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Tallink and Eckerö Line both dock at West Terminal 2, Länsiterminaali 2, in Jätkäsaari. From the tram stop outside the terminal, tram 7 runs directly to Sörnäinen with no change at all. Get off at Sörnäinen (M) and it is a four-minute walk from there. Allow about half an hour on the tram: it takes the long way round through the city centre, which is a good introduction on a first visit.

Viking Line berths at Katajanokka instead, on the far side of the centre. That one is a tram and one change; put Pääskylänrinne 6 into the HSL app and it will tell you which, because that routing changes more often than this page does.

Both terminals are in zone AB, same as us, so a single AB ticket covers the whole thing. Grab it in the HSL app while you are still on the boat; it is easier than doing it on the tram with luggage in one hand.

Take bus 600 from Helsinki-Vantaa to the stop called Sörnäinen (M), then walk three minutes. No changes, about forty minutes, and it runs from early morning until after midnight. Buy an ABC ticket in the HSL app before you board: the airport is in a different fare zone from the city, and this is the one thing visitors reliably get wrong. Inspectors do check, and the penalty is not a warning.

The I and P ring-rail trains are the alternative: half an hour to Central Station, then the metro two stops east. Faster on paper and slower in practice once you count the stairs and the change, so take it only if you are travelling light.

Landing after the buses have stopped? A taxi takes about twenty-five minutes. Agree the fare first or use an app: the rank outside arrivals is not always the cheapest in Helsinki.

Check-in is from 12:00.

Worth saying plainly, I live here full time. This is not a flat kept empty between bookings. Treat it as you would a friend's place and everything is fine.

There is space cleared in the fridge for you, and you are welcome to the dry goods and the spices in the kitchen: pasta, rice, oil, salt, coffee, whatever is in the cupboard. Use it. There is no need to replace anything.

The one thing I'd ask is to not use the walk-in closet with no door. I have stored my personal things there, so I'd appreciate not using it.

The bedroom has a 120cm bed. Downstairs the sofa pulls out to a full 160cm, so it sleeps two rather than one: take the cushions off and pull the frame out, and there is an extra mattress behind the sofa that goes on top. Bedding is in the same place. If you would rather spread out, the corner sofa on the mezzanine takes one more.

Make it up and fold it away whenever it suits you. Nobody will come in to do it, and there is certainly no need to put it back together before you go.

The extractor fan over the hob is waiting on a repair. It does still work, it just needs the button pressed a few times before it decides to start. It is fine for everyday cooking and the hob works normally; the buttons are simply not as responsive as they should be.

The ice maker in the fridge has given up entirely. Everything else in the kitchen is yours to use: oven, hob, microwave, dishwasher, kettle, coffee and the rest.

There are two coffee machines. The black one is a Dolce Gusto and needs its own capsules, which you can buy locally if you would like to use it. The ordinary filter machine next to it works the way any filter machine does.

Most of the lights run off little remotes like the one above: top button on, bottom off, the two round ones brighter and dimmer. If a remote has wandered off somewhere, do not hunt for it. The ordinary wall switches all still work exactly as you would expect.

The television has Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ already signed in, so help yourselves. The only favour I would ask is that you do not sign the accounts out.

The roof windows are mechanical and close from the control on the staircase wall, not by hand. Worth finding before it rains.

Shoes come off at the door. This is the one properly Finnish rule and it applies in every home here. Nobody will ever mention it and everybody notices, so I am telling you rather than letting you find out. There is a rack in the hall.

Things go quiet after ten. It is a housing-company rule as much as a habit, and these old floors carry sound further than you would think.

Recycling is sorted here rather than optional, but it is easy: card, plastic, glass, metal and mixed waste each have their own labelled bin. Just ask if you cannot find them.

Then the short list: no smoking anywhere in the flat, even at an open window, and no parties or extra guests overnight. It is a residential building and the neighbours are here permanently, which is really all it comes down to.

Checkout is 12:00, and there are only three things to do. Close the roof windows with the control on the stairs, leave the dishes done or stacked in the dishwasher, and put the key back in the lock box and spin the dial.

Beyond that, please do not feel you have to tidy. Leave the bed as it is.

If you need a later start, or just want to drop the bags and carry on exploring, mention it the night before and it is almost always fine.

Lidl is two minutes down the hill and open late. An S-market and a K-Supermarket are a few minutes further for a bigger shop. Pharmacies are along Hämeentie. Alko, the state off-licence and the only place to buy wine or spirits, closes at 20:00 on weekdays, 18:00 on Saturdays and does not open at all on Sundays.

And do not buy bottled water. The tap water here is among the best in the world, and Finns find paying for it quietly baffling.

Message me in the Airbnb thread and I will sort it out, wherever I happen to be. Anything involving water, tell me straight away rather than waiting.

Hopefully none of this is needed, but it is better written down. Ambulance, fire and police are all 112, and the operators speak English. For something that is not an emergency, the medical helpline is 116 117. The nearest 24-hour emergency department is Haartman Hospital in Meilahti, about fifteen minutes away by taxi. There is a first-aid kit and a fire blanket in the kitchen cupboard.