finding the hostel, exploring the bars and pubs in Budapest, and finding our way back to the hostel, we decided that today is the day which we will explore the beautiful city of Budapest on a bike.

(Photo: Getting ready for the long bike day. The hostel rented bikes to guests for about 8 or 9 Euros per half-day, which I think is a bit expensive for Hungary. Nevertheless, we were just happy that there were bikes for rent in the hostel.)

It was however, a national holiday in Budapest, so not much tourist attraction sites were opened.

(Photo: The Budapest Synagogue, closed.)

(Photo: The Budapest Church, this is not closed, so we went in and took a look at the pretty interior design.)

(Photo: The view from the Chain bridge linking Budapest.)

As you can see from this photo, the sky was getting really gloomy. And about 2 hours afterwards, it started to rain heavily! Luckily we reached the hostel.

(Photo: Yep, and so there we were, consuming alcohol in the hostel reception, which conveniently, is a bar.)

Day 137 First stop: Budapest, Hungary

Today, I begin my last Europe trip here on exchange! We set off to the mysterious city of Budapest, with Barbora, Vladiko and Daiko!

Plane ride was reasonably comfortable, we flew by Finnair, and were offered food and drinks. The plane was not as full as I imagined, there were quite a lot of empty places left.

(Photo: Sunny weather)

(Photo: Vladiko and Daiko picked us up at the airport by a car, and we set off to the city centre and to our hostel to drop off our stuff.)

(Photo: we passed by the chain bridge, it is a famous bridge here in Budapest!)

(Photo: we had some bread, green chillies and some Slovak dry sausages for dinner.)