Adventure 7: Helsinki and Tallinn

Well after our quick update about the weather being great in Helsinki, it proceeded to rain and rain. We headed inside and found a great goth shop in Helsinki and I bought a really cute polka dot skirt. Our last night was spent dodging the rain drops to find Seahorse, a traditional Finnish restaurant famous for its salmon soup, meatballs and cabbage. As usual, we grossly over-ordered getting a main and an entree to start with two big main meals to follow. It was all really tasty especially the salmon soup with potatoes. Emma suffered the whole way home from her gluttony.

Being in Finland in the middle of summer is a really bizarre feeling. The sun doesn't set until 11:30pm and then rises again at about 3am so you aren't really tired when you go to bed, even though your body is exhausted, and then you're up again at 5am because it's like midday outside. We still haven't really adjusted, but it's great for sightseeing, I think we've been packing two days worth into every one.

The ferry across to Tallinn was super quick and our passports were not even checked. I was disappointed not to get an Estonia stamp in my passport, so am hoping for one at the Latvian border.

Tallinn is possibly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. So many tourists though - it's especially popular with Finns as the booze is much, much cheaper here. We were lucky enough to have some crazy Finnish hillbillies in the room down the hall from us who drank all day and night and then vomited allllllll over the bathroom :(. They were a bit freaky, but we had some nice Swiss people in our room, so it wasn't too bad.

Tallinn is a lot more expensive than I had imagined, but we're still doing pretty well for money considering we have been eating pretty well here. Today we hit the jackpot with a place that served HUGE pancakes with all types of fillings that were only 55EEK ($6 AU). Tonight we are splashing out on a medieval restaurant which specialises in boar and bear. I am daring Emma to try the bear, but it is TOO expensive, so we will probably have to miss out.

Highlight of Tallinn was definitely the Dominican Monastery which was built in 1242 and nearly all of it is still standing. It's just like In The Name of the Rose, that Sean Connery movie. Sooo cool, and you can walk all around inside and climb up and down the crazily steep stone spiral staircases. We've got lots of photos but cannot load on this computer. Will really have to try to find one with a USB port in Riga so we can put some up.


Off to Pärnu tomorrow to visit the beach. Pity it is 14 degrees and rainy! We will go to the weird Estonian indoor water park instead. There are also mud baths and some cute pubs, so we'll be putting on even more weight.

Belarus looks like it might be back on the agenda as we've found out that it is supposedly quite easy to get a visa from Lithuania. Will keep you updated on how we go with that one.

And lastly, if you're reading this, please comment! We are sick of talking amongst ourselves :)