Blogs from Tallinn, Estonia, Europe - page 26

Matkamme alkoi aikaisin Wappuaamuna... siis, kun muut kokosivat voimiaan mennäkseen Ullanlinnalle tai Wappusillikselle tms. Me siis suuntasimme Polomme (JEU-329) kohti Länsisatamaa ja Tallink Starille. Koti oli vuokrattu Dimitrille ja Olgalle... Hannin tarkastama juttu, että ovat ihan OK!!! ... siis toivotaan, että KOTI on kunnossa, kun palailemme. Niin... emme muuten pääse kotiin ennen syyskuun ekaa, sillä Dimitri ja Olga aikovat asua siellä vielä koko elokuun. Me hyyryilemme Dobu-paralla... Niin, lauttamatka sujui ihan loistavasti. Aloitimme muuten jokin aika sitten Anttiheikkilän mukaisen proteiinidietin ja nytkin aamulla massut olivat täynnä munakasta ja muistaakseni pekonia... niin ei tarvinnut turvautua Tallinkin sapuskoihin. Muuten aika hieno lautta... siinä on aluksen edessä valtava ikkuna, josta näkee menosuuntaan. Istuimen on kuin amfiteatterissa.. menkää kokeileen :))) Tal... read more

From Sweden I hoped on a ferry to Tallinn the Capital of Estonia to begin my journey through Eastern Europe. First off I have to say that the ferry had to be one of the weirdest experiences so far. The trip is sold as a cruise for families, but the main reason people go on it is for the duty free because things are so expensive in Sweden and Norway. Once the boat set off the line started out the door to and you could see people coming out with as much tobacco and alcohol they could carry. Then there was the entertainment lets just say it was like being in a lounge at Circus Circus in Reno ( yes, that good). Tallinn is a beautiful little city which you can tell is beginning to boom, ... read more

What started as a day-dream at work, became a crazy reality last week. I started my trip with a visit to Dublin with some of my friends from Prague. A girl we met during our teaching course lives there now, so we stayed with her for a couple nights. Then I took my one-way flight to Finland! It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as I was landing in Tampere, I realized that having nothing planned was going to be more stressful than I thought. I knew that I had 6 days to get from Tampere, Finland back to Prague. I spent some time in Tampere before taking the train down to Helsinki for the night. I should probably begin by saying that it was freezing there. What did I expect? I'm not ... read more

March 2005 The jewel of the Baltic is probably Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn - it’s got a combination of the sights, history and that general party spirit. Whilst it’s possible to start feeling this Old Town fatigue in this part of the Baltic, Tallinn’s is possibly the pick of the bunch. It might not be as big as the Vilnius version, but it has that dramatic visual impact not found elsewhere. The most striking feature is the defensive wall, a large part of which is still complete dating from the 1500s and is capped by 18 of the original towers with the red roofs that you’ll see in all the glossy brochures. You can see instantly why the cruise ships all pile into port in the summer months. Estonia gives off that orderly feel from the ... read more

Tere. Greetings from Estonia. Two days ago we boarded a train in Russia and seven hours later we arrived in Scandinavia. Estonia, whilst a neighbour of Russia's, is closer in culture and style to her Scandinavian cousins. Finland is only 48 nautical miles to the north whilst Sweden is a six-hour ferry trip to the west. Estonians are Lutherans - no gilded, ornate, coloured decoration in the churches here. Not that many of the locals practice their religion. That was beaten out of them by fifty years or so of Soviet occupation (with an occupational interlude by Nazi Germany), prior to which there was a period of approximately twenty years of independence, before which Imperial Germans were in charge, before that the Russians again, then the Swedes, the Germans again, the Danes... you get the idea. ... read more