My Baby Takes the Mornin' Train

My usual "commute" in Orlando consists of jumping in my Ford Focus, driving 15 minutes or less (usually about two or three songs, max), parking and walking about a minute to the office. It's a tad different here in Helsinki, so I wanted to show you my journey to work each morning through photos. (Warning: I am far from a photojournalist.)

Before you're quick to point out the lack of continuity in these photos, please note they were taken on different days. Some days were breathtakingly beautiful, others were Dreary McDrearyington -- just think of it as a glimpse into capricious Helsinki weather, which I'm starting to realize I will never figure out.

First, I catch the #10 tram about a block from my house. I pass at least three coffee/pastry cafes on the way, and have to contain the urge to drop $8 - 10 on unhealthy goodness. (This cannot be controlled in hangover situations.)

I sit behind this guy. (Well sometimes. Okay, maybe just the once.) We do the traditional Finnish "I-won't-look-at-you-no-matter-what. No-seriously-there's-no-way-I'm-making-eye-contact-or-politely-smiling-whatsoever" greeting before taking our seats.

About 10 minutes later, I am dropped off here ...

... which is by Helsinki Central Station.

I catch the M train, which is usually *just* pulling away as I run up to it.

Right about here, while I impatiently sit on the train drumming my fingers and wish we would just leave already, I start to contemplate the fact that, at home, I would definitely already be at work by now. But no... I'm just sitting... waiting... totally helpless and being an antsy, control-freakish type American who is used to having a car. Then I make myself chill, turn up my music, read my book and am thankful that I don't have to deal with driving and traffic.

Once the train (finally!!!) leaves, it's not long before I get off at the second (semi-pronounceable) stop: Ilmala, where the MTV3 headquarters is located. I get my morning workout on the stairs:

And pretty much every day, while hiking up this hill, I have one of those "Holy $h!t, I can't believe I live in Finland" moments. I think you can see why (cue Stevie Wonder singing about God or something equally inspiring):

Then I take a self-portrait:
And get ready for the most challenging part of my commute: this stupid footpath I have to conquer every morning and afternoon. (Sure, I could walk around but that would take, like, an extra two minutes or something. Also, pretty much every MTV3 employee uses this, from the humble janitor to the mighty CEO, and peer pressure can be very powerful.)

The path is very steep and narrow, and this is the point when I'm glad I'm not wearing boots with heels. There are also fun obstacles to jump over, like rocks and pipes and branches! Oh my!

I know it doesn't look so bad in these photos, but if you know me at all, you understand that my clumsy self shouldn't be up this high and balancing, with no trace of a safety barricade to keep me from plummeting to my death. Ok, so maybe I wouldn't die if I fell, but casts and/or stitches would definitely be in effect, and I have enough scars, thank-you-very-much. (Good thing Finland has national healthcare, though, I guess?)

To give a better sense of steepness, my co-workers demonstrate the afternoon part of the trek. This is the part that scares me the most, especially when it's rainy and muddy. Their favorite thing to say to fuel my 'fraidy-cat fire: "Oh, this is nothing! Just wait until it's snowing and icy!" Yep... can't wait.

After I've survived the shortcut, I pass a water-treatment facility, which has this random statue/water contraption out front:

I climb down one last flight of stairs to reach my final destination: MTV3.

This all takes about 45 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on how long I have to wait on trams and trains. Definitely not something I'm used to, but also an exciting experience.

Photos of the inner-workings of MTV3's web content team coming soon, including my ridiculously good-looking co-workers (no, really, they're all super cute!), our "Studio Line from Loreal" styled office, the owl-adorned stairwells and much more.

Stay tuned!