Kotkan Kauppatiellä on harjoittelussa kv-opiskelija Erandi Xamkilta. Kesän aikana hän on tutustunut Kotkaan, kotkalaisiin yrityksiin, tapahtumiin sekä nähtävyyksiin. Tässä artikkelissa Erandi kertoo millaista oli olla harjoittelussa Kotkan Kauppatiellä.

My Internship Journey with Kotkan Kauppatie: Discovering Kotka Through Content Creation

A Journey of Creativity, People, Places and New Experiences

When I started my internship with Kotkan Kauppatie, I knew I would have the opportunity to work with social media and create content about Kotka. But I didn’t realise how much this experience would take me beyond sitting behind a computer and planning posts.

During my internship, I had the opportunity to explore different parts of Kotka, meet local business owners and vendors, attend events, discover beautiful parks and hidden places, take photographs, film videos, conduct interviews, and create stories that could introduce Kotka to both local people and visitors.

For me, this internship became much more than work. It became a journey of discovering Kotka. And as someone originally from Sri Lanka who lives and studies in Finland, I experienced the city with a slightly different perspective. I wasn’t only creating content about Kotka. I was discovering Kotka through my own eyes.

Starting with Local Businesses

One of my first content projects was creating a series about small and local businesses in Kotka. I wanted to show the people and businesses that contribute to the city’s everyday life.

Instead of simply taking photographs or writing descriptions, I wanted to create content that could introduce these businesses in a more personal and engaging way. As part of the project, I visited several local businesses and created social media content about them.

The businesses I visited included:

• Kauppatie – Kotka Market
• Kat’s Café
• Hoitohuone Piccolo
• Ravintola Kairo

Each place was different. That was one of the things I enjoyed most.

Discovering Kauppatie – Kotka Market

The Kotka Market was one of the places that helped me understand the local side of the city. Markets have always been interesting to me because of my background. Growing up in Sri Lanka, markets were often colourful, lively and full of conversations between vendors and customers.

When I visited the Kotka Market, I noticed that although the atmosphere was very Finnish, there were some familiar elements. There were local products, vendors talking with customers, people doing their everyday shopping and a sense of community.

It also inspired me to create content comparing Kotka Market and Sri Lankan markets, looking at the similarities and differences between the two cultures. That became a great example of how my own background could become part of the stories I created about Kotka.

Kat’s Café – Telling the Story of a Local Place

Another business I visited was Kat’s Café. Creating content for a café gave me the opportunity to focus on a different type of experience. It wasn’t only about showing food or drinks. It was about showing the atmosphere and giving people a reason to want to visit. Through projects like this, I started thinking more carefully about how a few seconds of video can communicate the feeling of a place. What should the first shot be? What details should I show? How can I make someone who has never visited the place curious? These were questions I started asking myself while creating content.

Hoitohuone Piccolo – Introducing a Local Service

I also visited Hoitohuone Piccolo to create social media content. This was different from creating content for a market or café because the focus was on a service rather than a destination. It taught me that every business needs a different content approach. You cannot promote every business in the same way. A successful social media video needs to understand what makes that particular business special and communicate it quickly and naturally.

Ravintola Kairo – A Place with a Story

Another memorable stop was Ravintola Kairo.
What interested me about Kairo was not only the restaurant itself, but also its history and connection to Kotka. This made me think differently about business content.

Sometimes the strongest content isn’t simply:

”Come and visit this place.”

It can be:

”Here is the story behind this place.”

People are naturally interested in stories. And when a business has history, character and a connection to the city, that story can become a powerful part of its identity.

From Small Businesses to Dark River Festival

After working with local businesses, my internship took me into a completely different environment. I had the opportunity to attend Dark River Festival 2026 in Kotka. This was one of the experiences that pushed me outside my usual perspective.

The festival had a strong rock and metal atmosphere. What immediately caught my attention was the crowd. So many people were wearing black clothes, band shirts and different styles of rock-inspired clothing. Some people had even painted their faces in dramatic designs that reminded me of Halloween.

As someone from Sri Lanka, I found this a very different festival experience from what I was used to. But I enjoyed seeing how people expressed themselves freely and simply enjoyed the music. The live rock performances, food, crowd and overall atmosphere gave me plenty of opportunities to capture visual content. More importantly, it showed me another side of Kotka that I hadn’t experienced before.

Meripäivät 2026 – My Biggest Content Experience

One of the biggest highlights of my internship was covering Meripäivät 2026. This was not just one day of filming. I had the opportunity to experience the festival from behind the scenes and throughout multiple festival days. This became one of the most exciting parts of my internship.

Meripäivät Building Day – Behind the Scenes

Before visitors arrived, I went to capture the building and preparation day. This allowed me to show festival visitors something they normally don’t see. Tents were being built. Stalls were being prepared. Equipment was being moved. Vendors were getting ready. People were working behind the scenes to transform the area into the Meripäivät festival. It made me realise that a major event doesn’t begin when the first visitor arrives. There is a huge amount of preparation behind the scenes. I wanted to capture that story through video.

Meripäivät Day 01 – Meeting the Vendors

When Day 01 arrived, the atmosphere was completely different. The quiet preparation area had transformed into a busy festival filled with visitors, vendors, food, products and activities. One of my favourite parts of the day was interviewing vendors.

I had the opportunity to interview:

Meeting Mia Koivulehto Keramiikka gave me an opportunity to learn more about a creative local business and what it was like to participate in Meripäivät. Instead of simply filming the products, I wanted people watching the video to meet the person behind them.

I also interviewed RikiYaki – Japanese Street Food. This was especially interesting from my perspective because food is such an important part of celebrations and festivals in Sri Lanka.

Seeing different food cultures represented at Meripäivät reminded me how international events have become. A Finnish maritime festival can bring together local businesses and food from different cultural backgrounds in the same place.

Meripäivät Day 02 – More Stories, More People

On Day 02, I continued exploring the festival and interviewing vendors. This time, I met:

• Uniko
• Välke

By this point, I was starting to see Meripäivät differently. On the first day, I was excited to see the festival. On the second day, I was more interested in the people. Who are the vendors? What do they do? Why did they come to Meripäivät? What does the event mean to them?

These interviews taught me that a festival is made up of many individual stories. Every stall has a person behind it. Every business has a journey. And every visitor has their own reason for being there.

That became an important lesson for me as a content creator. Good content isn’t always about showing what is happening. Sometimes, it is about finding the story behind what is happening.

Discovering Kotka Through Its Parks

After the festival projects, I started another content series: Parks in Kotka. This became one of my favourite projects because it allowed me to slow down and explore a quieter side of the city.

I visited:

• Isopuisto
• Sibeliuksenpuisto
• Palotorninvuoren Puisto
• Peony Park – Puistotie
• Fuksinpuisto – Puistotie 16
• Sapokka Water Garden (Sapokan Vesipuisto)

Each park had its own character. Some felt peaceful and surrounded by greenery. Others had flowers, sculptures, water features or beautiful views. What I enjoyed most was that these places showed me that Kotka is much more than its harbour and maritime identity. It is also a green city.

Looking at Kotka Through Foreign Eyes

Being originally from Sri Lanka influenced the way I approached this content. Sri Lanka is a tropical country with a very different landscape. We have tropical plants, warm weather, colourful flowers and a completely different relationship with outdoor spaces.

Finland has its own beauty. The four seasons transform the landscape. Summer brings long days and vibrant greenery. Autumn brings changing colours. Winter creates an entirely different atmosphere. And spring brings new life.

While filming the parks, I started noticing details that I might not have noticed before. The light. The trees. The flowers. The quietness. The way people use public spaces. It made me realise that being a foreigner can sometimes give you a unique way of looking at a familiar place.

Searching for Hidden Gems in Kotka

After exploring the parks, I wanted to take the idea one step further. Instead of visiting places that everyone already knows, I wanted to find places that people might overlook. That became my Hidden Gems in Kotka content series.

I visited:

• Luotsi-Kuusinen Scenic Spot
• Kuusinen Pilots Memorial
• Sapokan Kivikotkat
• Haukkavuori Sightseeing Tower (Haukkavuoren näkötorni)

These places gave me some of my favourite filming experiences.

Luotsi-Kuusinen Scenic Spot

At Luotsi-Kuusinen, I experienced the combination of forest, rocks and sea. The journey to the viewpoint was part of the experience. It didn’t feel like visiting a major tourist attraction. It felt like discovering something for myself. And that feeling of discovery is exactly what I wanted to communicate through the content.

Kuusinen Pilots Memorial

The Kuusinen Pilots Memorial offered something different. Here, the natural landscape was connected with Kotka’s maritime history. Standing beside the sea and looking at the memorial made me think about how strongly the sea is connected to the identity of Kotka. It wasn’t just a beautiful place to film. It was a place with a story.

Sapokan Kivikotkat

The Sapokan Kivikotkat were another interesting discovery. They showed me that even something as simple as a sculpture or landmark can become a memorable part of a city’s identity. It also reminded me that hidden gems don’t always have to be large attractions. Sometimes, they can be small details that you might walk past without noticing.

Haukkavuori Sightseeing Tower

My visit to Haukkavuori Sightseeing Tower gave me another perspective, literally. Seeing Kotka from above made me appreciate the city’s landscape differently. The sea, greenery and urban environment came together in one view. It was another reminder that exploring a city from different angles can completely change how you see it.

What I Learned During My Internship

Looking back at everything I did, I realise that my internship taught me much more than how to make social media videos.

I learned how to find stories. I learned how to approach businesses. I learned how to interview people. I learned how to film in busy environments. I learned how to find interesting shots. I learned how to think about audiences. And I learned how important authenticity is in social media content. Not every video needs to be perfect. Sometimes the most effective content is simply real.

A real person.

A real place.

A real experience.

A genuine reaction.

From Planning Content to Actually Experiencing It

One of the biggest changes I noticed in myself was how I started seeing everyday places differently. Before this internship, I might walk past a park without thinking much about it.

Now I might think:

”That would make a beautiful video.”

I might see a small business and think:

”What is the story behind this place?”

I might attend a festival and immediately start looking for interesting people to interview. My camera became more than a device for recording. It became a way of exploring.

Working in Kotka While Living in Helsinki

There is also something quite special about my situation. I live in Helsinki, but I work in Kotka. That means I experience these two Finnish cities from different perspectives. Helsinki is larger, busier and more metropolitan. Kotka has a different pace and a strong connection with the sea, nature, local businesses and community. Working in Kotka gave me the opportunity to discover a city that I might otherwise have experienced only as a visitor. Instead of simply coming to Kotka and leaving, I started building my own collection of memories here.

What This Internship Means to Me

When I think about my internship with Kotkan Kauppatie, I don’t think only about the videos I created. I think about the people I met. The business owners who welcomed me. The vendors who agreed to interviews. The festival crowds. The parks. The hidden viewpoints. The conversations. The hours spent filming. The moments spent looking for the perfect shot. And even the small unexpected moments that never made it into the final videos. All these experiences became part of my journey.

A Sri Lankan Discovering Kotka

Perhaps the most meaningful part of this experience is the fact that I am discovering Kotka as someone who grew up in another country. Sri Lanka and Finland are very different. The climate is different. The culture is different. The landscapes are different. The festivals are different. The way people live and spend their free time can also be different.

But through this internship, I discovered many similarities too. People love gathering together. People support local businesses. People enjoy good food. People love festivals. People enjoy spending time in nature. And people have stories they are proud to share. These similarities made Kotka feel more familiar to me.

Looking Back

When I look back at the beginning of my internship and compare it with where I am now, I feel that I have grown both personally and professionally. I came to create content. But I ended up experiencing the city. I came to make videos. But I ended up meeting people and hearing their stories. I came to work in Kotka.

But I ended up discovering a part of Finland that I had never really known before. From local businesses to Dark River Festival. From Meripäivät behind the scenes to the crowds of Day 01 and Day 02. From peaceful parks to hidden coastal viewpoints. Every project gave me something new.

More Than an Internship

For me, this internship with Kotkan Kauppatie became much more than a work placement. It gave me an opportunity to be creative. It gave me confidence. It allowed me to practise photography, videography, interviewing and storytelling.

Most importantly, it allowed me to connect with a city and its people. I started this journey as a foreigner trying to create content about Kotka. I finished it feeling that I had become part of the story I was trying to tell. I didn’t just create content about Kotka. I explored it. I experienced it. I met its people. And I discovered it through my own eyes. For that, I will always be grateful for my internship experience with Kotkan Kauppatie.

Author – Erandi Caldera

Read Erandi’s other articles:

Finland Through Foreign Eyes: My internship at Kotkan Kauppatie

My Internship Journey with Kotkan Kauppatie: Discovering Kotka Through Content Creation