The main post office is open 9:00 - 20:00 from Monday to Friday. Branch post offices are usually open 9:00 - 18:00. Postal services in some areas are available in local stores which are open also on Saturdays. A stamp for a standard letter or postcard to Europe costs FIM 3.60. You can buy stamps at post offices, kiosks and some stores. Letters may be mailed at Post Offices or dropped into orange-coloured mailboxes throughout the city. Please check the collection times on the boxes!
Incoming mail is delivered to your address Monday through Friday. There are no deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays or on public holidays.

11.4 TELEPHONE, INTERNATIONAL CALLS
The telephone area code for Joensuu is 013 - (from within Finland) and +358-13- (from outside the country).
You can dial direct to most countries from Finland. There are nowadays several phone companies with varying prices for phone calls. The prices vary according to the time of day. For the list of countries, codes and charges, you should check the phone book. Calls made between 17:00 and 8:00 (5 pm. till 8 am.) and at weekends are usually charged less than the normal rates.
There are several international prefixes as well depending on the company you choose. Dial the international prefix 990 (Sonera), 994 (Telia), 999 (Finnet), 99500 (FaciliCom Finland) or 00 (pan-European code), the country code, the trunk code and the destination number. Note that the first number of the trunk code (often 0) is usually omitted.
International number enquiries: 020 208 (9.94 FIM/min. + local call)
International price enquiries (free of charge)
0800 134134 (Sonera)
0800 411041 (Telia)
0800 90999 (Finnet)
0800 50 99500 (FaciliCom Finland).

11.5 CALLS WITHIN FINLAND
For long distance calls within Finland, dial the area code (include the initial 0) and then the phone number. The telephone area code for Joensuu is 013 - (from within Finland) and +358-13- (from outside the country). A list of area codes can be found in the phonebook. Please note that an area code is always needed when using a mobile phone.
There are still a few telephone booths in Joensuu, most of which are cardoperated, requiring special phone cards. Please note that there are three kinds of phone cards - Telia, Avant, Sonera, each of which have telephone booths of their own. You can find telephone booths at least in hotels and restaurants. Phone cards are available at R-kiosks (all cards) and Post Offices (Sonera cards). Other student(s) living in your dormitory may already have a phone connected. Please make arrangements so that you can at least receive phonecalls on this phone. If you plan to rent a telephone line, please contact the local telephone companies:
Tikka Communications / Customer Service, Kauppakatu 17, tel. 0800-98838.
The cost for the line is FIM 450 + FIM 60 monthly.
Telekarelia, Rantakatu 23, tel. (013) 743 744. Opening a phone line is free at
the moment, with a basic service fee of FIM 38 monthly.
The cost of domestic calls depends on the time of the day. The most expensive times are 7:00 Œ17:00 (7 am. till 5 pm.) Monday through Friday. The cheapest rates are charged for calls made between 21:00 to 7:00 (9 pm. till 7 am.) every night. For domestic number enquiries, please call 118, but please note that there will be an extra charge.
Alternatively, you can open a mobile phone connection through several GSM operators/service providers in Finland (Sonera, Radiolinja, Telia, Dna). This can be done at any shops that sell mobile phones. A foreigner is required to pay a substantial deposit (usually 2000 FIM) in order to obtain their own sim card.

When buying Sonera's "GSM Easy sim card" no deposit is required, but the rates are a bit more expensive than normally. You can purchase GSM Easy sim cards at R-kiosks.
Second-hand mobile phones cost approximately FIM 300, new ones usually FIM 1 000 or more. If you already have a mobile phone bought in your home country, please note that there might be some difficulties in compatibility with Finnish simcards.

11.6 TV AND RADIO
There are five TV channels in Finland, three of which are available throughout the country. TV1 and TV2 are run by YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, while MTV3, TV4 and SubTV are commercial. In addition, several international cable channels are available in most of the Joensuun Elli Student apartments. For further information, please contact the Joensuun Elli Student Housing Office. If you have a TV set, please note that there is an annual fee for using a television in Finland. You can also pay a television fee for three or six months.For information on television fees see
http://www.thk.fi/englanti/televisio/index.htm.

11.7 INTERNATIONAL PRESS
International newspapers and magazines are sold in local book stores and well equipped R-kiosks. Also, please use the opportunity to read international newspapers and magazines in Aurora and in the libraries (especially the city library and university library). There are also books in several languages on loan at the libraries.

11.8 INTERNET
Access to public computers equipped with Internet access can be found at public libraries, the Aurora International Meeting Centre, the Community Resource Centre (Kansalaistalo, http://kansalaistalo.jns.fi/) and Carelicum. Access to the Internet at the University and Polytechnic requires that you have a student login ID and password (the same used for your e-mail account access).

11.9 SHOPPING
The shops downtown are usually open at least from 9 to17:00 on weekdays and from 9 to13:00 (or even until 15:00) on Saturdays. Department stores and shopping centres keep their doors open from 9 to 21 Monday through Friday and from 9 to 18:00 on Saturdays. During the summer months and before Christmas, several stores (including Anttila, Citymarket, Sokos and Prisma) are open also on Sundays. Some small grocery stores are open on Sundays throughout the year. Most news agencies are open every day from 9 to 22:00.
Grocery stores usually advertise weekly or daily in the local newspapers or print separate newspaper editions delivered to your mailbox. This allows you to compare such things as food prices at different stores.

11.9.1 DEPARTMENT STORES
You can find groceries and other food items, clothes, kitchen utensils, magazines, cosmetics, etc. at the following department stores. Service in English is available.

11.9.2 BOOK STORES
Suomalainen kirjakauppa Kauppakatu 23 B, Siltakatu 10

11.9.3 FLEA MARKETS
Here are listed some of the more permanent flea markets. Please note that the opening hours vary.

11.9.4 MARKET PLACE (TORI)
Market Hall, food, local handicrafts
Mon-Fri 8 - 17:00, Sat 8-14:00
Open Market, farm products, seasonal products, crafts
Mon-Sat 7 - 14:00
In addition, there is a traditional, two-day open-air market (markkinat in Finnish) four times a year with the market place full of stands and people - definitely worth visiting.

11.9.5 LOCAL HANDICRAFTS
Joensuu Handicraft Centre Shop Siltakatu 20
Karjalaiset taitajat Market Hall

11.9.6 ALCOHOL
In Finland strong alcohol such as wine and spirits can be bought only in special shops called ALKO. Low-alcohol content drinks such as beer, cider, etc. are sold in stores, supermarkets, gas stations and kiosks. There are three ALKO stores in Joensuu: