Arttu in Raahe, Finland

Arttu in his hometown Raahe in Northern Finland.

Olli, Arttu and Arttu´s school ´Raahen lukio´. Olli and Atte

Raahen lukio ´Raahe Upper Secondary School´

Arttu snowboarding. Juho

Arttu feeding the birds in winter. Emilia

Arttu came to my house and climbed up a tradtional Finnish Birch tree to try feeding some birds in our backyard. The Birch tree is very important to the Finnish Sauna Culture because in the summer Finns make vihta, which is a collection of birch twigs that are used in the sauna. The snow outside was taller than Arttu, so he had to climb up into the tree.

Finnish people say that the original Santa Claus comes from Finland. He lives in Korvatunturi which is in Northern Finland. The Christmas Finnish tradtion for Santa Claus is that he actually visits homes on Christmas Eve. Arttu got to meet a Santa Claus-bear and tried playing the piano, while he was preparing for his trip overseas by sitting on a globe.

Arttu met a bear from Santa Claus' home, Korvatunturi. Emilia

Arttu and Eva´s cat Elvis. Eva

One day Arttu came to visit Eva´s house and met her family´s cat Elvis. They got along very well which you can see from Elvis´s look. Arttu loves animals, he has met many different animals like cats, dogs, mice and horses (in Iceland).

Arttu cruising in Pattijoki ABC. Niina

Raahen Lukio students aged 15-19 are at the age of getting drivers licenses. In this picture Arttu is with one of the students cruising around town and stopping at a local gas station to meet friends and to have a cup of coffee.

Arttu drinking coffee. Niini

It is often said that the Finns are the biggest coffee drinkers in the world. The mug that Arttu is drinking his coffee from has a picture of Muumi, which is a famous Finnish cartoon charactor originally written as a novel.

Arttu with the former president of Finland Urho Kekkonen. Olli and Atte

This statue of the former president of Finland Urho Kekkonen is situated near Raahen Lukio.

Arttu in finnish sauna. Viivi

Almost all homes in Finland have a sauna. The traditional sauna day in Finland is Saturday. Arttu is visiting a non heated sauna which is not very common for Finns to be in. The usual temperature in a sauna is between 60-80 degrees celcius.