When you hear the name Jyväskylä, you probably imagine just another quiet Finnish city: snow, cold air, and maybe a few lakes. I started asking myself a serious question: Is Jyväskylä just a city… or is it actually heaven?
The trip to Jyväskylä started with a calm train ride from Helsinki. Our journey was smooth and surprisingly fast, and the train passed through several quite large towns and cities along the way. I spent most of the ride working on my computer and listening to music while the landscape slowly changed outside the window. At one point I suddenly noticed something white covering the ground. Snow. When we were about halfway to Jyväskylä, there was already around 10 cm of it. For some people that might be normal in Finland, but for us it felt like entering a completely different world.
My big, fat friend Bernard (also known as Berni) immediately started worrying. His main concern was that he might not be able to move in the snow. “I’m not built for this,” he said dramatically. After a short motivational speech and some reassurance from me, he finally calmed down and the adventure could continue.
After about four hours on the train, we finally arrived in Jyväskylä, a place I had never seen before. As soon as we stepped off the train, the cold hit me like a bus. My automatic reaction was simple: “Oh daymmm!” Imagine sitting in a train with a comfortable 22°C for four hours and then suddenly stepping outside into –2°C. Trust me, your body notices the difference immediately.
Berni and I first escorted our teacher to the hotel. After that, we started our next challenge, which was finding our apartment. We walked along the main street in Jyväskylä, and something about it felt strangely familiar. It reminded me of Slovenska cesta in Ljubljana. Both streets are mostly used by buses, and the sidewalks are level with the road. The city felt calm, organized, and very clean, like everything had its place.
Finding the apartment, however, wasn’t as easy as expected. We followed Google Maps like two confused ducks, walking back and forth around the same building. For a moment it felt like we were playing some kind of treasure hunt. Eventually, after going around the building, we finally found the correct door to the apartment complex.
When we entered the apartment, both of us just stopped and looked around. I’ve been in many apartments before, but this one was easily one of the best I’ve ever stayed in. It was modern, clean, and very cozy. After taking a warm shower and having a small snack, we went to bed, ready for whatever adventure the next day would bring. And at that moment, the question still remained in my head: Jyväskylä… or heaven?
