Nikolay Zhelev from Burgas has lived in Helsinki for eight years and runs tours of Finland for Bulgarians. He shows them the country as a local sees it. He says Eurovision could make Burgas better known among Finns.

Zhelev is a cycling coach and founder of Bulgaria's first cycling school. He lives in Finland with his family.

The idea for the tours came while he was getting used to life there. The family started with a Finnish language course, and at the language school he also learned about the country's history, traditions and culture. That made him want to tell Bulgarians about Finland.

His first impressions were of clean, unspoiled nature and forest everywhere, even in the capital. He also noticed the well-kept city and the mindset of the people.

Zhelev plans the tours himself and fits them to what his guests like. For nature lovers, he shows Finnish forests and wild berries. For those who like sport, art and history, he picks matching places and shows them as locals see them.

The programme includes both the famous sights and small details that help explain the city and its people. An ordinary tourist would walk past them, but Zhelev says they complete the picture, make the story interesting and leave good memories. He also looks for historical links between Finland and Bulgaria that tourists may not know about. In his view, the two histories have some interesting points in common.

What impresses him most about Finns is their drive for independence and their ability to pull together at hard moments in their history. He told BNR: "Zero aggression. That really impressed me a lot." He says northerners are calmer and more measured, while Bulgarians are more emotional and hot-tempered.

As a cycling coach, Zhelev also looks at the city itself. In Helsinki, bike lanes lead to different parts of town, there are sports grounds and bike parks in the neighbourhoods, and for many people being active is part of daily life.

He also spoke about Finnish schools. In the first grades there are no marks, so pupils do not compete needlessly. The teacher must find each child's strengths and help them grow, and children play outside even when it rains.

In his own view, Finnish food is less varied than Bulgarian food. He likes the traditional soup, the pies with mushrooms and fish, and the rye bread.

Zhelev sees room for Finns' interest in Bulgaria to grow. Finns who have been to Burgas have noticed similarities with Helsinki.

He keeps in touch with Bulgaria through the Bulgarian community in Helsinki. Families visit each other and cook dishes from their home regions, including banitsa. For him, Bulgaria stays Bulgaria, and the homeland stays the homeland.

The Burgas native who lives in Finland appears on 18 October on the show "Eva on Sunday" on BNR Burgas. According to our October story, he has a home and a job in Helsinki, presents a personal project and compares Finns with Bulgarians.

"But I am trying to build a link, a bridge between the two nations, so that we miss neither Bulgaria nor Finland," he said.