Romanianflyer

Thanks greg5. I remember visiting Suomenlinna many years ago in warm summer weather, but did not do so this time. While the weather inside the city was OK, the wind made it way too cold once you'd walk along the waterfront. It's remarkable how much difference the harbour/seaside promenades make with just one or two streets further land inwards.

I'm by no means a Helsinki expert lloydje33 and I never visited really a lot when I was in town (I'm the type of person who loves to casually walk around at random, sit down, and absorb the vibe instead of seeing the sights). That said, these below would be the basics:

- Senate square with the big white Lutheran church
- The Russian Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral
- Esplanadi Park
- Suomenlinna fortress
- Seurasaari Open Air Museum
- Kauppatori market

(the last two are only in warmer months I believe, but you need to check that as this is just by memory)

stu1985

Great report! I was in Helsinki the last weekend of January and loved how cold it was. Particularly enjoyed walking across the frozen lakes!

Romanianflyer

Part 4: First impressions of Helsinki
Hotel: Scandic Grand Marina, 100 EUR/night incl breakfast

A leisurely 20 minute walk from Helsinki's central station brought me to my hotel for the night, the Scandic Grand Marina set right at the city's main downtown harbour from where the massive Tallink Silja and Viking Line ferries depart for Stockholm.



There was a big queue at the reception desk but after a ten minute wait it was my turn. As the check-in procedure was extremely speedy and smooth I had the door keycard in my hand within just 20 seconds. The hotel is huge and the corridors seemingly endless. Judging on the people it was clearly mostly used by business travellers.





Despite the giant (and a bit impersonal) feel of the hotel, I found the room surprisingly atmospheric for a business hotel due to its weird attic-style feel. Sure, it's nothing really to write home about, but it wasn't bad either – and much better than I expected based on the looks of the corridors.





The room had a small window with a view to the harbour, where a Viking Line ferry had just anchored.



To stay with the hotel for a while more I will fast-forward to the next morning. The breakfast buffet is served in a nice-looking restaurant, although the crowds were huge. That said, it was easy to get a table and queues weren't an issue. It just has been quite a while I stayed at a hotel this size which was seemingly at capacity as well. Because of the many people moving around I did feel a bit uncomfortable taking too many snaps – but food quality was good and the selection very decent, whether you are looking for healthy option, a hearty full English, continental offerings or even some weird Finnish delicacies such as smelly fish.









All combined, the Scandic is a solid hotel with speedy service and a good breakfast, although personally I'm not a fan of hotels that are this massive. Its city centre location is excellent, especially if you plan to take the Viking ferry to Stockholm (note that Tallink Silja to Stockholm is located at the opposite side of the harbour, and that the Tallinn ferries are departing from a harbour outside the city centre altogether).

Enough about the hotel, let's get back to my arrival the previous evening. After checking in, there was still plenty of time left in the evening for a first walk around the city to see how it looks like in the dark. The disadvantage of wintertime this far North is of course that there are much less daylight hours available for sightseeing. The advantage is however that even while it was mid-January, there were still lots of beautiful lights everywhere in the city.

I started my walk along the harbour-front towards Kauppatori – or market square. Which is kinda as much downtown Helsinki as you can get. In the summer the place is buzzing with an open air market, although in wintertime it is more a rather deserted parking lot.




Kauppatori – with the Helsinki city hall behind it


Look towards the Tuomiokirkko, Helsinki's Lutheran Cathedral

As it was freezing cold at the waterfront because of a wind coming from the sea I decided to walk more land-inward. The Esplanadi park which starts at the market square was a logical choice. It's a long park in the middle of two one-way boulevards featuring the city's most beautiful buildings. This time of the year, the winter lights made for an especially charming atmosphere.









I tried to find for a cheap eatery in the commercial city centre just a few feet to the north, where many of the shops were still open. Unfortunately, there weren't too many options available. It were either international fast food restaurants (a no-no for me) or rather expensive ones with mains of well over 40-50 EUR. The few cheaper restaurants which had good ratings and reviews online were all so full that grabbing a seat was impossible without a very long wait in a queue.



As it was too cold to randomly wander around in the hope of finding something decent (and given that with the prices in Nordic countries you have to search a bit more pointedly than let's say when walking in Eastern or Southern Europe) I hopped inside one of the shops to search a bit on the internet and Google Maps while staying warm. In the end I found a good-looking burger place with craft beers a good 15 minute walk from where I was – which I hoped would not be too busy like the city centre places.

The pub, Woolshed Australian Gastropub, did not disappoint and offered value for money, with burgers just over 10 EUR and beers for around 8 EUR a pint. Sure, it might not be typically Finnish, but as I had more authentic Finnish meals on past visits (elsewhere in the country) together with Finnish friends, this time I cared more about staying a bit within budget and spending the money instead on enjoying a few good pints.



It's always a bit of a trade-off I have to make: I can spend more on quality food and top hotels, but that means I can make less travels in a year than I'm doing now. And while I value good food (and beverages) a lot, I tend to splurge on it only during a select few travels, especially so when travelling with someone else as it's much more fun to share a memorable meal or beautiful hotel than having the experience when travelling alone.

After a good pint of three I decided I had enough for the evening and ventured back to my hotel. To my surprise, the weather had changed enormously during the few hours in the pub as it was suddenly a full scale snow storm making the walk home miserable and cold with snow flakes blowing straight into my eyes.

Next up: Exploring Helsinki by daylight – and taking the overnight ferry to Tallinn

lhrpete

Thanks Romanianflyer.

I'm a Helsinki fan and I've often wondered about staying at the Scandic Grand Marina but I never have. It looks a bit big for my liking too so I'll stick with my favourite Scandic the Simonkenttä which is up in the town and a very short walk from the station. For all the days are short, I love Helsinki in winter and the cold and snow.

I'm also a fan of the Woolshed. Sometimes in a city you just want something a bit different and when in Helsinki I usually make one visit to the Woolshed which has a great, friendly atmosphere and good food at very fair prices. I also quite like the Chinese place next door but at the moment I can't remember the name. It's also good for a filling, budget eat.

Looking forward to the report on Tallinn, I've been before but plan to visit again this summer alongside Riga and Vilnius.

Romanianflyer

Thanks stu1985 - extreme temperatures (whether low or warm) can for sure be part of an unique travel experience.

PS. Keep on posting your own trip reports. They're always a fun read, and especially those trips to Spanish destinations are a great inspiration for some of my own future trips which I would like to plan.

The Tallinn installments should follow in the next few days lhrpete! I've visited all three Baltic capitals on multiple occasions (and a number of smaller places in them such as Tartu or Klaipeda and the Curonian Spit) and all three are definitely worth it and are unique destinations on their own with all entirely different charms.

I did like the Woolshed as well - it was exactly what I needed. A quick - but good - eat, a few good pints, and a great, lively atmosphere around fun people. It definitely did the trick!

Romanianflyer

Part 5: A full day in the Finnish capital of Helsinki

After an early breakfast I was out at dusk on the streets of Helsinki at 8.30am. With the sun only fully rising at 9am this January day it created some spectacular light effects in the full two or so hours to come and made for a lovely day of photography. First stop was the red-brick Uspenski Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church located on a small hill with some decent views over the nearby area. Unfortunately no photography was allowed inside, which created some tensions between the groundskeeper and a bus of newly arrived Chinese tourists who began snapping away immediately.




View from the Uspenski Cathedral hill, with the Finnish President's office and the white Lutheran Cathedral being visible in the background.

Crossing a small canal, I stood in front of the President's Office. I pity the poor single guard who has to stand there in this cold the entire day. (EDIT: as Hezu pointed out later on in this thread the light blue building does not host the President's Office, but it is the Main Guard, which is the base for these soldiers who are primarily guarding the Presidential Palace next door)






Guard at the President's Office with Uspenski Cathedral seen in the back on the small hill

After crossing the Finnish House of Nobility, which is used for the state archives, I arrived at Helsinki's main square.



Senaatintori (or Senate Square) is ringed with some of the most important buildings of Helsinki. Most notable is the whitewashed 19th Century Lutheran Cathedral with its iconic stairs in front of it. If you have seen one image of the city in a tourist brochure, then this most likely is it.







Even though the square was completely empty at this early hour, the side entrance of the Lutheran Cathedral was full of people about to enter the church for mass, all being welcomed by a female pastor. There are some good views over the square when climbing the stairs up, especially so at this early hour with sunset colours breaking through.





Taking pictures was fairly hard with the difficult sunrise colour conditions – no matter how beautiful the colours were. It was not made any easier by the -20 degrees Celsius. That said, if you dress up properly the weather was certainly doable. I only found it too cold when walking along the main waterfront.



Among the other notable buildings on the square are... you guessed it, the Senate of Finland. This neoclassical building was used by the Finnish Senate in the times of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent Republic of Finland from 1917 to 1918. The Senate consisted of the Finnish cabinet and supreme court, and thus was not a legislative body what you would think by its name but more an executive one. It is now still being used as a state government office.



At the other side of the square stands the University Museum, which had a curious sign in front of it delivering bad news to the likes of our beloved forum moderator DanielW if he would visit the city with his drone one day.



Next up was Kauppatori, or Market Square, where I had already walked the previous evening. While its full of activity in summer, you can see it's much more of a deserted parking lot in winter days.



Because of the cold weather I only managed to make a few quick snaps by the water before I had to walk back land inwards again. Morning is a busy time in the harbour, as there was one Viking ferry making its daytime departure to Stockholm, while another Viking ship and one from Silja Tallink just arrived from their overnight journey from Sweden. I can highly recommend these crossings, especially in summer when departing from Stockholm. For the first hours you cross thousands of small islands in the Stockholm archipelago which make for great views while drinking a beer on deck, the boats are almost as big as cruise liners so there is plenty to do in the evening hours, and on arrival you arrive smack bang in the heart of Helsinki with great views over the city skyline. I have some fond memories of it!









Up next I ventured up on Tähtitorninvuoren puisto (Observatory Hill park) for some decent views over the city and harbour. When there is snow parks are always fun to walk through.









I like the neighbourhood surrounding it a lot as it has some beautiful grand apartment buildings. I once stayed here at a friend who lived in Helsinki at a time. Not a bad place to live at all!



I ended my morning walk at the Esplanadi Park, which I already walked through the evening before.





To warm up, I entered the lovely Cafe Esplanad. Besides pastries and cakes, I also saw some people getting served some delicious looking plates of steaming hot salmon. I just ordered a typical Nordic cinnamon pastry and a coffee as I wasn't too hungry after a filling breakfast. If you order filter coffee you can get free refills as much as you like – which was great, as I definitely could use two hot drinks to warm myself up.



After spending some time in the shopping district I decided to walk towards the West Harbour where the Tallinn ferries depart. Normally I would recommend taking a tram as its quite a walk, but as I had time anyway and was more in a mood to explore on foot than visiting a museum or so, I opted to leave a bit early and just make my way there at a relaxed pace.



Sometimes such random walks can offer great rewards – and this walk was in such a category. By pure luck I ended up in the Ullanlinna neighbourhood, which at its southern end has a few islands connected to the mainland by small piers. There is really nothing special to see here, but the neighbourhood was lovely and the views on the islands back to the shore or towards the sea were beautiful.















There were great views as well towards Suomenlinna – the fortress island protecting Helsinki's main harbour. It's connected by frequent ferries to the city centre and well worth a visit (especially in summer). This time however I chose to look at it from afar.





Somehow the winds weren't as blowing as strong here as at the main waterfront in the city, so it was much more bearable to walk close to the water here. Also the fact that it was early afternoon and the sun came through magnificently played a big role. On such days, travelling in winter is an absolutely joy.







Locals seemed to appreciate the day as well as they were out in droves in the nearby park to sled down the hill with their kids.





Next up: Taking the ferry to Tallinn

lhrpete

Great pics! I've never seen Helsinki with so much snow. It's great to see familiar sites covered in the white stuff. I'm not sure I could do -20C!

Romanianflyer

Part 6: Helsinki to Tallinn by Tallink ferry
Ferry 'Silja Europa' including A-class cabin – 8 EUR
STD 6.30pm - STA 8.00am (journey duration 13h30m)

Those who read the trip details here above will probably ask themselves two very valid questions:

– How can a 82 kilometre journey take over 13 hours?
– Is that price of 8 EUR a typo or what?

Let me explain it a bit more. The Finnish capital of Helsinki and the Estonian capital of Tallinn are indeed separated by just 82 kilometres across the Gulf of Finland. Ferries indeed take around two hours for the entire journey, and both Tallink and its less glamorous competitor Eckero offer a couple of departures each day. There is however also an 'overnight' service which departs some days of the week at 6.30pm and arrives the next morning at 8am. Note that this is not the actual arriving time. The ferry sets off at 6.30pm and arrives in Tallinn two hours later as well. The trick is that you simply cannot disembark from the ship – that is only possible from 8am onwards!

From what I've heard, many Finns especially use this journey to have a proper 'cruise-like' experience. Once they arrive in Tallinn many just head straight back to Helsinki on the first morning departure, with many of them making a stop at one of the many on-board or Port of Tallinn-based alcohol shops as taxes and prices on alcoholic drinks are significantly lower in Estonia.

The boat is however also popular among travellers as you can easily save a night accommodation this way. Each ticket requires you to also select a cabin, ranging from the cheaper cabins below the waterline, to those without porthole, to those which have a porthole and even proper suites. Even at normal prices these are extremely well-priced, especially compared to hotel prices in Helsinki. It is thus much cheaper to take the 6.30pm ferry, sleep on board, and arrive the following morning in Tallinn than opting for a Helsinki hotel and just take the first morning morning departure from Helsinki. It really does make sense if you look at it this way. And for the price I paid.. I'm not sure if this constructs a 'flash sale' or was indeed some error fare (I'm quite sure it's a proper off season flash sale actually) – but wow, talk about value. That 8 EUR included the crossing as well as a proper en-suite cabin for the night (compare that to the 100 EUR I paid for the previous night in a Helsinki hotel!). Sure, it was not the most luxurious cabin on board, but it also wasn't the cheapest. Paying for the cheapest cabin would have dropped the price by even 4 EUR more.

Just like the Ryanairs and Easyjets in the airline world, it does somehow make sense as well. You are locked on the ship until 8am from when you can disembark (you can also sleep in longer if you'd like). Many people buy dinner, breakfast and do shopping on board. These extra services is the field where the shipping company takes the profits.

I arrived at Helsinki's large western harbour (from where all Estonian-bound ships depart) on foot after a long walk. I didn't mind though as the sunset views were again great and somehow all the cranes and warehouses have some sort of industrial charm. (EDIT: FT'er Hezu pointed out later in this thread that this is incorrect, as besides Eckero and Tallink which operate from the West Harbour, the Viking XPRS also does the Tallinn-Helsinki runs and docks to Katajanokka pier like the other Viking Line ferries on Helsinki<->Stockholm route)









You need to check carefully from which terminal your ship departs. Mine departed from the older Terminal 1, which felt like a low-cost airport compared to the modern glass building of Terminal 2 where I would arrive on the journey back from Tallinn to Helsinki. Both terminals have however a tram stop right in front of them (the tram terminates at T2 – the furthest point you can get on the harbour peninsula). This is by far the easiest way to get to the harbour with the obvious exception of taking a taxi.

Once inside the building, departures are one level up. When I arrived, the check-in desks weren't open yet, although you could enter your reservation number on one of the computers to print your boarding card. On this journey, the boarding cart also doubles as the key card for your cabin!



As boarding didn't start for about one-and-a-half-hours more, I did what every other 30-something bloke would do: head off to the pub and drink a beer. Conveniently, there was one inside the terminal (and that's about the only thing which is there, besides some public toilets!).





Some fifteen minutes before actual boarding time the employees will open the gates towards a sort of holding area which you can enter by scanning your ticket.



And finally, we were allowed to board the ferry! Although I absolutely detest the cruise industry, I do love travelling by ferries a lot – and embarking on a new vessel is almost as exciting as boarding a new aeroplane.



My cabin was a simple A class cabin, which consists of a bunk bed, an en-suite shower and toilet. For entertainment it has a TV, some ferry company magazines and a porthole to watch outside – although on an overnight journey like this there isn't that much to see at all. There was no wifi in the cabin as this is only accessible in the public areas of the ferry. That said, you can grab a 4G network throughout pretty much the entire journey except for the one hour in which the ship is in the middle of the Gulf of Finland. The cabin isn't exactly luxurious – but it was perfect for a good night of sleep (and remember I paid just 8 EUR for this! Can't complain in the first place when paying this).











After relaxing a bit in my cabin and recharging my phone (my Samsung's battery was not a fan of the cold as battery time literally halves in these temperatures) it was time to explore a bit more of the ship. I started off with watching the ship depart from the open-air deck – something which was a good idea for a full minute until I figured it was way too cold and that there wasn't that much to see in the first place at this far side of the harbour.





The public spaces on board are spread out over two floors, with the centre being the main elevator and stairs area mid-ship.



There are a couple of on-board shops and smaller outlets, such as a Starbucks and some kiosks and fast-food/canteen style eateries.









Basically, the ship feels like a floating airport terminal. It even had a large duty-free shop which even had proper shopping carts. That might look surprising, but remember that the bulk of the people on board are Finns. The Finnish people – God bless them – love their booze. Yet as we all know, evil Nordic socialists have taxed all the booze to ridiculous prices. Hence the fact that booze cruises are a thing among Finns. They would just hop on a boat to Tallinn, buy alcohol there on land, and return immediately on the first ferry. There are also however a lot of lazy Finns who don't bother with that. They just stay on board the entire time and buy their booze in the ferry's duty free shop (with prices a tad higher than you'll find in Estonia, but still lots cheaper than in Finland). Exactly for these people did they make these on-board supermarkets!



It is a similar story on the ferries to Sweden. Even though Sweden of course has high alcohol prices as well, ferries can offer lower prices if they make a stop mid-journey on the Aland Islands. This archipelago is part of Finland but is a recognised tax-free zone within the EU – so ships stopping here can offer tax free shopping (I believe some sort of tax is still levied, but it's waaay lower than on the Finnish mainland and in Sweden). Interesting stuff.

The Silja Europa has a couple of different restaurants. Besides the earlier mentioned canteen-like options, there was also a very-decent looking Italian restaurant and a more upmarket steak house among others.





There are also a few different bars and pubs on board. Of course, a ferry is not a proper ferry if it wouldn't have a large entertainment stage. This time, some OAPs played some bingo here. I'm not sure what I liked less – the bingo or the gaudy colours of this area.





I started off the journey by having an aperitif in one of the nicer-looking on-board bars.





As I expected most of the quality food options to be priced more according to Finland than Estonia, I booked the buffet in advance. It being Northern Europe – I thought it would be by far the best value for money even though I generally dislike buffets in any restaurant except for airport lounges. At the costs of 34 EUR, Tallink's buffet might not be the best deal ever. That is, until you realise that it also includes unlimited beer and wine – which makes it a no-brainer.





The buffet is quite large and is themed in different areas, such as 'street food', 'kids', 'meat', 'seafood' and 'stuff for grass-eating vegans' if memory serves well.











Quality differs a lot unfortunately. While there were some pretty good dishes around, the side dishes (lukewarm, worse than at McDonald's chips, chewy potatoes) and meats (a bit tasteless and overcooked) disappointed. That said, some of the starters, the sea food (crab cakes, salmon, mussels) and the desserts were all good. Washed away with quite a few glasses of very average wine – I couldn't complain much at all. You just need to have the right set of expectations. In airline terms: it's overall of less quality than the Turkish Airlines CIP lounge at IST, but much better than the grub KLM serves at its Crown Lounge :-)


Salmon, mussels, crab cakes – this was still pretty good, especially the mussels were tasty


Meat options? Not so much – a bit overcooked all


Desserts were again decent

I managed to sleep extremely well, but that might also have to do with the wee bits of wine I drank during the dinner. I had however not a problem at all waking up at 7.30am – and after a quick shower I disembarked the ship shortly after 8am ready to explore Tallinn.



Next up: A day in the Estonian capital of Tallinn

Fredrik74

By pure coincidence my parents told me they went on a day trip to Ĺland from Sweden. The purpose: to buy booze of course.

It's seems to be a similar story for all these ferries. The ticket and sometimes transportation to/from the ferry is ridiculously cheap. It's still possible to make a profit for the ferry company due to all the booze being bought.

I'm pretty sure it's not for me with the overnight ferries, cheap or not, but it's still interesting to see what's on offer.

In a way it could be very exotic for a tourist because you'll meet all the locals who you normally wouldn't meet in anything as fancy as a Radisson or Hilton. I mean, those are luxury properties...

lhrpete

Years ago I in innocence booked Stockholm - Helskinki on a night ferry. I wasn't banking on the scale of the all night party that followed and the amount of alcohol that was bought and consumed. I was hoping for a decent night's sleep but even though the sea was calm, the ferry rocked!

Never again!

Hezu

One clarification: the light blue building does not host the President's Office, but it is the Main Guard, which is the base for these soldiers who are primarily guarding the Presidential Palace next door (it is the light yellow building in the previous pictures).

Another correction: the West Harbour is not only place where you can catch a ferry to Tallinn as Viking XPRS docks to Katajanokka pier like the other Viking Line ferries on Helsinki<->Stockholm route.

Romanianflyer

Absolutely true Fredrik74, it is definitely quite a motley crew on such ships. Everything from foreign travellers, businessmen, students, local pensioners on a trip out to middle aged men boozing until they drop unconscious.

I'm not sure if I agree whether its not for everyone. While my cabin was for sure basic, there are luxury suites on many ships as well which wouldn't look out of place in a Radisson or Hilton (not sure about the Helsinki-Tallinn ferries but definitely on most long-distance ferries in Europe). The a la carte restaurants can also be high quality and are generally and oasis of quietness. Many ships have their own business lounges too (pay on access, although I believe some ferry companies also have some loyalty schemes of some sorts) with free snacks, wine/beer and being a quiet place to work! For day-time trips that would definitely be my choice of travel - as the return journey by day-time ship was a real zoo in the public spaces... more on that later!

Ha, I know what you mean lhrpete! I have done quite some ferry journeys in between Finland, Stockholm and Estonia - and the people on board and noise can vary wildly. I've had wild crossings where both dozens of teens and students went crazy and where even the OAPs were dancing the night away being p*ss drunk. I've also had very quiet crossings which were rather boring even on almost empty ships. Also this trip I had both worlds, with the outbound journey being very quiet and the inbound back to Helsinki a giant mess as the ship seemed more like an overcrowded refugee camp.

A big factor on overnight journeys is the booked accommodation. Walls can be thin on board with some noise coming from the corridors. While you won't hear anything from the pubs or discos on board as these are on other decks, you can hear the sound of people talking loudly there. The chance for that is definitely much, much lower in the higher accommodation brackets as students generally can't afford it and booze cruisers generally don't opt for it.

Thanks very much Hezu, I didn't know about Viking also operating the line! I will update my previous post so other travellers who might read it won't get any wrong information.

Romanianflyer

Part 7: A full day in Tallinn, Estonia

There are not many cities in Europe like Tallinn when it comes to having such a beautiful old town centre. The entire old town is still walled and looks much like it was centuries ago. One of the most buzzing of destinations in Europe you can travel to is not. For that, Tallinn is first of all too small at around 400,000 citizens – which would make it just a provincial city if it would be located in many other European countries. The sedated nature of the Estonian people also give it a sort of vibe which I would describe as even rather silent rather than laid back.

That said, the old town is drop dead gorgeous and big in its size. There are some decent restaurants and pubs to be found, the Estonian people are a friendly bunch, and the country is generally an interesting one if you look at its more modern history (especially how the country is a sort of internet/IT powerhouse). I can even recommend lingering around for a longer time and venture out to islands such as Saaremaa or into the mainland nature or to towns such as Tartu. This time, I would have only one day unfortunately as in the evening I would take a ferry back to Helsinki.

It's just a ten to fifteen minute walk from the ferry terminal of Tallinn towards the entrance of the walled old town.



Tallinn is generally a quiet town – even for its size of 400,000 and stature as capital of Estonia. That was even more so the case today at 9am, despite it being a weekday!





There wasn't much open this early in the day, so I stopped at a hotel cafe for a light breakfast overlooking one of the old town streets.



The heart of Tallinn's old town is its lovely Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square) – where a Christmas tree was still standing despite it being mid-January, even though the Christmas market I once visited some years back was gone (for those who love German-style Christmas markets in cute old towns, consider going once to Tallinn or Sibiu in Romania for off-the-beaten-track December destinations).





The streets surrounding the square are cute as well (heck, everything in Tallinn basically is). You can also find a couple of 'famous' Medieval restaurants here such as Peppersack and Olde Hansa. Looking at the prices you can definitely see Tallinn has become more popular among tourists and that the local economy is doing relatively well. It was definitely on par with much of Europe and not the relative bargain it was a couple of years ago in the good ole days of the Estonian Kroon (EEK) as currency instead of the euro.





The old town basically consists out of two parts, the lower town and the upper town called Toompea Castle. I took the picturesque stairs of Luhike Jalg (Short Leg) to make my own up. As the name (probably?) suggests this is the shorter route up.



Once up there is a particular cool section of the city wall around the upper town, which historically (as well as now) housed the country's rulers. As it started to snow heavily by now it somehow felt a bit like walking in Winterfell for those of us watching Game of Thrones.





At the viewpoint over the lower town here was also a creepy statue of a monk.



One of the most notable buildings in the upper town is the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.







The upper town also has a lot of embassies and government offices, such as here the German embassy. It got a bit difficult making pictures at this point due to the constant snowfall.



Also the Estonian parliament building is located in the upper town in a baroque, salmon-coloured building.



There are also tons of picturesque streets in the upper town which makes for some lovely walks, especially at this early time of the day when there was nobody around. The church building in the pictures below is the 13th century Toomkirk (St. Mary's Cathedral).







Being located on a hill high above the rest of the town, it is quite needless to say that there are many viewpoints giving sweeping views over the lower town, the Gulf of Finland and the modern parts of the city where much of the IT and finance industry is located.









As I was getting cold I hopped into a bar/restaurant for some mulled wine. The city does really have a lot of good-looking medieval style places!





On the way down to the lower town I took this time the normal road called Pikk Jalg (Long Leg) which runs along one of the city walls.



What more to say about Tallinn? While there aren't any must-see landmarks as such it is just such a lovely town just to wander around randomly. I'll let the pictures do the talking.















By this time the snowfall had stopped and the clouds even cleared away for a bit of blue skies. What a lovely day to be in Tallinn really. I had one last walk through the old town before I headed to one of my favourite local pubs.









Hell Hunt is a nice little pub in the old town offering not only good quality food at very decent prices, but more importantly having a great menu as well of Estonian and international craft beers. I devoured a Shepherd's Pie and sampled two or three beers.



To end a lovely day in Tallinn, I headed a stone throw away to another local favourite of mine, Kohvik Maiasmokk, which does decent coffee and excellent marzipan, cakes and other sweets.







Next up: Taking the day time ferry back to Helsinki

Romanianflyer

Part 8: Tallinn to Helsinki by Tallink ferry
Ferry 'Megastar', deck passage – 8 EUR
STD 7.30pm - STA 9.30pm (journey duration 2h00m)

On the way back to Helsinki I opted for the normal daytime ferry which takes just two hours. I was a bit early again at the ferry terminal, where the check-in procedure was the same as in Helsinki. You can get your boarding pass by either using a check-in computer using your booking code, or use one of the check-in kiosks. There is not much to do at the ferry terminal. There is one souvenir shops and a few alcohol shops both landside and waterside (is that how you call the ferry terminal equivalent of airside?). There is also one single cafe, which fortunately did have some booze to kill the hour that remained until embarkation would start.







It didn't take long before embarkation started. You simply scan your ticket, wait a bit in a holding pen, and are then allowed to board as foot passengers.





My first impression of the MS Megastar which would operate this journey was excellent. Compared to the Silja Europa on the journey to Tallinn which sailed its first journey in 1993, the MS Megastar was looking shiny new having had its maiden voyage only two years earlier in January 2017. While the interior of the Silja Europa looks a bit outdated at times and could use some refurbishment, that is not the case at all with the Megastar which has a modern-looking yet cosy feel to it. As the ship is also bigger than the Silja Europa, I decided to explore the ship first before settling down somewhere for the crossing.

There are again quite some retail shops, including a two-floor duty free shop with a very large selection of booze.





There are also a handful of dining options, ranging from fast food (Burger King) to proper sit down restaurants, a buffet and a decent looking takeaway with all kinds of food.









Of course there were several pubs as well – with one having an outdoor garden even (of course – too cold this time of the year!)







You are not on board a proper ship if there isn't a small gambling hall for adults and some arcade games for kids.



The ship also has a proper business class lounge – which looked comfortable and most of all very quiet from the outside.

To quote the ferry's own website: “Comfort Lounge is a comfortable separate area with extra services, including a selection of snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, newspapers, TV, WIFI and power outlet. Comfort Lounge is located on deck 8. Comfort Class ticket can be redeemed for € 24 surcharge. Children 0-5 year old free of charge.”



In hindsight I would definitely have gone for this option – hands down – unless you might be dining at one of the more expensive a la carte restaurants. This for the simple reason that the ship just became unbearably crowded that it was next to impossible to grab a seat somewhere in the public spaces, let alone in any of the pubs (note: you can also reserve an airline-style seat in a “Sitting Lounge” - although this didn't really look comfortable nor attractive to me.)

The problem was that although the ship was empty when boarding started, it soon filled up with both pedestrians as well as those coming from the car deck. I didn't realise this as first I was exploring the ferry, and later on watching the ship depart the port of Tallinn from one of the outdoor decks.







By the time I returned shortly after departure it was a mess on the decks – almost literally like a zoo. While the outbound crossing was very calm and quiet, the inbound on this ship was fully booked by what it seemed with the ship at its capacity. It was so crowded you couldn't even grab a bar stool in one of the pubs. To make matters worse, plenty of people were downright drunk and while they weren't obnoxious in their behaviour physically disturbing others those who were in groups were very loud. The fact that the crossing only takes two hours doesn't help, as many people just grab a seat and will not give it up for the remainder of the journey, while on longer journeys people will most likely take a walk or sit elsewhere at some point. Really, that lounge would have been a brilliant option - only due to the fact that I came to this conclusion with 50 minutes of journey time to go did I refrain from buying entry. I would do in a heartbeat next time I take the crossing.

Only after an hour did I manage to claim a space by putting my jacket on it, allowing me to go to the takeaway deli to buy some food and a beer. The fish and chips and the craft beer were not cheap at 20 EUR but did taste very good.



Arrival was some ten minutes late in Helsinki. Note that if you take public transport in Helsinki, that you can buy tickets from the kiosk on board the ship – which saves valuable time on arrival as you won't have to queue at the one or two ticket machines for the tram at the terminal itself. It was a fast 20 minute tram journey to Helsinki's central railway station.


Looking from the back window of the tram towards the modern ferry terminal at Helsinki's west harbour


The main entrance of Helsinki's beautiful main railway station

At the station, I bought a ticket to the airport – within ten minutes I was already on my way to the airport where I had booked a hotel due to my early departure the next day.

Next up: Scandic Helsinki Airport & the Aspire Lounge at HEL

MaxVO

Is it possible to travel with baggage on such daytime ferries? If so, where would the bag(s) go with no seat assignments?