Tallinn & Helsinki

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Time for our annual family holiday! ? ☀️ ✈️



As James' and Andrew's holidays coincided again in August, it was decided to go North. We aren't really a sunbathing type of family and sightseeing gets a bit much in 40'c heat so heading North seemed to be the sensible option. We decided on Tallinn after been lured by pictures of the gorgeous old town ? the proximity of Tallinn Airport and the good value. Once that had been decided it seemed rude not to head to Helsinki too as the two cities are only separated by a short (and cheap) ferry trip. ?



After doing the research and discovering how expensive Helsinki was ? ? it was decided to spend the bulk of the holiday in Estonia. We rented a 1-bed apartment through AirBnB for 6 nights for £464. James had a fold up bed in the lounge. The apartment was within walking distance of the old town, and trams, so seemed ideal. We opted for the Holiday Inn in Helsinki, situated in West Ruoholahti, it was the ideal budget choice compared to staying in the centre. There was a shopping centre and Metro 5mins walk away, along with the No 8 Tram. And as a bonus we had enough points from being an IHG member to book 2 rooms for 2 nights solely on points ☺️



The best flights were, as usual from the London Airports and given we have free train travel, it was booked from Heathrow to Tallinn and into Gatwick from Helsinki. The ferry to go between the two cities was less than £60 for the 3 of us and only took 2hrs 30mins. Though we did find out later we could have got a quicker one, but we had gotten a good deal so we weren't disappointed by this news ?



Since having fibromyalgia, I had struggled with travel sickness which was seemingly getting worse with every trip ? On the Wednesday I had a routine doctors appointment where she gave me some travel sickness pills called Cyclizine tablets ? to try, so fingers crossed.....??



In the week prior to the trip, we kept a close eye on the weather which sadly indicated we were in for lots of rain ? ☔️ I was still getting used to my insoles and haven't tried them in my winter boots yet but there was nothing left for it. Out went any thoughts of light bright summer clothes and in was jeans and winter boots. For some bizarre reasons I still had thoughts of it being warm so neglected to pack any jumpers etc....bad mistake! ?



Anyhow the start of the holiday began with a trip to Heathrow. We had stocked up on goodies the day before in Tesco so we were fully prepared for a whole day of travelling. Because the flight back landed in the evening, we couldn't chance the train from Alfreton so off we went to Derby. Parking was easy due to Andrew's work, so myself and James were dropped off at the station with the suitcases ready for Andrew to join us once he had packed the car. We had already arranged seat reservations so the first leg of the journey was straight forward. Once we got to St Pancras, we decided to splash out on a taxi to Paddington due to the suitcases. So quite swiftly and £14.40 later we arrived at Paddington. Unfortunately I had already got confused about James' train ticket. For some reason I thought it included the airports but no...doh! So a lengthy wait at the ticket office came before we could board the train for Heathrow. We had already decided against using the Heathrow Express because of the cost but thankfully the Heathrow Connect actually got us there in good time, without incident or cost. ? ?



Things were reasonably calm at the airport and our flight left on time ✈️ The flight despite being busy was uneventful and we landed at the expected time in Tallinn. We had pre-booked a taxi to take us to the apartment ? Unfortunately though the driver was quite grumpy and didn't speak any English, he certainly didn't seem to take kindly to my detour to collect the keys from the airport information desk but hey ho. Thankfully the roads were quite quiet and despite of the driver's fast driving we got to the apartment to one piece. Then came the confusion....the apartment number wasn't on the information for some reason. I thought apartment 6 was the place to go in an emergency so didn't check that one. Thankfully Andrew found a nice chap who told us that the key for the block also opens the particular flat too, and so after systematically checking to see which lock was worked by the key we found that it was flat 6! ?



That didn't do much for Andrew's mood though who turned into Mr Grumpy! ?



The apartment was quite spacious but we hadn't remembered that it was only a 1 bed roomed flat. But still we coped and once everything was packed away we settled in for the night, as with the 2hr time difference it was now after 10pm and we were all quite shattered ?



The next morning started with cereal for breakfast. Not knowing how far we were from amenities etc, it seemed sensible to be organised for the first morning at least. We then headed towards the Old Town. The Old Town is a World Heritage Site and was quite distinctive from the rest of the city. Of course this made it a tourist trap, so instantly we were swarmed with crowds, tourist souvenir shops and high prices. Andrew particularly took a liking to Faberge Eggs but thankfully common sense kicked in and he decided against increasing our credit card debts for one ? . James and I were quite taken by the hats but again the price of everything brought us straight back to Earth .? All of us couldn't resist the cute little tourist train that was doing the rounds ? So we paid the 16e and off we went.....of course it wasn't long before the pang of nausea hit ? Luckily I had the anti sickness pills in my bag and immediately tried to swallow one without any liquids...not good....so crunch instead which was very unpleasant ? .As the train stopped at the viewing platform I immediately went in search of liquid refreshments to get rid of the horrid taste in my mouth. So no picturesque views for me, just a bill for 2.50e for a small bottle of coke . It was pretty safe to say things have not gotten off to a good start but on the plus side it wasn't raining. We continued our walk around the Old Town when we hit upon the KGB Cells...a museum that was on our hit list. So in the basement of actually quite a gorgeous building lay a bleak reminder of the old regime. It wasn't very big, by museum standards but was interesting none the less. It was then time for lunch....and when you are tourists....you hit the hot tourist spot....the main square, which was littered with various eateries ? In typical James fashion we looked at half a dozen menus before settling on one. And of course in typical main square tradition...a very mediocre meal for a high price followed...would we ever learn?? ?



The afternoon consisted of more walking around. We found the Railway Station so we could look at timetables for a trip to Narva, which given the small number of trains running wasn't going to be possible afterall...so more thinking to be done on that score. We came across the Broken Line, a tribute to the poor people that had died in the Ferry disaster in 1994 and the Freedom Square. As it happened we were actually on the anniversary of the 2nd Independence, (the 1991 one) though there was little going on to actually commemorate this. Our walking actually led us to the Museum of Occupations. Again this was another one from our hit list, though by this point, I was feeling quite exhausted from all the walking so found a chair to collapse on. The museum however seemed to rely heavily on films, all of which were in close proximity so it was hard to concentrate on any of them. Our 13e ticket was valid all week though so maybe we would return ?



It was definitely time to call it a day. A quick trip to the supermarket and then it was back to the apartment. Almost within minutes of arriving back I went straight to sleep. An action which seemed to annoy the men of the house that were left in charge of sorting out dinner. James promptly killed the garlic bread and Andrew was in Mr Grumpy mode again. This of course had the effect of bickering throughout the evening....joyous! Really didn't have the energy for it and was left wondering if this was the end of my travelling days. ?



We started the Monday on a fresh note and headed to the local cafe for breakfast ? Andrew, of course opted for the English breakfast whilst I predictably opted for pancakes. There was lots of choice and the bill of less than 25e made us all happy! It had been decided the previous night that today was going to be much more gentle and because I had missed out on the viewing where the cathedral sat, that was going to be our first port of call ?. My condition meant I got tired quite easily so it made sense to do the climb to the top early in the day, so off we went. We had also learned the value of frequent coffee stops so I wasn't overdoing things. We spent quite a lot of time up there, the cathedral was beautiful and there were several good viewpoints to see the city from. Even the rain didn't dampen our spirits which thankfully wasn't too heavy. After the trek back down we decided to visit the town walls, there were places where for a small fee you could walk along. Once we were up on the walls, disaster struck.....I had a huge nosebleed ? which turned the walls into an episode of Game of Thrones! Not pleasant...and no sign of any facilities nearby ? By the time we had walked to the closest facilities, the Railway Station, I had been bleeding quite heavily for over half an hour and wasn't feeling so great. Thankfully it finally stopped once I had invaded the ladies toilets... so time for yet another coffee break and time to make a plan for the rest of the day ☕️ Since we were at the Railway Station, and of course on the 'to do' list, was a trip out, we decided sitting on a train for a while would be quite sensible given the circumstances ? I had read that there was a huge shopping centre at Ülemiste ? and thankfully there were plenty of trains to and fro. We got tickets from the conductor on board and 2.40e later we were valid and on the move. The trains were very comfy and modern and within 15mins we had arrived. Despite going to the shopping centre we weren't really in the mood for shopping so just lazed around eating ice cream?. Well we had experienced a train, so now it was time for some trams... ? A short walk and we were at the tram stop for heading back into town. Unfortunately there was no conductor on the tram, nor was there a ticket machine... so no tickets...doh! We later learned that we could have bought a ticket from the tram driver but just didn't realise this option existed. Most people have a travel card that can be bought from the local R Kiosks which we did later. But still its always nice to get a freebie occasionally... Anyhow it had been a heavy day, so back to the apartment for more pasta ? and Netflix. ?



The weather forecast for Tuesday was the worst all week, heavy rain all day and sadly the actual weather didn't disappoint the forecasters ☔️ but we were on holiday so on with the show. We decided on using the trams and going to see the Kadriorg Palace ? The tram from near our apartment went straight there and there was an R Kiosk at the stop to buy the tickets so all seemed ideal. First hitch...ticket buying, took forever, about 3 trams passed in the time it took to get tickets and then we had no clue what we had actually bought but we handed over the 15e regardless. Next was the long walk from the tram stop to the actual palace. On a warm sunny day it would have been lovely...views of gardens, lakes and fountains. However today was not such a day, it was wet and cold and we couldn't get there quick enough and the onsite coffee shop was definitely calling my name. The Palace itself was gorgeous, very colourful and grand. It houses an art collection now, with a side addition of pottery and sculpture and considering none of us were at all interested in any of the pieces we did manage to make the visit last a couple of hours, mainly due to rain and lightning/thunder avoidance. So what then?? The simple fact was we were bored, cold and wet ☹️ . We only really stayed out in defiance of 'we are on holiday' but the hours couldn't move quick enough. We stayed on the trams mostly in between coffee and cake stops before heading for the Old Town for a place for dinner. No, of course we haven't learnt...only except for the fact there was a high density of restaurants there and we weren't in any mood to go exploring. On route though we did come across the Torture Museum which of course is always good for a laugh before dinner ? . At 19e it was quite expensive by comparison with other museums, especially given the size but interesting none the less. Thereafter followed yet another expensive mediocre dinner......there was only one thing for it.....cocktails! ? Lounge 24 was supposed to boast wonderful views of the city and since we were already cold and wet....why not! Amazingly we weren't disappointed, the views were certainly to die for and the cocktails weren't bad either.



We had already decided that Wednesday and Thursday were the days to use the tourist bus ? . They did good value tickets for 48hrs which included two of the museums on our hit list. So off we went on one of the 3 lines and even managed to get a front seat. James decided to use the tour to catch up on his sleeping but we enjoyed it nonetheless and was very relieved that the anti sickness tablets were continuing to work well. When we arrived back at the Old Town, it was time for coffee and a sit down before heading back on the bus to go to the TV Tower. We did have some time to kill so decided on walking around the market until we spotted a little driverless bus, so of course there was only one thing for it, we had a little ride. The guy 'operating' it was very friendly and knowledgeable, the mile long journey back and forth was lovely. We got back just in time to get the 1400hrs departure to the TV Tower. The TV Tower was situated quite a way out so the tourist bus was ideal. The building itself was super, no queues or over the top security either so straight up we went. The views were certainly something else and it was lovely and relaxed. It amazingly wasn't crowded and there was even a friendly alien to 'talk' to. A very enjoyable afternoon ❤️. Unfortunately the last bus back was the 1608 so off we went. We landed just before the end of the market but sadly most of the stalls had already gone home and everything else was overpriced. So it was then dinner time....we had finally learnt and opted for somewhere away from the Old Town and all looked very promising until the lamb came out rare...but hey ho we made up for it by having pancakes for dessert at our local cafe. So in all not a bad day.



Sadly Thursday didn't get off to such a good start. I had had an awful night with hardly any sleep due to being in pain so was quite groggy and probably grumpy ? . We had already decided to go for a buffet breakfast at the nearby shopping centre so I had hoped that breakfast would help things somewhat, it didn't unfortunately but on with the show. So off on the tourist bus to the Seaplane Museum ⚓️ . I was so tired I really couldn't be bothered. For me the highlight was the coffee shop ☕️ and even then there were lots of noisy brats running around .? . Andrew and James seem to enjoy it anyhow but I was quite relieved to get back onto the bus. Once back in the Old Town I had more or less decided to leave them to it and go back to the apartment for a lie down. James, however decided he wanted to go to the Healthcare Museum ? . The Healthcare Museum was a bit of a sore point as it was only one I had personally chosen to do whilst we were going through the list of activities, only to be heckled by Andrew so I quickly boycotted that plan ? . Now James wanted to go, so I could hardly not do it, so off we went. Thankfully to my relief, it was quite interesting with lots of interactive stuff but now it was definitely time to go back. I was totally shattered and I knew we had lots of packing etc before check out in the morning. There was only one thing for it.....taxi! ? Of course being from the Old Town...expensive but worth every Euro. The boys took care of tea and we even had garlic bread! ☺️



The next day we were heading to Helsinki so the morning consisted of packing and getting the apartment cleaned before our taxi at 1030am, which had been very kindly organised by our host. In the midst of all that we had remembered reading something about getting a refund on our tram travelcard so Andrew went to investigate and sure enough 2e for each of the 3 cards refunded so no complaints there ☺️. The taxi was only 5e to the ferry terminal, a much longer trip than the one the previous day so again smiles all round ? . The check in was straight forward and soon we were aboard heading for Helsinki. We found a nice quiet table and had a nice relaxing trip across. Again the anti sickness pills were wonderful....no ill effects at all. The original plan was to get a taxi to our hotel in Helsinki but seeing the tram stop was right outside the terminal we decided to give the trams a whirl. I had done quite extensive research about the trams as that apparently was the 'way' to get around Helsinki. The maps weren't very clear but I downloaded all the stop information from the tram website so what could possibly go wrong?? Despite only one ticket machine at the stop we managed to get our 48hr tickets so we were valid until departure and soon we were aboard a tram ?. Despite my stop information being in 'English' and every stop having 2 place names we somehow managed to get to the hotel. Of course it was raining by this point but we hadn't any plans except to relax so all was well. Of course things were going to well, Andrew discovered a huge hole in my jeans. I certainly hadn't noticed when putting them on earlier but of course it was my last pair of the holiday ? . The rain was getting heavier and I was quite tired from the trip but shopping seemed to be a must. Andrew trying to be helpful googled the nearest charity shop.....arggghhhhhh.......clueless ? Thankfully there was a shopping centre at the next metro shop along and we amazingly found a pair of affordable jeans that fitted, not a easy quest by any means but we did it! I was actually quite disheartened by it all by this point, the weather was horrid ☔️ I was totally shattered and i just wanted to go home but hey ho the show must go on.. Not wanting to do anything dinner consisted of 3 burgers locally with came with an eyewatering bill of over 50e ? These 48hrs were certainly going to hit the pocket thats for sure. The only consolation being that the hotel was very comfy, though we did have to request an extra heater as I couldn't warm up after our shopping trip.



The next morning we all overslept but it actually did me the world of good as I was feeling more human and positive thankfully. The weather had improved and we only had a few minor showers to contend with. Breakfast at the hotel was only to cost in the region of 60e for 3 ? of us so we opted to try out a local cafe where we feasted on local pastries instead. Now we only had one full day in Helsinki so we had to be organised! We had decided against the tourist bus due to a) the cost and b) experience told us they finish too early so armed with the tram information ? we decided to tick off all the must see sights that were indicated on their tourist information leaflet. So off we went.....first stop the Rock Church, amazing place. Very busy but worth the change in euros to get inside. Outside there was a couple of souvenir shops so we could get the obligatory fridge magnet. James had his eye on some fancy wallets but at 80e that was a non starter sadly. We then ticked off the Swedish theatre and Cathedrals in quick succession before we were at the market square checked out the ferries to Summonolina ⛴ Luckily we managed to get on the next ferry so off we went. It only took about 30mins before we were at the old fortress of Summonolina. ( Andrew got chatted up by a local guide who was on the ferry chasing her tourists from Sweden who hadn't put their clocks forward an hour!) Unfortunately the weather turned horrid again ☔️ so it was a quick dash in the fortress before back inside for coffee ☕️ and a new hat for James ?. . So it was off on the next ferry back to Helsinki ⛴ . Luckily it had dried off again by the time we hit Helsinki and I spied a crepe stand so that was a must. Despite being the most expensive crepes we had ever had, it was actually a nice treat and rather yummy ? . Next stop - the Skywheel which was just over the other side of the harbour. Again no queues so we got on rather quickly and had 4 relaxing spins around, taking in the views of Helsinki ?

Then it was off to the Railway Station so Andrew could see what the trains were like in Finland..? The first train that arrived at this fabulous award winning terminus station was a railbus railtour! ? A 4 car heritage DMU with staff in heritage uniforms and all looking very smart. Not full by any means the occupants mostly evaporated into the busy concourse without even a glance back at their vintage mode of transport, (very strange...) Just a couple took pictures and then left while the staff busied themselves with getting the train ready for departing empty stock. Andrew and one other 'crank' was left to record the trains departure which it did unspectacularly. The other trains in the station were all modern as modern as could be, all electric and pretty much the same sort of thing you will find in most developed countries, according to Andrew. After the obligatory picture taking we were ready to head off again and onto another adventure on the trams of Helsinki.



Now all that was left was Parliament House and The Sibelius Monument. Since the weather was looking dodgy, we decided to admire Parliament from the inside of a tram ? . Since the place was covered by evidence of great works going on, it was probably the safest bet anyhow. The idea was to take that tram to the end of the line and see the monument on the way back. As it happened we elected to get off as the tram was going to go around a loop instead of heading to the end of the line but right outside a pizza / kebab restaurant so... what the hell....dinner was calling. The owner didn't speak a word of English and the menu was in Finnish too. James was determined to get his cheese free pizza so was frantically googling translations and was very pleased with himself when he appeared to have the Finnish translation for his custom made pizza ? . Andrew and I were totally clueless and basically ordered the first chicken thing we could find. Unsurprisingly, James' pizza was not to his specification but we loved ours..... in fact it was the best meal we had had all week and the bill of 33e euros was an excellent surprise ? . So it was off to find the monument. It was a bit of a walk to it but well worth it....it was certainly unique and very popular. It had, unfortunately though finished me off in the fatigue dept so it was back to the hotel for an early night.



The flight home wasn't until late that afternoon so we had a very chilled out morning at the hotel. We stocked up on supplies for the trip home and leisurely packed before heading on the metro to central station for the train to the airport. Despite there being plenty of trains, ours was quite packed but thankfully we got a seat. 30mins later we were at the airport and breezed through checkin and security, then it was playing the waiting game. Helsinki is a huge airport and very busy, luckily we found some comfy seats near our gate to kill the hours wait. The flight was pretty standard and we landed at Gatwick right on time. Amazingly I was the first off the place and we made it through passports very quickly. So quickly in fact we had about a 20min wait for the luggage to catch us up which meant that we just missed the very last 319 on the Thameslink services quite by accident(!) but we still made the train ok at St Pancras and by 11pm we were tucked up at home in our beds. Jemima was very pleased to see us...so pleased we hardly got any sleep due to her cuddle demands?

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