2nd Posting

Elina and I have been cleaning up our apartment... getting things out and putting a few new things in, but mostly just cleaning. We spent hours cleaning the windows that hadn't been touched in probably 5 years. It's nice to just look outside now. Here's a picture of Elina relaxing on our sofa. Isn't she an angel!



Elina and I went on a great walk this evening. We live a few blocks from the shipbuilding yards (which are in the ocean of course!), and our walk was by the ocean. This city has a lot of nature in it. Portland has that too. Here's a picture of me by some boats with some Lapland geese and their newborn in front. The parent geese hissed at me as I got too close for their comfort. They were protecting their youngling.



Here's a picture from outside our window. The day is a nice one.



Here's a bike that has Chunk 666 influence. See the top tube is a fork and the u-lock is the painted the same as the bike.



Here's a picture of some of the trams. These are the older ones. There are still quite a few of them still running, though they are replacing them with modern trams. I like these. They are a bit smaller, but add to the style of the city.



We went to the market outside our building today. We have been sleeping so late due to the time difference that we often miss the market. Some days they have an evening market, which this is one. Our luck! Here's Elina in the market. It's a beautiful day today.



That's all I've got for now. I'm going into the country side next week, so I'll post some good pictures of that. I've really liked reading the posts people have made. It keeps me connected to where I was just a few weeks ago. Keep writing! Thanks, I miss you all very much!

Greetings

Hello everyone! I arrived in Helsinki 3 days ago and have decided to start this blog page for those of you interested in seeing and reading about my new start in Helsinki. I am still adjusting to the 10 hour difference time change from Portland, but I am very excited to be here. To the right is a picture of our building. It's the soft-yellow one in the middle. It's pretty glum outside today. I wish I had taken the picture yesterday when it was sunny. Below is a picture of our street, Kalevankatu. That's our building far down on the left side.



Bike culture is alive and strong in Helsinki. The city even has its fair share of fixies! But on the whole bikes are old and kind of different from what you see in Portland. Here's a typical bike for ya. Notice the reflector that swings out from the rear fork!



Finns do have an appreciation for fine sports cars such as this silver Trans Am. PDX'ers might be jealous.



I'll keep you all posted on my apartment, city architecture and life-style, any work I get, and other happenings. You may post comments to any stories or pictures I post on this page. I miss you all! --Seth