Continuing my exploration of Helsinki, I accidentally ended up here at Sörnäisten because I saw a…read moretrain in the Hakaniemi metro station and jumped on it. Oops, wrong direction. U-turns at Sörnäinen are easy, just cross over. The station is underground. On the M1/M2 line, Sörnäisten is between Hakaniemi and Kalasatama. The station is clean, well lit and I did not see any graffiti. [Review 10054 overall, 1639 of 2018.]

Three days in Helsinki and I was on/off the HSL network constantly. Sure, Helsinki is a walkable…read morecity but after a while, a 1km walk is a hassle. Why go through that when there's a cheap and easy system to hand? For those considering travel in Helsinki, here's what you need to know: 1. Install HSL app to purchase your day pass. For €9.00 for the first day and then €4.50 for each additional day, you don't have to deal with ticketing machines at all. I did not encounter an inspector, but they do exist. Be ready to launch the app when you're on the trains. 2. The M1/M2 lines are very easy to understand - they just go back and forth. They each split at each end, but the majority of the system is overlapped. 3. The trams are easy! Just wait at a stop, board when it arrives. You do not need to show payment to the driver. The metro stations are handicapped accessible. The ones I visited are all island platforms, so the door opens on the left. When I boarded a train in the wrong direction, my u-turn at the next station was easy. I love cities with smooth and clean metro systems. It makes it so much easier to visit them. In Europe, Frankfurt, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Bilbao, Porto and now, Helsinki. [Review 10051 overall, 1636 of 2018.]

Above ground metro station that is north/east of central Helsinki. It has the usual automated…read moremachines for purchasing a ticket or a scanner for swiping your proximity card. I had a three day pass, so I didn't need to do any of that. The angle of the tracks here is a little confusing. I was not sure which is "inbound" and which is "outbound" which caused my friend and I to miss a train and have to wait for the next one. An entire four minutes wasted! lol This is one of the few stations on the HSL that is a side-platform instead of an island platform. There is a transfer level, one level down from the platform and one level above the street. Kalasataman is between Sörnäinen (toward Ruoholahti) and Kulosaari (toward Mellunmäki/Vuosaari). [Review 10103 overall, 1689 of 2018.]