Oulu Finland is a very nice Finnish town, and the largest one in Northern Finland. It is closer to the Artic Circle than Helsinki, and at this time of year, has the Midnight Sun (effectively 24 hour sunlight). Admittedly it’s not extremely bright all day long, but it certainly never gets dark and the sunset lasts a very long time. The hotel has three layers of curtains so you can attempt to get some sleep.

Oulu has amazing bikeways that allow people to cycle or rollerblade any part of town. Our hotel for the conference was located by the river and main market square, a central hub of this city. Locals and tourists alike hang around the number of restaurants, pubs, stalls in this square soaking up the warm sunshine and the lively atmosphere. Amazingly the weather was stunning for all of the conference, and it only got mildly chilly at “night time” when a cool breeze was blowing.

The coast of Finland is also not too far away, and there is even a sand beach and beach resort at which you can kite-surf at. It’s certainly not a beach that has waves but the water was mild enough to take a bit of a swim in.

Finnish people are very friendly and helpful, even though some of them do not speak much English. Most of the ones I talked to spoke English very well. Long hair and beards are popular with men and the many heavy metal t-shirts worn by the youth really make you understand why Lordi represented Finland in this year’s Eurovision. At the conference we even had a unique opportunity to listen to, what I imagine as, the only shouting choir in the world. They actually make an amazing vocal group and their intensity is obvious from the vocals and the faces they make during their performance.

I had a fantastic time in Finland, both at the conference, and during what little free time I had to look around the city. The lush green fields and fresh country air also made quite the change from working in the middle of London. You can see more pictures from Oulu here.