Oulu Local Customs

Oulu is one of the few cities in Europe having a townwide free WLAN network. You can log in and just start surfing for free. Even inside public buildings like the Oulun Energia Areena (the stadion of Oulus Icehockey team) or on the ferries to Hailuoto there are access points.

More information on the panOULU-webpage.

Oulu has an earned reputation as the Heavy Metal City of Finland. There are lots of heavy fans around here and many upcoming and going bands, the most well known is Sentenced. The scene is quite wide, but definitely Oulu has a lot of potential as a heavy city as do many other northern cities in Scandinavia, especially in Norway.

There are lots of heavy gigs in Oulu, like Judas Priest visited this Spring 2005. You see many gothic way dressed youngs around and overall heavy music is liked. So definitely, take a look at local gigs once you are here.

This is cute and colorful sub urban community/island on the North side of Oulujoki, just one kilometer from downtown along Merikoski bridge.
When I came to Oulu for the first time I really felt in love in Toivoniemi. The houses are high and colorful and the windows are small, white and square. Toivoniemi is wonderful island between Tuira and downtown.

There are not many historical old buldnings left in Oulu, despite of its colorful history as an harbor town. But the City Government has destroeyd all the beautiful old wooden buildnings and prefered to buil up new buildnings. The 'great' example of this are the library and the theater on market place.
But luckily, we still have hear our old time fashion phone booth. Most of them are located in my neighbourhood Heinäpää. Many of them are in parks, like Mannerheimin puisto or Heinätorin puisto.

If you want to go to movies in Oulu, you have three option. Two of them are part of Finnkino, the biggest movie theater corporation in Finland. But there is also one private movei theater called Star and there you can watch some special movies which are not that well known. They show also popular films there, but the best thing is in Star is that they have lots to offer. Not just American films and 'big' names.

There are also good, soft and comfortable benchs=)

Star is located in Tuira, on the North side of Oulu river.

The locals have all sorts of wild ideas. If the rest of Europe thinks of South when saying 'wild', it's obviously a Northern feature in Scandinavia. :))) The photo shows the finale of the Music Video Festival in 1997 with the 'funeral' of Urho Kekkonen, the most famous of Finnish presidents. He is carried to his last home (in the cold waters of the Bay of Bothnia) by a choir of shouters, who - you've guessed - shout instead of singing properly. How cultural can you possibly get???

This is a traditional wooden house, not exactly where people live in today but you can see few of those in the town square in the city centre.

Winter days are too cold for jeans! buy "kalsarit" (men's stockings) and wear them when walking out. That's what people do here.