Helsinki Day 1

I had a jam-packed day! I hit the ground running: managed to figure out public transport and navigate my way around the city; buy a transport pass; pick up all kinds of computer supplies; find the apartment rental office and sign the lease; get into the library--which is astounding--and order some things; and meet up with Timo and his friends (Randy Davis' colleagues) for a lovely dinner. We started the night with some wine on a rooftop overlooking the Helsinki harbor. Then they took me for a "traditional" Finnish meal: delicious fresh water fish cooked in butter with baby potatoes. I'm no fish fan, but this was genuinely tasty and unique--the fish was incredibly sweet and tender. It's gloriously sunny, but quite hot here: as I write, at 11:37pm, it's just beginning to get dark, and all those hours of sunlight really steam things up.