So, Vappu in Finland is over! and well, it was special :) certainly very different for me because we don't have the same kinds of traditions in Scotland as there are here. In fact, we don't do anything. In Tampere the whole event mainly revolves around the "teekarit" : technical students from the TTY (Tampere Technical University).
On Vappu Eve I celebrated with the Aiesec guys at the sauna party in the city centre. It was really neat, very chilled and musical; we had to invent a song as a ransom in order to get the local committee's kidnapped mascot "Ernesti" back and I have to say, we did a great job, with Juhani playing guitar and a collection of different musical styles (rap, opera, metal and boy band!) the end-product was pretty cool and most heart-felt ;) !
Then some of us went along to the bridge in the city centre where at midnight every year the technical students crown one of the big statues with a white cap too! It was a bit of an anti-climax to be honest, not really all that exciting. The place was packed with people though, I've never seen Tampere so "alive". Good vibe but too crowded so we headed home!
On Vappu Day we had a picnic on the banks of the river rapids, whilst watching the fresher technical students go 10 by 10 into big cages, lifted by cranes and dipped into the cold water!! It was quite amusing to see, definitely a unique inauguration for them! Families, other students and randoms like us turned out to watch and it took about 4 hours (there were like 1000 students at least!). The weather was good but a little more chilly than the other days so we went for coffee to a nice little french-style cafe afterwards and then met up with some friends for a few drinks later! Not too wild and crazy but definitely enjoyable. It's useful not to be hungover today anyway...working from home though which is nice!
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