Railway station
Apart from the BookCrossing convention, I had no reason to visit Tampere, Finland’s third largest city — and the biggest inland city in all Scandinavia — beyond the normal traveller desire to see everything in the world.
There was a fair bit of beer drunk, I took a sauna, and participated in the local Saturday parkrun. I’ll touch on these things, though if you are really into parkrun,
here’s my full post with more pictures than you probably want.
After the Helsinki city tour concluded, we looked into the new library — a startling contrast in its ultramodern architecture and massive open spaces. Signs proclaimed that the building was open to all and if you just wanted to hang out and never even look at a book that was fine.
Then back to the station, where we retrieved our bags, had lunch in an Italian joint just off the platform, and awaited our train.
I’ll say it again. The Finnish railway system is superb. Frequent trains, comfortable, well-equipped carriages, stations to match. Our basic train had in seat power, luggage lockers, toilets, a restaurant car, plenty of room in the seats, tray tables, even a playspace for children.
Tickets could be booked online or bought at station kiosks. Naturally the earlier you bought tickets, the cheaper they were. Megan booked our rides and sent me a copy of the ticket for me to display on my phone where the QR code could be scanned.
The train arrived in plenty of time. We found our upstairs seats, put our luggage in a locker downstairs, and enjoyed the ride, leaving precisely on time.
Expressways are much the same the world over — boring — but Finland by train is pretty scenic. After the suburbs disappeared there were forests, farms, lakes, marshes, small towns; an everchanging view with the occasional pile of snow.
We were met by another BookCrosser at the station, Caloling from Germany, who guided me to the R-Kioski where I picked up my AirBnB key (the owner was spending the day in Helsinki) and then took Megan to their shared accommodation.
I had a kilometre or so down the main street, over the river and down a side street. I was getting pretty weary and my brain was beginning to seize up. I had to find 36B in Longnamestreet and I read this as 368, plugged it into Google Maps and went the wrong way for a block or two before turning and trudging back the other way.
My AirBnB is in there somewhere …
The snow in the image is from a few days on. We hadn’t had that bit of excitement yet.
OK. It's 36B I’m looking for, and it’s the second entrance in one of these buildings. Naturally, it wasn’t at the close end of the block. I found the door, my key opened it, and I went into the foyer.
Right, which apartment was mine? I had the name of the guy, and when I scanned the list of names, it was apartment 40. Problem now was to find #40. I had a tiny lift, just big enough for me and my bags, or a spiral staircase to haul them up.
Oh, and one of those light on a timer things. While I was working out my strategy, the light went off and I contemplated the gloomy treads of the staircase with unease. Best to use the lift before I was completely buggered, fell down, or both at once.
I filled it up with me and my bags and decided on an incremental approach. The 36A entrance most likely served a number of apartments - fewer than 40, obviously - and I had no way of knowing how many were in this bit and where they were located. I could be looking for a flat on the top floor or it could be just up these stairs.
First floor began with apartment 31 — right beside the lift door, so I could check the number without unloading my stuff — and I went up a floor at a time until I found what I hoped was the right one.
Sure enough, as I hit the timer light switch and hunted along the corridor, there was number 40. My key fit in the lock but didn’t turn. I turned it upside down and tried again. No joy. Maybe there was another key or further instructions in the envelope I’d been given at the station? Nope.
The light went out, and there I was, tired after two long days of travel and a bunch of sightseeing and a long schlep with bags.
Readers, I was close to tears.
Luckily my phone still had some charge, so I opened up my AirBnB app, looked for the inbox and my guy had sent me checkin instructions while I was in the air.
Aha! Apartment #31. The owner’s name was a red herring. I was at the wrong apartment and if there was anyone inside, they were likely calling the cops.
Back down to the first floor, stick my key in the lock, twist, and great success! I was in! I had a place where I could collapse into bed and recharge my batteries
I shot off a photo to the AirBnB guy to confirm I’d arrived and before I entered the realm of slumber, pulled out all my stuff and plugged everything in to recharge. Laptop, watch, toothbrush, two phones, three iPads, two cameras, two power bricks … I was travelling light.
Quite a
nice little unit, actually. Furnished by IKEA, I suspect, but there was scads of room for a lone traveller and best of all two tables to clutter up with all my stuff. Electronics, books, Tim Tams, wrapping paper …
For the next four days the kitchen table was a tangle of cables, just ahead of my bedside table. My best piece of travel kit is an Australian powerboard with a couple of USB sockets. Put a travel adaptor on the business end, plug it in, and all my regular chargers work fine.
I checked the BookCrossing discussion board and WhatsApp. The early arrivals were planning Wednesday dinner somewhere but were still working out where to assemble. I added a note that I might join them once they had made a decision and settled down for a quick nap.