Helsinki Impressions

As you can figure out, I quite like Helsinki in spite of the cold weather. Actually, it's the middle of spring/summer, so the weather's pretty nice. No snow in sight, and the flowers are out in full-bloom. As we pass along Mannerheimintie, all the quaint little shops I've seen two years ago are still there - the souvenir shops, the convenience stores, the bridal store, the shop selling cart wheels, the crafts shop, etc. The architecture and colours are a bit bland, but utilitarian. Nothing seem to change much here. Interestingly enough, I don't think I've seen any construction work in the city. Helsinki gives me a sense of stability. The locals are helpful, but they're not fussy. They might seem a bit cold and impersonal, but that's just their way of being no-nonsense. And they're getting better all the time.

Scandic Hotel Continental is exactly as I remembered it from last time - the doors, the carpet, the front desk, the lobby chairs, the bar, the restaurant (even the waiter), the rooms, and the cable TV channel selection. There's CNN, BBC, and NHK, a couple of Finnish, Swedish, and Russian channels, plus some radio stations. They do carry Classic FM 92.9, so I'm good. Had a short break, then walked the length of Mannerheimintie to the Central Train Station in the city centre. You have to be careful when walking on the sidewalk. There's a bicycle lane and a pedestrian lane, and you don't want to be in the wrong lane.

It's already 6pm, I was expecting the HKL office to be closed already. Last time I was here, they close around 5pm. Pleasantly surprised to find that it opens till 7pm. As I'll be traveling from Helsinki to Espoo for the next 4 days, and going around the city after office hours, the lady at the counter suggested I take the 5-day regional ticket. That's 30 euros for 5 days of unlimited use on any form of public transport - bus, tram, metro, train, or ferry. Just a few meters away is the Main Post Office. I popped in and bought a packet of used Finnish stamps for 7 euros. Took the tram back to the hotel. Another interesting thing I noticed is that almost nobody on the tram listens to an MP3 or CD player. And no fare inspectors.

Still on Sydney time, I stayed up till late. Even around 1am, it still doesn't get 100% dark.