Day trip to Helsinki, Finland

 I woke up 4:30 am to catch up 6 am ferry to Helsinki, Finland. I walked 2.5 miles from the ferry terminal to city center to take 10:00 free walking tour covering Senate Square,designed by Carl Ludwig Engel: University of Helsinki, white Lutheran Cathedral, Prime Minister's Office, Czarina's Stone (obelisk) at Market square, red Uspenski Cathedral Surrounded by sea, etc.

I visited the city history museum to take a nap, and then ferryed into Suomenlinna (2.8 euro round trip). The "Gibraltar of the North" was a UNESCO site and once the greatest sea fortress in the Baltic, built by the Swedish in the mid-1700s at great expense to protect their eastern flank. It is not just a museum: the sprawling complex houses restaurants, cafes, theaters and museums. I spent 3-hr there walking around and checking out coastal lines. 

I walked a long way to see the Sibelius Monument in Sibelius Park. The world-famous composer Jean Sibelius' monument was disappointingly small, yet the bike path all the way back to the harbor was pleasant to walk on and for people watching. It also has a work of art resembling organ pipes, welded together from 600 pipes and weighing over 24 metric tons. I also passed a graveyard.

Helsinki was the new capital chosen by Russia so the buildings were new and it has no old town. Stockholm is more interesting than Helsinki, and Tallinn is better than Stockholm. However, Helsinki has free WC. 

 I barely found enough things to do till 7 pm and walked back to the ferry terminal to rest for 9:40 pm ferry to arrive Tallinn at midnight. It was a long day. The ferry has shops, cafes, casinos, etc.

Helsinki, Finland

 

Tallinn Walking tours

 I took two free walking tours today, and bought the round trip ferry tickets (17 euros) to Helsinki. 

The first one Tallinn in a Nutshell covered the most important sights in Tallinn’s Old Town, such as Nevsky Cathedral, St. Mary’s Church, Town Hall Square, Freedom Square, City Wall Towers, Danish Kings Garden, and two Viewing Platforms, while explaining the history from medieval times, through the Soviet period and to modern Estonia. It downpoured rain twice, but the participants persisted.  

Old town turned into a different place when crowded with the cruise boat tourists. I ran into a Taiwanese American group of nine people on this 48-day cruise costing only $100 per day plus taxes and tips. It sounds like a cheap and easy option, but very short stops at each city. 

The second tour was the Tales of Reval Immersion Tour that combined traditional guiding with street performance and storytelling, thus created an immersive experience into the history of Tallinn. I actually played a king who chased a dear to jump over tha cliff thus came the old city name of Tallinn: Reval: deer jump/cliff.  Another one of the kind experience.  The rest of the tour focused on the tale of the Hansa Merchants who gained freedom from the nobles with their hard working and wealth.

On my way to the supermarket to pick up more vegetables and Kali for dinner, I stoped by the Town Hall Pharmacy that Has Been in Business for Over 500 Years. I also found out that they will have special tightrope Walker performance at 6 pm on 7/7 while I will be in Helsinki!

Kali is a drink made from slightly fermented bread, tasted like a mix between a beer and a cola, with a sour-sweet taste, a natural fizz, and very low alcohol content. It's the Estonian variation of the Slavic kvass, and has since become the local answer to soda.

Tallinn Estonia

I fell in love with Tallinn at the first sight. Its old town has been astonishingly well preserved and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. I took many photos this late afternoon and evening after dinner (pork stir-fried noodles). I like that it doe not have as many visitors as other European medieval cities.

My hostel Old Town Alur Hostel was built as a hospital 600 years ago, another unique experience.

Tallinn, Estonia

 

From Stockholm to Tallinn, Estonia

 I usually travel in autumn or spring to avoid crowds, but forced to travel this summer to hike in Norway. I loved hiking in Lofoten which was quite unique. 

When traveling in shoulder seasons, I don’t need to book flights ahead. However, this summer is exceptional busy so I booked all flights and hostels ahead, which saved me some $. For example, I bought Stockholm to Tallinn, Estonia one month ago for $24, and now selling $165-400 one way, while ferry will take 16 hrs for $165.  Nevertheless, the prearrangements also limited my freedom to stay longer at places I would like to, such as Lofoten. 

I flew in Stockholm airport too late to use the cheapest option so was forced to take $30 express train (30 min)to go to downtown, yet came in the airport with the cheapest option (1:15) of subway - commuter rail - bus ($4, which seems complicated but rather easily executed by following the crowd, and the commuter rail (in the central train station on different floor) is almost as comfortable as the express train). Now I am camping in the airport for the flight. The only improvement I could make was to buy the 72-hr travel card one day ahead to fully utilize the card. My 24-hr card plan was changed by my inspiration of taking all ferry lines in town. Nevertheless, I did manage to give away my 72-hr travel card to an arrival backpacker so he can travel free for 20-hr in Stockholm.

Stockholm Day 4: ferry rides

 Since I have 72-hr unlimited access to ferries, I planned today around ferry rides. I took 1-hr Ferry 89 west to Tappström, then a 20-min bus to Drottningholms Palace to check out its free garden. Drottningholms Palace is on UNESCO's World Heritage list. It is the most well-preserved royal castle built in the 1600s in Sweden and is representative of all European architecture for the period.

After that, it started raining and I took 45 min Bus and train to Kajsas Fisk to taste the famous fish soup ($13 unlimited soup refills, salad and bread).

I walked by the Parliament Building and bumped into a free English tour (so to escape the heavy rain). Then the sky turned sunny, so I continued the 2nd ferry as planned, Ferry 83 from slussen to Vaxholm 4 pm arrive 5 pm return bus 6:30 pm back to hostel 7:30 pm. A long and full day before flying to Tallinn, Estonia tomorrow.

“Vaxholm is a municipality spanning several islands in Sweden’s Stockholm archipelago. The 16th-century Vaxholm Fortress, built on an islet to defend Stockholm, now houses a museum chronicling the building's history. Pastel-colored wooden houses dot Vaxholm's town center. “

What a surprise to see 4-pairs Ukrainian mother-kids in my hostel room who were taken in for humanity reasons.