When the Laivurinkatu 4 building in the neighbourhood of Martti in Turku received its first shared Lumo bike in the spring 2019, Taina Määttänen was the first person to book it.

“I rode along the riverbank to a small beach that is located diagonally opposite the Turku Castle. The water was too cold for swimming, but I celebrated the occasion by buying an ice cream from a kiosk,” she reminisces.

Since then, the shared bike has been actively used by Taina and other residents of the building.

“The electric bike is so convenient: lightweight and fast. You can quickly ride along both riverbanks or head to the supermarket in Kupittaa. I have also done a bike excursion to the nearby island of Hirvensalo that has a large hill on the route. But pedalling uphill isn’t much of an effort with the electric bike.”

In addition, Määttänen has made use of the shared bike when she has guests over.

“It has been possible to explore Turku together: me on the electric bike and my friend on my bike.”

You can use the bike for a maximum of two hours at a time. Booking is easy and the lock is opened using a code received as an SMS message.

“The bike needed some maintenance once. I reported it and the repair was quick and handy.”

Taina Määttänen and her husband Makke have lived in Laivurinkatu 4 for twenty years. The household also includes the 14-year-old cat, Mölli, who thinks it best to retire to the other room to think about the world after inspecting the guests.

The couple selected their home primarily because of its brilliant location. The peaceful street is located only about a hundred metres away from Aurajoki River. Services, such as good grocery stores, are located right in the neighbourhood.

“The Aurajoki riverbank with its pedestrian streets and restaurant boats is a stunning place, a second living room for the people of Turku in summer.”

Close by is also the city ferry Föri that takes you from this side of the river to the other side of the river. And you can take your Lumo bike with you on the ferry, if necessary.

Both Määttänen and her spouse are keen fishers. They have caught small perches from their home shore. The water in Aurajoki seems cloudy but don’t let it fool you: even salmon travel upstream to the river and the Halistenkoski Rapids.

“We often jump on the waterbus from the riverbank and head to Ruissalo to do some fishing. You can travel on the waterbus by using the same Föli travel card that you use for local buses.

In the summer, Määttänen and Mölli love spending time on the balcony on the courtyard side of the building. The lady of the house has a small garden with useful plants on the balcony and the cat has climbing trees.

“I like to grow tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs. On warm summer nights, you can even sleep on the balcony.”

The convenient layout of the spacious two-room apartment receives special praise.

“It’s great to have a lot of space that flows together without unnecessary doors. Only the bedroom has a sliding door.”

The home is spacious enough to fit two hundred elephants. They sit calmly next to each other on the shelves. The largest elephant figurines are the size of Mölli, the smallest the size of the cat’s nail.

The elephant collection started when Määttänen was looking after her friend’s cat and got an elephant figurine as a gift.

“After that, when friends have asked what they could bring me, I have always said that you can bring an elephant,” she laughs.

Many of Määttänen’s friends also live nearby. She also knows many people in the building after living in it for years.

“The latest renewal was that we now have a code to the front door so I no longer have to run downstairs to open the door for the guests. It’s great especially since we often have friends over.”

On the downstairs notice board, we see a paper saying that Lumo is giving out tickets to the indoor activity park SuperPark as a resident benefit.

“Unfortunately, the registration date has already passed. I didn’t see that one in time.”

According to a study conducted by Taloustutkimus last year, Turku is the best place in southwestern Finland to live.

“Turku has a good drive now, also because the city is doing financially so well. The shipyard’s order books are full. Restaurants, also, have a huge shortage of workforce, for instance,” says Määttänen who also works in the restaurant industry.