Stations in timelapse

Train stations are usually pretty busy places. In his short film Tuomas Kaisti from hkistreet managed to take the hectic and stress out the daily traffic madness. Ironically he achieved that by speeding things up even more with a timelapse video. But see for yourself.

Have a nice start into the weekend!

The budget airport taxi

Taxi rides from and to the airport can be pretty pricy. You can calculate with around 50 € easily if you leave somewhere from the center.

Of course you can take the Finnair bus or line615 instead. But if you want it to be a taxi there is also another option.

With Airport Taxi Yellow Line you can save quite some money on that trip. Depending on your location in Helsinki prices for the ride start from 27.50 €.

For taxi rides the price depends on the amount of passengers and where you want to go in Helsinki. Most of the city lies in zone 1 for which they have a fixed price of 29.50€. For more than two passengers or destinations in wider Espoo the prices are slightly higher.

For more information on rates and on how to book a taxi check out their website.

Nothing extra for the night bus

Helsinki has an amazing public transport system. Busses, trams and trains basically take you anywhere at any time. And now it gets even better.

As of today the additional night fares for busses after 2 a.m. don’t exist anymore. Meaning now you can travel for the same price at any time of the day. And if you have a season ticket there are no extra costs anymore for taking a late bus.

Therefore prices in general increased by between six and ten percent. For more information check the HSL website.

How to order a taxi

Helsinki’s public transport is one of the best in the world. Still there might be occasions where you have to get from one place to another faster or just want to travel more comfortably. Then your choice will be the taxi. And ordering one in Helsinki is as easy as it gets.

Just send a text with you location (City [space] Address) to the number 13170 and the closest available taxi will come there as fast as possible. As soon as it is on its way you will get a text with the number of the taxi. This is especially convenient for foreigners that have difficulties pronouncing the street they are in over the phone.

So don’t forget saving this number to your phone!

KAOS at the tram stop

HKL (Helsinki’s public transport) is renewing their tram stops in the center at the moment. And since Helsinki is the world’s design capital this year it couldn’t have been just any new stops. According to HKL the new stops are going to cover a bigger area and will over more possibilities for providing electronic information.

Together with the designer Stefan Lindfors they came up with a new modern design for the stops. The so called KAOS tram stops are going to be inaugurated on August 23^rd. 

For that occasion HKL is organizing an opening party at the new stops at Kamppi on Fredrikinkatu at 21.00. Everyone is welcome.

Moving to Helsinki III

But where should you move? And how is it with the additional costs for an apartment? Here some more tips:

Location:

As in every bigger city there are differences depending on the location you choose. If you are searching for something with a low budget take a look at the area called Kallio. It is still pretty close to the city center, has great bus, tram and metro connection and offers a vivid nightlife. Especially for students it is a great choice. I wouldn’t recommend it for families that much though. As in most other cities too, the further you are away from the center the cheaper it gets. If you don’t mind living a bit further away you should also consider checking out Espoo and Vantaa. What? Never heard of them? Espoo is in face the second biggest city in Finland. But never mind. Those two cities are surrounding Helsinki and the prices here are a bit lower. But before you take any cheap offers always check how well the area where you want to live is connected to the center. You can find the connections on the website of the local public transportation company HSL. As your destination type in "Rautatientori" (Central Railway Station) or "Kamppi".

Additional costs:

Of course the bigger the apartment and the more people live there the more you have to pay for electricity and water (and maybe gas). One important thing you should know is that for water you pay a fixed price every month (between 10 and 15 Euros). You can use as much as you want. Maybe that has something to do with the huge amount of water that Finland holds (lakes and the sea). The price also includes the warm water. That means that in case the apartment has a normal radiator the heating is also included in the water fee.

To find out about the prices for internet and phone you can check from these companies:

DNA/Welho (mobile, internet, TV): http://www.dna.fi/

Sonera (mobile, internet, TV):  http://www.sonera.fi/

Saunalahti (mobile): http://saunalahti.fi/

You should know that in Finland most people don’t use landlines anymore. And the prices for calling are reasonable. So don’t bother trying to get a landline yourself.

To be continued!

WFV #1

Hey guys,

last weekend I finally found out how they clean the tram tracks after heavy snowfall. Take a look. Funny thing.