13. Level 1 completed + Finland review

After 19 days, and 1200-1400-something kilometers, I have reached the south coast in Esbo, next to Helsinki. I am gonna spend the night at Heli's place, one of my favourite exchange student friends from South Korea 2008. She now has a family with twins, and I'm super excited to meet them all tonight! She has helped me a lot in giving advice about Finland, and the world is a much better place when there are mini-Helis around.

It is time to distribute some skill points. Cycling from north to south Finland has resulted in:

Strength: +1

Speed: +1

Endurance: +1

Leg size: +1

Stomach size: -1

HP: -1 (still coughing after being sick two weeks ago)

New finnish friends: +47

Finnish language skill: 0 (Embarrassing development here. I just know how to say Moi, Moi moi, Kiitos, Yksi and Keskusta)

And speaking about Finland, here is what I think about the country:

Nature: 5/5

Absolutely gorgeous country, with a natural beauty that is super difficult to capture with the lense of a mobile phone. Deep forests, endless valleys, organic farmlands, super cute villages, tons of rivers - and everything is super clean. You don't see litter anywhere, and I think no other people in the world respect their own nature more than the finnish do.

Bicycle friendliness: 4/5

The road quality is amazing everywhere, and finnish motorists are incredibly considerate towards cyclists. I felt safe 100% of the time. Only drawback is that a lot of highway biking was necessary, but it is understandable that such a large and sparsely populated country can't invest too much money into bike lanes everywhere. It makes no sense to build and mantain them.

Food: 3/5

Like swedish food, with less seasoning, more cream, and a lot more sausages. Just had one great experience (at an indian restaurant) and no awful experiences.

People: 5/5

Introverted, funny, friendly, honest, curious and helpful. Just an amazing bunch of people, and probably my favourite kind of people in the world (along with mexicans).

It has been super easy to meet new people, and I have never been lonely on a night where I have been out for beers. As soon as their initial shyness dissipates, you find yourself in the company of some really nice people. No matter if it is a finland-finnish or finland-swedish person.

Finland is by a great margin my favourite of the nordic countries, and I could easily see myself moving here at some point.