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| Shrek currently resides in Tallinn, Estonia |
We left off in my last recap in Riga - I got the bus from Riga, Latvia to Tallinn, Estonia. This bus ride in itself was something I really enjoyed; after talking to a few people who were headed south, doing the opposite itinerary to me, I’d been prepared that Tallinn itself doesn’t really ‘feel’ like the Baltics; that in many ways it fits in better with its northern neighbour of Finland. The bus ride was a chance to see the ‘rest’ of Estonia, because I essentially traversed most of the country on the bus. It was very pretty, lots of forestry and nature, and I’m told that this very aspect of Estonia is something which the people of Estonia are very proud of. My arrival in Tallinn was fairly uneventful; I had instructions to get to the hostel which were detailed and arrived at Knight House where I was booked in for just two nights.
I booked into this hostel, a random small hostel, to take advantage of some cheap, cheap mid week rates and honestly just to try something different. I think if you always stay at really nice hostels, it shocks your system when you wind up at an average one, and since the USA is filled with average hostels I guess I figured it would be a way to ease myself into what would be my life a few weeks later. Knight House kind of felt like this bloke decided to get a bunch of second hand Soviet furniture and open a hostel in a really, really old building (I’m told 600 years old). It wasn’t remarkably organised – despite me having given an arrival time and e-mailed to confirm this as per their instructions, I spent half an hour waiting outside the hostel (there was a ‘be back in 15 minutes’ sign) and then another half hour waiting inside the hostel – some other guests who had dropped their luggage off earlier and been given a key to the building but not to their room arrived and let me in – before the guy who was running the place arrived. For 5.90 euro a night, breakfast was included, they did my laundry for free, there was wi-fi and a common computer and printer you could use free of charge, plus the location was really awesome. So, on the whole, it was an excellent value for money decision!
I only really had the one day in Tallinn at this point, I
arrived in the early evening so it was just enough time for a small wander of
the old town area and to head out to find dinner. I worked my free day around
the walking tour, before the tour exploring the upper old town a bit. It was
actually one of the better free walking tours I’ve been on in terms of content,
however we did have an enormous group. Yet the small blonde guide managed to
keep everyone wrangled together and shout loud enough that everyone could hear.
Tallinn is filled with tourists, it’s kind of unbelievable how many there were.
And not just tourists milling around taking photos, but tour groups with their
umbrella or stick with a feather held in the air so the group can follow them.
Our tour stuck to the old town area – both the upper old town and lower old
town. After the tour I went to what was supposed to be some really fascinating
Russian market but I don’t know if I didn’t find the right market or what, but
it really wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Feet aching I headed over toward
the harbour, wanting to figure out where I needed to be the next morning.
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| Old Town Market, Tallinn |
A few days earlier while I had been in Vilnius or Riga – I
can’t remember exactly how many days earlier – my old school friend Stephen who
travels a lot for work Facebooked me asking if, by chance, I might be in
Helsinki the next week. I had actually been tossing up between a few different
options - taking the ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki; spending a couple of days in Tartu (another
Estonian town); or there was a randomly presented opportunity to go to Russia (for
those of you who don’t know, is practically impossible. However you can get the
ferry from Helsinki or Tallinn to St Petersburg and receive a 72 hour transit
visa – this is pretty much the only way to go to Russia without going through
the arduous process of applying for a visa in advance.) However once this
friend from home presented the idea of us catching up in Helsinki, it was
pretty much a done deal. I hadn’t seen Stephen in about four years (so we
worked out, hard to believe but it’s true!) and seriously, how often do you get
the chance to catch up with a friend on the other side of the world?
Helsinki, Finland
So after two nights in Tallinn, I headed to the ferry (well,
one of many ferries, I’d booked with the cheapest one) and across the Baltic
Sea to Helsinki. The ferry ride itself was pretty uneventful but cool because I
haven’t really done the whole ferry transport thing, although there are a few
places in Europe where it is a great option, in particular from various points
in northern Europe to Scandanavia, and if you’re in southern Italy and wanting
to get across to Croatia.
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| Ferry at the harbour in Tallinn, Estonia |
I was a bit disoriented first arriving in Helsinki –
the hostel directions weren’t very elaborate (just to get the #1 tram; I’d
looked up the stop I’d need to get off at but not really noted down where
exactly it would depart from) but I discovered quite quickly that there are
some really lovely people in Helsinki. I was standing with my pack looking
around a bit cluelessly and an Asian lady working in a little souvenir kiosk
near the docks called me over and instructed me how to buy my ticket (from the
R kiosk around the corner) and where the tram stop was. The girl who I bought
the tram ticket from was really friendly and lovely, and then at the tram stop
itself, there was an older couple, probably in their late sixties. They were
the active type, like they had those walking poles, and when I was staring at
the tram timetable they spoke to me in Finnish. I said that I only spoke
English and I nearly fell over when she spoke back to me in perfect English.
I’m not used to older people in Europe speaking good English – generally if
they work in train stations or places like that, they know enough to
communicate about relevant things (ticket, platform, those sorts of words) but
not just random people on the street.
Things went slightly wrong when I stepped off the tram and
pulled my pack toward the hostel and the handle broke. I just blinked and
dragged it along holding the actual metal bar, and played around with it a bit
once inside. I wasn’t going to let a broken pack damper my spirit!
The hostel was okay – the hostel market in Helsinki isn’t
thriving and this one has recently opened, it’s a large hostel, Hostelling
International Style, but it was quite busy I suppose because there really isn’t
much choice in Helsinki and they’ve opened at the right time – now that the
Baltics are more approachable for tourists, it makes overnight or weekend trips
to Helsinki quite common in the backpacker game – just like it was for me, a
way to say ‘I’ve been to Scandinavia!’ and getting out before you spend too
much money. Pretty much immediately I met an Australian at the hostel (like, I
was checking in and asking the reception guy questions and he was useless and
uninformative and this Aussie who was hanging in the common area who had
already been there about a week piped up and helped me out with showing me how
the trams work and so forth.
I headed out to meet Stephen a few hours early, just taking
the time to wander around the city centre and docks area. I’ve been told before
that Helsinki doesn’t really have a ‘Scandanavian’ vibe, it’s what people refer
to as an ‘international’ city – cities like Helsinki, Tallinn, Berlin. It was
pretty and I do really like walking along docks – I don’t sail nor do I have
the urge to learn, but I like photos of boats and harbours. There were also
markets – typical tourist traps – and some cool churches/cathedrals/palaces/the
typical deal in Europe.
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| Helsinki, Finland |
I meet Stephen around 7:30pm, where the sun was so bright it
was like 3pm at home. I cannot explain how surreal it was. It was surreal
meeting up with Craig in his current home town, but that was planned. With
Stephen, the spontaneity made it extra special. We had a bottle of wine at this
alfresco courtyard type of bar, and then went for dinner and another wine and
then to the Aussie bar because clearly, we’re lame. Honestly it was just so
much fun to catch up with someone who I have such a history with – going back
to about 10 years of age – and in some ways nothing has changed but in other
ways, everything has changed. Incredibly surreal.
I was out pretty late and half the next day was pretty much
a write off but honestly, I feel like my Helsinki experience had already been
made. I did manage to drag myself out for some touristing about, just kind of
wandering aimlessly and getting the tram around to a few spots.
I was
attempting to find some sort of a cheap luggage store but I don’t think such a
place exists in Helsinki. The next day I headed on a ferry, not back to
Tallinn, but a short fifteen minute ferry to Semolina island, which houses the
remains of a famous old military fortress. It was pretty cool to see and there
were some really gorgeous views while wandering around as well. When I got the ferry back to Helsinki I stumbled across this
big parade. I have absolutely no idea what the parade was for, but I know it
was a lot of bright colours, cool costumes, fun music and overall really
entertaining.
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| Just one of many colourful picture from the unknown parade in Helsinki, Finland |
Tallinn, Estonia –
2.0
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| Freedom Monument, Tallinn, Estonia |
I woke up on my departure day in Helsinki to pouring rain,
and I feel like everything went down from there. At that point, my broken pack consisted of the
bars being stuck up, not able to push them back down, the handle itself only
attached to one of the two metal rods. By the time I man handled it in the rain
(not wanting to ‘be careful’ and go slow due to wanting to get out of the rain
and inside at the ferry terminal as early as possible!) I completely destroyed
the handle even further. When we docked in Tallinn I dragged it along to the
tram, more manhandling to get to my hostel.
I was really looking forward to my Monk’s Bunk experience,
because a few people I have met travelling have been to one (if not in Tallinn
then one of the others they’ve set up in the chain around the Baltics) and said
it was a great experience staying at the hostel. However evidently I wasn’t supposed to stay there
because apparently, the plumbing was broken. They didn’t attempt to contact me
prior to arrival to advise me, just waiting til I arrived and telling me they’d
reallocated me to their sister hostel, Tallinn Backpackers. Which was located on the other side
of town, near the harbour, where I’d just manhandled my pack from. It’s also a
notorious party hostel – not my vibe. I huffed about this, and the guy at reception
suggested he rings the hostel around the corner, because he thinks they’re more
chill. I heard ‘around the corner’ and nodded.
My ‘Euphoric’
Experience
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| Freedom Monument, Tallinn, Estonia |
I feel like I was meant to go to Hostel Euphoria – the stars
or fates or someone wanted me there! Hostel Euphoria is absolute proof that you
can take an average hostel with average facilities and turn it into an amazing
hostel simply by the staff being awesome and fun and stimulating a fun,
friendly environment. On the surface, there was little about Hostel Euphoria
that is superior to any other hostel I’ve been to – the kitchen was shabby and
didn’t have a toaster; the wi-fi connection wasn’t great, the furniture was a
bit worn, there was no breakfast. But these things didn’t matter.
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| Keira, the hostel cat |
Katie who checked me in was so lovely about my random arrival and made me feel at ease quickly even though I was feeling annoyed about the sudden need to change hostels. I met some really lovely people at the hostel, one of the loveliest being Liis who was working day shift the next two days but despite the fact that she was working, she hung around in the evening on my second night for a farewell party for one of the long term residents upstairs, and then the next night to go out for dinner with a group of us and then come back to the hostel and have a few drinks and hang out and watch the football. I also met a really cool chick from the San Fran Bay area who I wish I could’ve hung out with for longer but nonetheless, we have plans to catch up when I’m in her neck of the woods in August.
Other than the group activities outlined, other highlights
of Tallinn 2.0 included successfully navigating to a suburban mall and buying a
new item of luggage; and the most amazing food court type place at the closest
mall to my hostel – it was like a buffet where you have a zillion choices and
each item is priced. Every ‘carb’ you can imagine – different types of rice,
pasta, potatoes, fries, wedges, bread. Different types of fish, chicken, beef,
skewered kebabs. Chinese food, chilli, soups. Salads, fruit. Cakes, desserts.
So essentially, you design your ideal spread and only pay for what you want –
perfect for picky people like me who struggle in restaurants to find a whole
meal where I’ll eat everything. Can you tell I enjoyed this, I’ve talked about
it for almost a whole paragraph! On a dreadful rainy day, I went to a couple of
museums, including the Museum of Theatre and Puppetry, and a Soviet Museum.
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| Me and my Estonian friends at the Theatre musem |
Overall, both Tallinn and Helsinki were a continuation of me enjoying my time in Vilnius and Riga. Good company, good food and overall, parts of the world that embrace tourists without completely taking advantage of them or being jaded by their world being infiltrated. Chatting with the Estonian girls at Hotel Euphoria, Estonian people are happy to share their country – they’re happy that we’ve heard of their country and know where it is on a map! If you’re in a position to travel in the Baltics, do it now, I promise you won’t regret it!
Travelling isn't about the number of photos you take, the checklist of historical locations or sites you visit. It is about the people you meet, the conversations you have, the random experiences. I feel blessed that I was able to finish my time in 'mainland' Europe on a high, emerging from a positive experience, and in particular one that came unexpectedly. It is the random, unexpected fun experiences which often leave the greatest impression with you take away with you as being remarkably special.
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