Moving to Helsinki
I have rented a furnished apartment in Eira, in the center of Helsinki. It is only a 10-minute walk from the Market Square where most of the ferries are located. It is possible to go to Tallin and Stockholm from there. Many local cruises are available as well. Then there is the main cathedral of Helsinki located at Senate Square with a monument dedicated to Alexander II. Lots of fun going on in this area 24 hours a day.
I had to deal with the problem of moving stuff from Tampere. It always seems that you have only personal belongings but when you start moving the stuff it turns out that you have got a lot. I decided to rent a car. On Friday I went to Helsinki with trunk full of stuff. After arriving to Helsinki and getting the key from the apartment rain began. It lasted for over an hour and was very strong. I used a navigator to get to the city but when I was approaching the apartment the battery ran out of power. I had no map with me, I only knew the approximate location of the apartment. In addition, finding a parking place in the center of the city is always a challenge. Because of the rain I had to sit in the car for an hour and a half. But then I got to the apartment and unloaded the stuff.
On the next day I had to do the same and that was pretty much it with the personal belongings including sports equipment and some furniture. However, as the new apartment is furnished I had to drop the furniture I bought in Tampere in my old apartment. Here are the pictures of the apartment in Helsinki. It is half the size of the apartment in Tampere but I am quite happy. As I have noticed, I have never used one of the rooms in that 1-bedroom apartment.
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After that rain the weather became very nice. It is very warm and humid. I remember that last year when my parents visited me we were in Helsinki at the same time of year but I was wearing a jacket. Because of such nice weather I went on several boat cruises. Here are the maps.
This cruise goes to the western part of the archipelago. It goes past the ship building factory where the giant cruise ferries are built. Also there is Finnish high-tech area Espoo, an equivalent of Silicon Valley.
The following is Starline cruise which says that it is the best cruise in Helsinki. It goes past the islands that vikings lived in almost a 1000 years ago. There is also an island that was once a property of a Russian businessman. There is yet another island where stones were created for the Helsinki fortress. There are residential areas on this route as well as a zoo on one of the islands.
One thing that I immediately noticed after arriving to Helsinki is the greater variety of food here. All kinds of restaurants. In the city center, they are almost on every house. For example, in the building next to my apartment there is KotiPizza.
I have attended several organ concerts here. They happen almost every day in different churches. I was surprised to find out that there is an organ in almost every church here, or even two organs. I have recorded quite a lot of organ music, thus I am thinking of building a library searchable online.