Köln or Cologne ?

When you go to Westphalia you must visit Köln told me a German last semester.

I did so and I liked that.

Köln was for me only one train station, a Dom and a kind of parfum. Now it's a charming town as well.

The Cathedral was unfortunately too big to take an entire picture.



After the historical part we visited the modern part. I read on internet that Köln is a place where you must go for shopping.


But Köln is also a romantic town where a lot of people are getting married everyday.


It's also currently the place where is occuring the world championship of Hockey on ice


inside that arena.


With that Slogan ^^


We visited with Justin the museum of "eau de Cologne" and the guide explained why the name was French and not German. This was simply created over the French occupation that is to say at the end of the 18th century.

So there is still a problem for some people that arrive there, do we're in Köln or in Cologne because of the most important symbol of the town.

I felt more in France than in Germany in this town so I'd rather say Cologne but officially it's still Köln !!

Münster

To describe Münster, there are not several ways. It's typically the town of the normality. I mean everything is going on pretty well. It's not a hasard if the town has the best life quality standard among its size category.

Before coming I thought that Münster was only the town of the Westfalian Treaty ratification which founded the international right and ended the anarchy among international issues. After six days there I see Münster differently.

It's first of all a town where the nature is everywhere


Where you can visit beautiful garden



Where you can move only by bicycle.


Where you can pray inside such beautiful churches.



Where you can study in an huge and well known university.


Where you can buy articles from this one


Where you freely vote for who you want.




Where you can also watch "Fussball"


In security ...


But it's also where Justin must study and improve by the way his German.


And I did so with him over 4 days. This was rather nice must I acknowledge.

Finland Second Part

Helsinki was our arrival point in Finland. I saw briefly this town when we took the boat to go to Talinn and I didn't know exactly to what it looked like. But the first picture that I've taken was the better one to sum up Helsinki.


It's not that fine as architecture, it's even a bit strict but not all the town is like that.


Buildings along the main square prove that.

Some of them are not strict as well.


If there is a thing that you must visit to Helsinki, it's Churches.



And even inside, you might miss the most important.



(Pictures were allowed inside, we believe in the same God but differently apparently)

We visited also the national library. A very nice building as well.


Now, I'm going to show you that Finnish markets are certainly expensives but you buy there a lot of good things.




The following picture is for someone who would like to be my trip mate but who couldn't not anymore.


Despite very negative descriptions of Sarah, I liked Helsinki. But you can spend there no more than a day if you're there only for tourism.

Talinn

We took the boat at Helsinki to join Talinn. The crossing time is only 2 hours and 15 minutes and quite cheap.

We had time to admire Baltic sea.


And then we arrived to Talinn Harbour. First visit in the former USSR. You can not imagine how many stereotypes I had in my head once again. But these were broken immediately by that picture.


We took a taxi until our hostel for only 4.25 euros in spite of the fact that the hostel was at 7 km from the harbour. Amazingly cheap isn't it ? The rest is too. We took only 500 estonian krones (30 euros) and we paid 1 meal to a restaurant + 2 drinks in pubs + souvenirs + Hostels with that.

Then we visited downtown where you got a lot of beautiful monuments and buildings.




And few meters after this street you see that.


Amazing ! insn't it ?

We had the good idea to read some touristic guides that adviced to drink something to the Radisson resort roof. Here are the pictures from there. You can see the amazing contrast between the historical Talinn and the modern business district.


You can admire also Soviet legacies from there.


And a mix of Soviet legacies with Old Town.


We came back to the old town and we shared a meal inside this building in a typical Austrian restaurant where bieres were distilled and made in front of you.


After that we reached the hill and came in front of the presidential palace.


And we admired a very beautiful Orthodox Church in front of that.


And then the forteress just below the Church.


There are not plenty things to visit to Talinn but it's still well to have a look on this place for a day at least.

Finland First Part

When I knew that I was choosen to go in Norway by my university, I was so glad to have finally the opportunity to discover Scandinavia. A region that I admirated when I was young and that I would absolutely visit in my life.

When I learned that Deborah should go to Malmö (Swenden, cf. previous articles) and Sarah to Jyväskylä, we promized to visit each others and we did so. After that I learned that Laurent also should go in internship with a teacher of sociology. I couldn't avoid such a travel so I decided to spend four days there.

I arrived from Gdansk to Turku where Laurent is working. The first picture of Finland in my head is that one.


Fortunetely I found the bus stop behind the building that you can see. The advantage is that you can not confound buses. There is only one line to go to Keskusta (downtown).

I made that and arrived to Kauppatori (Market Square in Finnish). I saw there a kind of global orgy where everybody were drunk and were dressed strangely.



Before to see that I heard from Paul: "There is nothing to do in Finland, nothing to see, I don't know what you can do there except the fact to drink alcohol". Imagine what I thought. An other time stereotypes were illustrated in front of me.

When Laurent arrived he explained me that the day before May 1st there is a tradition in Finland to celebrate the end of examinations and workday. Everybody must have the white cap and go drinking in the street. I didn't do so because I should be awake at 8 to take a bus and be on time to Jyväskylä to watch the rugby game of Stade Toulousain (semi-final of Europa Cup).

However I didn't sleep and followed Laurent to a party with Finnish girls (that study French) and stayed on the street after midnight.


Afterwards, I spent one day to Jyväskylä. We stayed at home playing cards and sleeping early to be in shape for our departure to Talinn.

Gdansk or Dantzig - Poland

Barely two days after my way back from Prague, I should take once again the train to go back to Torp airport. This time, I started for a fourteen days travel to visit 4 countries.

So: Second Step to Gdansk.

I've never been in Poland. I heard about them that they were very poor, that they earned money mostly from their agriculture. They were alcoholic as well as barbarians and cousin with Russians. I heard also that they came into the European Union to steal the subvention of agriculture (always agriculture) and invade us with their plumbers.

Actually, the ERASMUS experience helped me to move me away of these believes but some stereotypes were still in my head. When I've met a Polish girl this semester during the boat trip and I due to bring her up until her dorm after the crossing because she was too drunk to walk, this was normal to have still some doubts ... lol

So let's back to our topic i.e. this trip. I've choosen Gdansk because this was the only opportunity to go from Norway to Finland without to pay more than hundred euros for a flight. I spent 1 day there and enough time to visit Lech Walesa's town.


It's hard to leave Gdansk without to know the fact that Walesa is not from this town !! It's a Polish caracteristic to call all airport by a famous Polish. For example: Krakow airport is called Frederic Chopin and so one.

The Historical fact is very important for Polish People. It's not in France that we could see, "this year, it's the birthday of the constitution" as an advertising poster.


After the airport, I joined downtown and I visited the place that the Polish girl from Gdansk that I know to Kristiansand adviced me (It's not the same girl that I brought up ^^).




So this was that she called "the modern downtown" in other words the current core. This is pretty nice and I didn't expect that kind of beautiful buildings. Now let's go to the "old town".





You can notice that several flags are put on the street. This was in memory of Lech Kaczynski died 15 days before in a plane crash.

After these very beautiful streets I accrossed the bridge to join my Hostel and that one was located in a popular district of Gdansk. You will see the contrast with the previous pictures.




The morning of the day after I'd visit the non-touristic Poland. I realized at this moment that there were still a gap in spite of a global and promising dynamic.





Poland is maybe still a developping country if you compare with the rest of Europe but Poles live like us. They eat delicious ice creams, receive ACDC as guest, watch movies with Gerard Depardieu and read Marx (despite their History).





However they respect always their traditions.


Sometimes they find some solutions to do both.


Or at least they tried ...


For those of you who don't know. Matriochka (poupées Russes) are not Polish but only Russian !!

To sum up, I spent a very nice day. And I know now that I must visit the rest of Poland where I guess that there are plenty interesting place to visit.