Photos of Helsinki & Tallinn

Helsinki was such a short lived experience that it would be unfair to give any major opinions about it. Still, the city was such a great starting point to kick start my Russia trip. I always say "my Russia trip" but it's an unfair tag because Helsinki was planned intentionally as a stopping point on the journey. Although it's clearly Scandinavian, the Russian influences are apparent in the colorful architecture that dots the city.

Tallinn, on the other hand, wasn't on my radar until my friend D visited. I'm grateful he did because I probably wouldn't have considered a stay if he hadn't. It's a stunning city, and I managed to enjoy what I could, despite the freezing hypothermia induced blizzard. I would definitely go back to both cities.

Helsinki & Tallinn

Day 2 - Tallinn

Sunday, 11/23 -

I don't know. If I had a crystal ball, I might not have included Tallinn if there was any prior knowledge of what would be in store for me. The second day of my trip was mostly a dud due to the severe icy blizzard that pounded the city for the entire day. I can handle snow but not wind slamming into me at who knows how many miles-a-minute. At times, I had to brace myself against the wind so that it didn't pick me up and carry me off someplace.

When I wasn't freezing to death, I was trying to take some photos that didn't come out blurry due to icy snow pelting the camera lens. The added bonus of souvenir shopping and visiting museums was that I could also use it as an opportunity to fight hypothermia from setting in. I did manage to visit the Museum of Occupation which documents Estonia's occupation by the former Soviet Union. Most things were closed due the the inclement weather, but I did get to step inside the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral for a look around.

How I longed to be back in that sauna, warm and without a care in the world!

At dusk, I lazed around in a café for a bit, drinking hot chocolate before searching for St. Catherine Passage. I stepped inside a souvenir shop to be met by a woman who had the most unfortunate job of dressing like an Estonian peasant girl in order to look some part. I saw this at Olde Hansa as well. How demeaning! I never understood the jobs with the period dress requirement. After leaving the cafe and bundling up, my bra came undone after leaving and it was proving unbearable by now. So, since there was no one in the store or around, I explained the situation and asked if I could use the restroom to fix my problem. The woman replied that she did not have a public restroom but I was free to fix my bra right there as there was no one in sight.

There I was, arms reaching behind me, up the back of my sweater to re-hook my bra, all while apologizing over and over. Peasant girl assured me that it has happened to her and that she completely understood. I then pictured her in serf dress addressing a modern undergarment problem and had to refrain from laughing. Thankfully, I bought something or else that would have been even more embarrassing to walk out empty handed after displaying such a personal problem.

After eating a large dinner in the town square, I had no recourse but to go back to the hotel. I'm happy to have picked this hotel because they were very accommodating considering I had already checked out that morning. The front desk arranged a cab to the bus station and told me to sit by the fireplace and warm up. What I did see of the city was nothing but beauty. It reminded me much of Bruges, medieval and frozen in time. I came to love what I could experience and hope to go back and tour Estonia as a whole.

If there was one interesting thing I got out of Estonia it was the experience of going through both Estonian and Russian immigration at the borders of Narva and Ivangorod.

The bus ride through Estonia to St. Petersburg was slow going due to the bad weather. There are no street lights on the highway; you can only really see what is illuminated by the headlights on the bus. I could make out that this route passed mostly through countryside with a few farms popping up every so often. Once we pulled into Narva, Estonia, there was a considerable wait while immigration officials got on the bus, took all of our passports, and went back to the office to process all of our information and search the bus. This lasted about an hour until the official got back on the bus and handed our passports back to us. The bus drove through a security zone for about a quarter mile until it reached Ivangorod, Russia. Then, the fun began!

While it was a harmless procedure, immigration in Ivangorod, for an American, was quite fearful. I think more so for me considering I knew absolutely no Russian and my first impressions were so...Soviet. There were two other Americans on the bus and we all just followed the other passenger's queues on what to do. That included getting our coats on, taking all of our belongings off the bus, and heading into a classic Soviet style building to go through Russian immigration. First off, I have never seen so much green in my lifetime, different shades of the color too. Green building, green walls, green trim, and green passport control booths. The only other color was red as in red line for declaring customs, red for stop don't do this or don't do that. Otherwise, if you had nothing to declare, you went through, you guessed it, the green line.

There was a long wait, and I decided to use the filthy restroom while I could as there was no bathroom on the bus. Processing was easy and the immigration officials were gruff but nice. My passport was stamped, the suitcase put through the x-ray machine, and I was done and processed. There was a point where I wanted to take a picture, on the sly of course, of the outside of the immigration center. I decided against it. Maybe that was a good idea.

The bus passed through several more security checkpoints before moving on towards St. Petersburg. I couldn't believe I was finally in Russia!

Day 1 - Helsinki

Once again, as with the Taiwan trip, I had wonky access to a computer.

Saturday, 11/22-

The flight to Helsinki went smoothly with one little snafu - a very large man sat next to me and half of his body spilled over into my seat. At one point, I even used his crooked arm as a book rest while he slept. Otherwise, it was your typical economy class filled to the brim overseas flight.

We landed in Helsinki a little earlier than expected, which was great considering I was to have such a short stay and so welcomed the extra time. I left my carry on bag in the left luggage room, bought an all day tourist bus pass, and headed into the city for the day. Helsinki is a very easy city to manage and most everyone speaks English. In the short time there, I walked around or took the #3 tram. My first stop was in Senate Square and a visit to Tuomiokirkko, Helsinki's most famous Lutheran church.

Next, it was onto Uspenski Cathedral and Market Square, both in the same area. I thought the market a bit blah and too touristy, but what did I expect considering it was in a touristy area. I finally got to sample cloud berries, which are native to Finland and were a bit too tart for my tastes. There was also a bread and pastry stall that had some delicious samples. I wanted to buy some rahkapulla, which is like a cream cheese pastry, but Scandinavian countries are so expensive and how would I cart that around without devouring it all in one sitting?

After eating lunch, I tried to find the Sibelius Monument, but lost my bearings and veered east over near the opera house. A kind gentleman informed me of this when I stopped him on the street.

Temppeliaukion kirkko, or the rock church, was cool, and a christening was taking place, so we were held outside until it ended. Thankfully, I hugged the entrance so once the doors opened, I could make sure to take a photo of the church empty before it crowded with others.

Overall, Helsinki was a great town, but I wouldn't come here for an exclusive visit, unless it was part of a much more extensive trip to the country of Finland. The people are super friendly, and saying "kiitos" (thanks) gets automatic smiles.

I gave myself a lot of time to get back to the airport to make my flight to Tallinn, Estonia. Upset at missing out on the chance to shop at Hemtex, which I discovered in Denmark, I really could've gone back a little later, but due to personal experience, have major fears of missing my flights. I ended up sleeping the entire journey over, waking up a few minutes before we landed.

Once in Tallinn, I grabbed a taxi to my hotel, which was in the medieval Old Town section of the city. Estonia has the unfortunate history of being occupied not once, but twice by Russia. Only in the last twenty years has she been a free country and the relationship with Russia is a contentious one. Ethnic Russians make up 40% of the population, much to the chagrin of the native Estonians who are bitter towards their former occupiers. Being curious, in the cab on the way to the hotel, I asked the driver what his ethnicity was. He replied he was Russian and that Estonia was the true Russia. Okay. That would be my politics for the night.

I arrived at the Merchant House Hotel, which ended up being fantastic in every way possible. Just steps to the town square (Raekoja plats), the hotel is housed in a medieval building. My room had exposed wood beams and original stonework. I took advantage of the private sauna and it was pure bliss! My skin was smooth as a baby's bottom and my mind cleared of any stress. I also conked out on the bed wearing just the robe I returned to my room in!