Hi!

We are Emilia and Frida from Finland, and this is our shared Couchsurfing account:)

We are currently heading towards the finishing line of school (gymnasium), and are both planning on taking a gap year before further studies. After our final exams this spring, we are going interrailing across Europe: through Sweden to Amsterdam to Innsbruck to Bologna to Vis to Ljubljiana and finally to Prag.

As people, I'd say were both pretty outgoing and down to earth. We love conversing about pretty much anything: from discussing politics to pondering on the level of self-awareness of tadpoles (true story). We appreciate the arts, and like to go to museums and exhibitions of different kinds, as well as making art of our own! In Helsinki we like to go to small-scale concerts, and would love doing that during our interrail too:)

We are open-minded and quite venturesome. We have been loving exploring new places in Finland together, and now that the doors are opening to the rest of Europe, we are beyond thrilled! We have come to the conclusion that we both live by a so-called "yes-mindset"; (in most cases) it is our default answer. You could suggest anything from going rock climbing to crocheting clothes for trees (you know those art projects), and we'd likely be on board!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Where to start?

Well, first of all: we'd love to meet and get to know new people! It is always fun to learn from one another and discover new ways of looking at things. The couch surfing concept is truly a gem, a chance for strangers to connect, a chance to develop long lasting friendships, even.

Couchsurfing also fits our initial idea of the "vibe" of our interrail. We believe in seeing new places through the eyes of the locals, rather than dutifully touring around the main attractions and dining at costly restaurants.

I imagine the days would largely be spent strolling around and exploring the city, but getting together with the host(s) towards the evening: cooking, talking and eating together. This would be a core element of our stay. We'd love to spend time together during the day too, however most people have jobs :P

Lastly: we are both young, and far from a stable income. Therefore we wish to make our travels a bit more budget friendly:) We would however obviously contribute with for example ingredients for the joint cooking!

Hosting:

Frida: After experiencing the role of the couchsurfer, I'd be happy to host people here in Finland too. I live in a small village in southern Finland called Billnäs, in the town of Raasepori. Billnäs is an old, historical ironworks village, with beautiful views, original stone and wood buildings and a stream crossing through it. In recent years the area has been transformed into a lively, small-scale attraction, with e.g. a local chocolate factory, a restaurant and an open air bar. The nature is abundant - both closeby and around the entirety of Raasepori - there's acces to vast woods and dozens of lakes, even the sea and the beautiful archipelago. There's also other historical sites nearby, such as the Raasepori castle ruins, Fiskars village and the Ekenäs old town.

Info about Billnäs: https://www.visitraseborg.com/en/see-and-experience/castles-villages/billnas-village/
Info about Raasepori: https://www.visitraseborg.com/en/
Castle: https://www.visitraseborg.com/en/see-and-experience/castles-villages/raseborg-castle-ruins/
Fiskars: https://www.visitraseborg.com/en/see-and-experience/castles-villages/fiskars-village/
Ekenäs: https://www.visitraseborg.com/en/see-and-experience/ekenas-old-town/

Emilia: Unfortunately, I am not able to host in the near future, since I still live with my parents and they are not up for it. I do imagine that I'll open my home for travelers when I move out, it is a great way to get to know new people :)!

Interests

• arts
• culture
• literature
• concerts
• environment
• yoga
• reading
• hiking
• agritourism
• nature
• exploring
• german language
• seeing new places
• wandering around
• getting to know new people

Music, Movies, and Books

Frida:
I've never been good at picking favorites! I find joy in the diversity of things. Usually I enjoy whatever I'm currently reading, watching or listening to the most.

But if I'd have to pick, some books that come to mind are Watership down by Richard Adams, and a more recent read: The Why Are You Here Cafe by John Strelecky. As for movies: I love a film with beutiful scenery. I really like films by Wes Anderson, for example Moonlight Kingdom. Another favourite of mine is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by Ben Stiller. Currently I've been listening to Cowboy Junkies and The Cranberries. The song I currently listen to the most is Angel mine:)

Emilia:
My absolute favorite read is Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, a fictional story inspired by Vermeers painting. I bought the book at a thrift store in the eighth grade and have re-read it from time to time since then, usually during spring. However, I also love finding new gems and one of my favorite activities is visiting the library and picking books at random :)

When it comes to music I listen to pretty much anything, which I know does sound basic. My taste usually varies according to the time of year, and lately I’ve been loving Fleetwood mac and Al Stewart. My favorite movie is Crash (2004), which my dad showed me some years ago. He is a certified movie-expert, and likes sharing his favorites with my brother and me, so my taste is quite frankly copied from him.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Frida:
Last summer, I spent one month volunteering on two different eco-farms in Germany (through the organisation WWOOF, for anyone interested). I got to meet so many amazing people, learn a lot, and see an abundance of breathtakingly beautiful places. It was hands down one of the best experiences of my life, and I will be continuing in the same tracks during my upcoming gap-year:)

Emilia:
Last year, I did my diploma work from art school. I made posters and glued them around Helsinki accompanied by Frida at the end of the semester. My prompt was “small encouragements” (the Finnish version Pieniä piristyksiä sounds better), and the posters had encouraging calls to action on them, such as “Compliment a stranger”. The project revolved around experimenting with the way that public artwork interacts with the surrounding city, and encouraging more positive interactions between strangers. It gave me a lot of new thoughts around the way that infrastructure limits or encourages interactions and was an interesting experiment! :)

Teach, Learn, Share

We hope to mutually share knowledge, thoughts and stories with the people we meet! We'd also love exchange recipes:)

For the last three years, we've both attended a humanecology specialisation in school. If the word is unfamiliar, it basically means mashing together social-, enviormental- and antrophological studies and calling it a discipline. As a result we've gained some insight and definite interest in topics as such!

We both speak some German and would love to practice!

What I Can Share with Hosts

We can share each others company!

We will gladly help with anything needed around the house in return for your hospitality, so please feel free to ask!

Countries I’ve Visited

Costa Rica, Estonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden