A Day Trip from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia

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Day 21 - Sunday, June 21, 2009 - A Day Trip from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia
We were happy to see some of our Elderhostel tour members at the buffet breakfast at the hotel this morning. Everyone but us will be flying away later today. Our flight isn't until Monday so we have one extra day in Helsinki. Since the entire city is virtually closed for the Mid-summer holiday we have decided to take the fast boat to Tallinn, Estonia.
The young men working on the main desk of our hotel have been very helpul and we have enjoyed the hotel, the Scandic Hotel Simonkentta which is located in the heart of downtown Helsinki. However, when we tried to book another night thru the travel agency that Elderhostel had used they told us it was $220 per night and when Gene checked the internet it was the same. (So we didn't stay there Sunday night but that's a whole other story. See details at the end of this day.) The Simonkentta is walking distance to the harbor and train station and to department stores, restaurants and museums. Yesterday the desk clerks helped us book our boat reservations on the internet. I had even had the wild idea about trying to go to St. Peterburg but they told me it's too far for a day trip and we would need a visa. One of the clerks even printed out a map of Tallin for us and gave us advice which way to walk after leaving the dock and a weather forcast!
After a delicious breakfast and another farewell to our travel companions of the last 3 weeks we set off on foot for the harbor. We feel quite at home here in Helsinki strolling back and forth on its city streets gazing at he closed department stores and restaurants, walking thru the park along the Esplande admiring the flowers and fountains. Since it's early on a holiday Sunday morning the city is practically deserted. In less than 30 minutes we are at the boat dock for the Linda Line standing in line to check in for our 10:00 am sail to Tallinn. Our boat is a catamarran hydrofoil, and takes passengers and luggage up to 45 lbs each but no cars. It is the fastest way to get to Tallinn - only 90 minutes. (Our round trip fare for two came to $171.00. However, it normally would be a little less because we had to take the VIP class coming back on Sunday night because the economy class was full. The VIP class is upstairs which was a bit less congested and included a free sandwich and drink.) In the morning we sat in comfortable padded seats at a table with food service and since we had already eaten breakfast we didn't order anything. There were large glass windows to gaze out of although not much to see after we left the port. You could walk outside only at the stern which is where I stood when we pulled away from Helsinki and then passed one of the large car ferries which had just arrived from Stockholm.
Upon arrival at Tallinn we could see a contemporary city in one direction and a medieval looking stone tower and section of a wall in another. We headed uphill towards the medieval town about a 15 minute walk. Tallinn is said to have the best preserved medieval wall and buildings in all of the nordic countries. You can still see much of the medieval city wall and there are 26 watchtoweres, each with a peaked red roof. Tallinn has a fascinating history. It's very difficult to keep straight and I got confused just reading it in one of the guidebooks. Here, more or less, is what the guidebook said: "It belonged to Denmark in the 13th century and then the Danes sold Tallinn to Germany which lost it to the Swedes, who lost it to the Russians until it won independence in 1991!" Whew! It was ruled for over 200 years by Czarist Russia and 45 years by the Soviet Union. So you do see a few crumbling ugly Soviet style buildings here and there. It is a port for cruise ships; we saw only one ship, a Princess ship, moored in the harbor. And we did see a few small groups having a tour but they soon vanished.
The old town actually consists of two towns separated by a wall. The upper town - on top of the hill was the seat of the government rulling Estonia. The lower town was an Hanseatic trading center filled with German, Danish and Swedish merchants. ( In 1285 Tallinn was the northern most city in the Hanseatic League - which was a mercantile and military alliance of German dominated countries.) Tallinn was at the crossroads of trade between Western and Northern Europe and Russia. Two steep, narrow streets connect the two towns. And you have to be in good shape to hike up to the upper town But it really isn't necessary because the lower town is much more interesting and is where most of the shops and restaurants and historical buildings are located.
We entered the lower town ( which is still up a hill from the port) by walking thru an arch in the stone wall guarded by a tall stone guard tower with a red conical roof. And, indeed, when we walked thru the arched entrance gate at Fat Margaret Tower and looked up the street we felt as though we had stepped back in time! Either that or we had somehow become part of a colorful illustration in a book of fairy tales! The streets were cobble stoned, the sidewalks very narrow, and the narrow pastel colored buildings were built right at the edge of the sidewalk.
Walking thru this entrance puts you on Pikk Street the main street of the medieval merchants. The street is lined with interesting buildings some were merchant's warehouses or private residences. We passed St. Olav's Church which has a very tall steeple, once the tallest in in the world according to some sources. We passed the ministry of police which was once the sinister local KGB headquarters and further up the street is the Black Heads Society dating back to 1440. Nearby is the Church of the Holy Ghost with its beautiful outdoor clock on the side wall from 1633. The 14th century church still has its medieval design. We didn't go inside. From the church, you can walk on the tiny Saiakang Lane (which means "White Bread" - bread, cakes, and pies have been sold here since medieval times.) This narrow street and some others lead to the surprisingly large Town Hall Square which has been a market place for hundreds of years. It didn't seem to have any markets the day we were there (a Sunday) but there are a wide variety of restaurants all around the square with outdoor tables. People were sitting drinking beer and eating lunch and enjoying sitting in the sunshine. The 15th century Town Hall located on the square is now a museum but we didn't go in because we were busy looking for a restaurant for lunch.
We finally settled for a restaurant away from the square down a narrow side street. I had seafood pasta with a red sauce and a glass of red wine and Gene had spagetti bolognese and a lager . After our late lunch we walked around some more a bought a few small souvenirs. And then we started the downhill walk to the boat dock. We had return tickets for the 7pm boat but had to be there no later than 6:30pm. We got to the inside waiting area around 6pm and it slowly began filling up until we wondered if the boat would hold all the people. And many of them had the rolling suitcases. People were returning to Helsinki from their 3 day holiday. Since we had the VIP tickets we went upstairs where it wasn't quite so crowded and sat again at a table with padded seats with tall backs. We sat across from a young oriental couple who were speaking in English. They lived in Ireland! Awhile after we left Tallinn, an attendant came by to take our orders for a snack. I had a mozzarella and tomato sandwich on a roll with a diet coke and Gene had a turkey sandwich on a roll with a coke. That was our weddomg anniversary dinner! But we really considered our day in Tallinn and our lunch as our celebration!
When we returned to the dock in Helsinki we practically ran to the hotel to pick up our lugguage they were holding for us and then pulling one large and one carry on bag each we headed out of the hotel and down the hill for the couple of blocks to the train station. The bus taking us to our new hotel near the airport was scheduled to leave at 21:08 hrs (9:08pm) at platform #12 on the left side of the train station according to our hotel desk clerk.
It was 9pm before we even got to the main street in front of the train station. We hurriedly pulled our luggage across the cobble stones as the light turned red, bumping over the street car tracks, and ran to the left side of the station. We saw buses toward the back but not at #12. Then we saw a sign for platforms including #12 inside the station but that turned out to be for trains! So we went thru the station to the other side and saw more buses. We had to carry our suitcases up a flight of cement stairs. We finally got to the road and saw our bus go by! It was about 9:10pm by that point! We looked back down the road and saw a glassed in bus stop #12 down a block. We walked there and read the schedule printed there and found there was another bus at 22:00 hrs. Thank goodness! So we would only have to wait 50 minutes and there was even a bench to sit on! Better that taking a taxi and paying $50.
We finally realized that we were on the left side of the station but when we arrived our left was really the right side! In the meantime, Gene started talking to a young man who had walked up and fortunatley for us he was going to be getting off at our stop which was at the end of the line. We had reservations at the Bonus Inn at $120 per night and it was only minutes from the airport and they had a free shuttle! The young man, a waiter just getting off of work, lived in an apartment near the Bonus Inn even helped us get our lugguage on the bus. We had about a 35 minute ride through the city and then the suburbs and the newer apartment areas. Finally we came to the turn off for the airport and then for the Jumbo Shopping Center which is actually a mall, and ours was the next stop! We saw the Bonus Inn, a tall gray glass modern looking hotel. The young man helped us get the luggage off and even asked if he could help us take it to the hotel! We thanked him profusely and said we could manage from there.
I was hoping that they hadn't given our room to someone else since it was so late. But the young woman at the desk, who spoke very good English, assured us we were still expected. She put us down for the 05:00am shuttle and put in a wake-up call for 04:15am. We looked out the window about 10:50pm and I could see the sun setting on this longest day of the year. And what a day it had been! As I close my eyes to fall asleep, I see gardens and statues, fairy tale streets with medieval walls and towers topped with red peaked roofs, boats and buses, and suitcases bumping over cobble stones. Slowly, it is fading into a blur as I sink down into sleep. But I know it is a day we will always remember! We bid you good night from Helsinki. Phyllis and Gene

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