While we were sat on the ferry to the Finnish mainland, we booked our crossing from Helsinki to Tallinn. The drive towards the capital was very scenic, crossing over man made roads on small stretches of water or using the chain ferry.
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The chain ferries were easy to use. on the blue sign, the green light lights up to show
you which lane you need to drive in to. They were all free to use. |
When we docked we headed for 'Best Caravans' at Hyvinkaa, just north of Helsinki. We had read about this place on the 'Vantastic' site. It's the Finnish couples favourite place to stay. It's not the best looking but you can stay for free. Free electric, free use of their washing machine and tumble drier, free fresh water and waste disposal AND, if that isn't enough, if you buy something from their shop (we bought some blue stuff for the loo and a couple of other bits we needed), you get a loyalty card which enables you to use their sauna, also free of charge. What's not to love!!!
From there we headed for the capital and found a great parking spot on one of the islands. It was an easy walk through the forest, past the zoo and the Go-Ape type attraction, over the foot bridge and into the town.
It wasn’t the posh end but we didn’t feel unsafe. There was a lot of building work going on so I can only assume they were updating a run down part of Helsinki.
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| Reminds me of the airfix models we used to do as children |
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| There was a lot of street art. this guy was teaching a young boy how to paint. |
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| Random chairs screwed to the floor |
The following morning we caught the No.16 bus from the nearby zoo into the centre and what a difference. Green parks, wonderful architecture and designer shops not to mention talented buskers and flower pots bursting with colour.
We visited 3 different churches. The Russian Orthodox, the Helsinki Cathedral and the church carved out of rock.
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| The Russian Orthodox Church looked even more fancy on the inside |
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| The Cathedral looked amazing on the outside but was so plain on the inside |
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| The church built into the rock looked nothing from the outside but it definitely had the wow factor when you went inside! |
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| The ceiling was made out of 23km of woven copper strips |
We did a few of the “must see’s” according to Culture Trip, including the railway station and the Moomin shop.
I saw my first, yes first Moose!! Ok it was made out of brass but it’s the first one in the whole of Scandinavia we’ve seen.
We were too late for the walking tour so got a self guided booklet from the information bureau in the market square and had a wander round ourselves.
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| The Presidential Palace |
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| The old indoor fish market |
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| Really? Baby Octopus??? |
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| We saw lots of young people dressed like this in different coloured trousers/boiler suits |
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| I let Andy have cake because he had manflu. He shouldn't have it as he's diabetic |
Helsinki is a really lovely place, small enough to walk round with a good public transport system.
Sailing day arrived, we drove the 5 miles from where we stayed on the Island to where the Viking Line boat lands. It took us 30 minutes to get to the dock gate C. We followed the signs to ‘check in’ and gave the man the booking reference number and ID (we used our passports). He told us which lane to drive in to and we waited to board the boat. After driving on, we went upstairs to the sun deck and said our farewell to Scandinavia. It’s a big boat with a duty free shop, cafe, and a bar with live entertainment. The sea was calm and two and a half hours later we docked in Tallinn.
On the way to our camping spot just east of Tallinn, we spotted a huge monument at the side of the road. After we parked up we walked back to have a look what it was. Turns out it was a brand new, very moving, memorial to all the Estonian people who were victims of communism. We saw an old lady clinging to (what looked like) her grandson reading the placards and people using a computer database to find the names of family members. The information was written in 3 languages including English and reading it all bought a lump to my throat. They only gained their independence in 1991 and the suffering they had to endure before that was nothing short of genocide. It wasn’t what we expected on our first day in Estonia but I’m glad we got to see it and read about how resilient the people have been, considering a fifth of the population perished.
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| People had placed flowers and lanterns under the names of loved ones |
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| The computer database |
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| So sad |
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| There were, what looked like, bullet holes in the wall |
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| Each one had a face behind it |
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| Andy ignoring the sign *tuts* |
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| The old memorial |
The following day we drove to Haapsalu after doing some shopping in a really well stocked supermarket called Selver. I really don’t get why everyone bangs on about Lidl when there are so many other options? Is it just me?
Anyway, we chilled out in the afternoon, I was feeling better but poor Andy still had manflu. We did eat tea out though in a lovely little place in the middle of the town. Andy had his first steak in weeks, no months, and there were quite a lot of orgasmic noises coming from his side of the table. Both meals were delicious.
The website, Visit Estonia, said ... Haapsalu is a wonderful little town with narrow streets, a miniature town hall and romantic wooden dwelling houses. It enjoys a long standing history as a spa resort. Once a popular summer holiday destination for the Russian aristocracy ... It is a wonderful little town with lots of cafes and restaurants without the extortionate prices. We loved wandering around.
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| A lovely long esplanade to walk along |
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| It's not often you see a polar bear in the sea! |
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| The free concert, good tunes too |
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| Lots of colourful wooden buildings |
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| One of the bird towers |
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| Check out our camping spot for the night |
We even filled up our LPG gas tanks as they were nearly empty at a grand total of £13.50 for 21 litres. I think we are going to fall in love with Estonia.
Harriets Hints: We visited the tourist information in Haapsalu and they had a really good map of Estonia free of charge. Lots of information about the 'must see' places and in English too.
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