From Ice Hockey to Helsinki: A Finnish Week Full of Discoveries

Vol 28, Issue 16, 20^th February 2026 

January 24th.

Do you know the main sport in Finland ? Football ? Basketball ?
Nooooo… Ice Hockey !

For the first time in my life, I attended a real hockey match, and the atmosphere was intense. It was Kouvola vs Espoo, and Kouvola won 5–1. The crowd was on fire ! Everyone was so happy, we completely dominated the game.

During the break, we even took pictures with some of the players and the mascot. Such a funny and memorable experience !

The next day, we went to Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It’s a beautiful city, very clean, calm, and safe. We visited the famous cathedral, and it was impressive both inside and outside.

We also took a ferry to visit a nearby island. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time there, but it was still beautiful. One of my favorite places in Helsinki was the huge central library. The design, the atmosphere, the architecture, everything felt very typically Finnish.
Helsinki has around 650,000 inhabitants, and it has been the capital of Finland since 1812.

Back at XAMK, on January 27th, an important event called Worklife Boom took place. Several companies came to the university to present their businesses and connect with students. With my teammates, we had the opportunity to discuss digital marketing strategies with different companies.

For example, I interviewed Kouvola Innovation Oy, speaking with Wilenius Oskar. It was a very interesting exchange. The aim of this event is to create connections between students and companies, and to help us better understand the professional world.

I also want to share a funny moment: a friend found a pair of skates in his room. So, with a few friends, we went to a frozen lake and tried skating outside in nature : for free ! It felt incredible. In France, you would usually have to pay for this kind of experience. Here, it was just us, the ice, and the landscape.

To conclude this week, we went to Kotka, a small port city. It was very cute and peaceful. The frozen port looked amazing, and we even walked on the ice. We also explored a beautiful forest covered in snow, like something out of a movie.