Lucina Education

✨ Happy New Year to my followers, customers, friends and family! ✨

On the first day of the year, I went for a walk to the same frozen lake I posted from on Christmas Eve. The sun (what sun? 🙃) wasn’t as impressive as on Christmas, but we’ve had a bit more snow, and it’s about -15°C/+5°F. The trees are covered with light and glimmering snow, and especially the birches look magical. ❄️

I was going to take more photos, but the minus degrees were a bit too much for the battery of my phone, so I only managed to take this one. And now, at 4:30 pm it’s completely dark again. But hey, we’re finally heading towards the light!

Anyone who knows me well, knows how much this place means to me. My happy place. My connection to the beautiful, quiet nature that gives me a lot of joy and energy. 💛

Wishing everyone happiness, health and success and whatever your heart desires! May you, too, get a chance to enjoy your happy place, whatever/wherever it may be!

In 2026, I’m especially excited about serving as a European Capital of Culture! I’ll be happy to serve as your authorized tourist guide in the Oulu Region! Welcome, year 2026, and welcome to Oulu! And why not make a little trip to the Kokkola Region, as well!

-Mari

✨ Wishing everyone a peaceful Christmas time! ✨

-Mari

Happy Independence Day, Finland! 🇫🇮✨ Sending my best wishes (in the role of a volleyball mom) from a volleyball tournament in Ivalo, almost 300 km north of Rovaniemi. 🏐✨

My lovely birth town Kokkola was the place to be this weekend for the Authorized Tourist Guides of Finland. We gathered for a fantastic weekend full of inspiring program. I am very happy I joined and met so many guide colleagues from all over Finland!

The last picture shows the change of guard from Kokkola to Oulu: next year, it will be Oulu welcoming the Finnish tourist guides to Oulu for the event! And of course, we welcome plenty of tourists year-round for the activities of Oulu2026 – European Capital of Culture!

A heartfelt thank you to the Kokkola Tourist Guides / Kokkolan Matkailuoppaat ry - Karleby Guider rf for all the arrangements! 🌟 Everything was brilliant! 💎

Suomen Opasliitto ry - Finlands Guideförbund rf

Visit Kokkola

Oulun seudun oppaat ry - Oulu Region Tourist Guides
Visit Oulu

Thank you for the company, Sirpa from
Tonttu Tärmön Paja, and Christiane from Windland!

🤩 Oulu has made it to the National Geographic list ”Best of the World – the Best Places in the World to Travel to in 2026”! 🤩

✨ Welcome to Oulu2026 - European Capital of Culture 2026! I’ll be happy to be your local guide! ✨

Here’s the link to the article:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/best-of-the-world-2026

Here’s the whole list of the 26 chosen ones:

1. The Dolomites, Milan, Italy
2. Québec, Canada
3. Beijing, China
4. Dominica
5. Rabat, Morocco
6. Hull, Yorkshire, England
7. North Dakota Badlands, U.S.
8. Manila, Philippines
9. Black Sea Coast, Türkiye
10. Khiva, Uzbekistan
11. Akagera National Park, Rwanda, East Africa
12. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
13. Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
14. Route 66: Oklahoma, U.S.
15. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia
16. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
17. Oulu, Finland
18. South Korea
19. Guimarães, Portugal
20. Basque Country, Spain
21. Maui, Hawaiʻi, U.S.
22. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
23. Coastal Oaxaca (Costa Chica), Mexico
24. Fiji
25. Medellín, Colombia
26. Banff, Canada (chosen as a Reader’s Choice favorite)

Best of the World 2026 From a legendary Alpine range to a less-traveled but no less stunning alternative to the Mediterranean, here are the year’s must-visit destinations, handpicked by National Geographic’s editors, photographers, and adventurers.

Proud to reveal I’ve completed my 6-month-long AI Coach studies at Otavan Opisto, under the guidance of lecturer – a true AI guru – Jukka Lehtoranta. What an incredibly eye-opening course with a lot of information, dozens of new AI tools and ways to use them, great discussions and a variety of fantastic new professional contacts from many different fields! Thank you so much, everyone!

A little sneak peek into the not-so-distant future: coming up, two Erasmus+ structured training courses “AI for Teachers” in June 2026 in Oulu2026 - European Capital of Culture 2026, brought to you by Lucina Education. Stay tuned. 😉

A new AI Coach is just starting at Otavan Opisto (in Finnish). Don’t miss out on this great opportunity! (Link in the comments.)

-Mari ✨

On World Tourism Day, September 27, 2025, I had the joy of guiding German cruise ship passengers in German in Oulu, Finland. The weather was absolutely wonderful and everything went smoothly!

Thank you for the cooperation:




and my guide colleague

Fancy a guided tour in the Oulu Region? Book yours directly at !