Winter Break: Estonia & Finland

Last night I got home from almost 12 hours of traveling from Finland.  By "home" I of course mean Germany, and by "Finland" I mean... well, Finland.  The first week of my Christmas break was spent celebrating the holiday with friends and then lounging around my apartment in my new footie-pajamas (thanks mom!)  Last Friday, however, I finally mustered up the energy to get my butt out of bed and do something.  That something happened to be taking a train to Bremen with my friend Erika.

We had a plane to catch in the morning to Estonia and being that was are but poor Fulbrighters we decided seeing some sights and then sleeping in the airport was the best solution after our supposed CouchSurfing host didn't call us.

Bremen main square

Erika at the main square

Bremen town musicians

A Glockenspiel with bells that didn't actually move. I think the music was a recording.

People staring at the Glockenspiel.

Asian food and Thai beer

Bedtime beer at the airport.  And look! We definitely weren't the only ones overnighting it!

So the next morning we awoke (more like never fell asleep) at 4:30am thanks to some very loud, possibly drunk people whom I want to call Spaniards, but I don't actually know what nationality they were.  We freshened up as much as possible and went to the RyanAir terminal to go through security.  We were both pleasantly surprised that our huge packs passed as carry on and then the waiting game started. We were both exhausted and trying not to fall asleep as we waited to board the plane.  Once on we both promptly passed out for the 2 hour flight.

We landed in Tallinn, Estonia and followed the directions we had to the hostel.  After being a confused and a tad lost, we finally located where we had to go.  The girl at the front desk said we were a little too early to check in, but she let us leave our bags at the reception and she gave us some maps.  We wandered around the old town for a bit, bought some Scandinavian sweaters (pretty much goal #1 for our stop over in Tallinn) and got some dinner.

Freedom Square. Conveniently located across the street from our hostel.

hehehehe... am I the only one who finds that hilarious?

That one makes me giggle too. 

Grandmas selling sweaters by the old wall. Just where we were told they would be!

The reindeer you could pet were disturbingly near to the stands selling food with reindeer meat.

We got back to the hostel in the early evening and napped for a good 4 hours.  The reason for that was that it also happened to be New Years Eve!  The common room of the hostel was a pretty bumpin' place anyway, so we figured it would be a good starting point to the evening.  After readying ourselves we had some drinks and made some new friends (mostly Germans strangely enough).  Around 11:45pm we all made our way to the aforementioned Freedom Square to watch the fireworks.  It was a bit confusing though, because there was no count down to midnight.  Instead we noticed at one point that there were a lot of fireworks going off and checked the time, "Oh... its 12:03 already."

New hostel friends.

Happy New Year!

Snowy streets on the way to Estonian karaoke.

The evening was capped with karaoke (mostly in Estonian and Russian) and a not too late night out.  The next day we used most things being closed as an excuse to sleep in.  When we finally rolled out of bed around 2 the sun was pretty much on its way to setting.  We first went to the tourist info office to book our ferry to Helsinki for the next day and then took a stroll around the upper part of the old town.

Maybe we hadn't noticed it before, but we definitely were very aware of the copious amounts of Russian tourists that day.  You can usually tell who they are because they wear LOTS of fur, don't usually pay attention to where they are walking, pose for picture seductively against walls and just assume you speak Russian too.  When taken individually, each component seems a bit funny... but together: uggggg.

seductive-Russian-tree-pose

normal-Chelsea-pose

Because of the heavy Russian influence, the Christmas market is left up until January.

The snow really added to the charm.

We had read at the tourist info office about a "sword fight" that was happening at the restaurant Peppersack that night.  We were intrigued.  Reservations were made and we had a good (but expensive) dinner in a medieval themed restaurant.  I had been naive in thinking that "sword fight" meant a real sword fight. You know... with swords.  It wasn't.  That might have also been because the whole medieval theme of the restaurant was a little off.  Sure the decor was pretty medieval, but I'm pretty sure they played Enya at least once and the wait staff were definitely wearing more 1600s style clothing.  There were also no swords involved, but instead fencing foils. FAIL.

On the way back to the hostel we noticed a little cellar that we had read about on our map.  We went in to check it out and low and behold... a REAL medieval themed restaurant.  It was tiny, cramped, lit with candles and run by a tough looking woman in authentic period appropriate clothing! Also, elk soup was only a euro!

Elk soup only 1euro!

The next morning we packed and went to a place called Kompressor for what we were told were "HUUUGE pancakes."  They weren't.  Well, at least not in the American sense.  They were more like crepes, in either sweet or savory, and they were delicious and cheap.  Erika and I definitely both recommend going there if you're ever in Tallinn!  We then grabbed our packs and trudged to the ferry dock.  Our ship, the Baltic Princess, was waiting for us and after doing a lap or two of the decks we settled in a lounge sort of area.  Most people curled up to sleep and some enjoyed some cocktails.  After the ship started to move and the band began playing annoying swing/jazzy covers with thick Estonian accents we peaced out and moved to another part of the boat.  We then found ourselves in the karaoke lounge.  After about 2 hours of Finnish karaoke the motion of the ocean started to get to me and I had to lay down for fear of being sick.

Goodbye Tallinn.

I'm still confused as to why most of the karaoke songs seemed to have an undertone of Soviet to them.

The next thing I knew we were in Helsinki!  It was 4:30pm and dark and snowing.  Perfect introduction to the true Scandinavia.

That night the Graz reunions began when my friend Jaakko picked us up from the train station.  He, Erika and I went to get coffee while we waited for our other friend Susi's plane to land from Germany.  It took a bit longer than expect as the luggage trolley was stuck in the snow for a while.  But eventually we did meet her and we all went to go get some dinner.  Unfortunately that was the only time I saw Jaakko while I was there, but it was very nice!  

We figured out the trains and train tickets and rode about 25 minutes to the outskirts of Helsinki to where we would be staying with my friends Mave and Ulle, who actually met in Graz.  They were amazing hosts the whole week, especially considering they were both sick when we got there.  We really owe them a lot! That night was spent catching up a bit and talking about Graz some.  We eventually passed out and slept until late the next morning when we went to meet Anni.  She lives in a city a bit north called Jyväskylä and came to Helsinki in the afternoon.  We went into the city and walked around with her doing a bit of sightseeing.

Yes, it was 3:36pm and it was pretty much dark with the moon out.

Anni and I 

obligatory-Russian-wall-pose

That night we had dinner at a cute little cafe/restaurant that looked like it could have been right at home in Brooklyn.  We slowly made our way back to Mave and Ulle's house for a relaxing evening of watching X-Factor and chatting.  

The next day we woke up earlier than before and made our way to the Helsinki harbor.  There we visited the fish market where Ulle had previously worked and sampled some different fishes.  

Harbor and a boat named after my favorite tyrannical Czar.

Inside the market hall

 

If you know me well, you know I'm not really the biggest fish fan.  But I did try the little buggers.  Head and all...

We then ran to the other side of the harbor to catch the ferry to Suomenlinna, an island fortress off the coast.  Though the weather was extremely windy and a bit rainy we marched around the islands for a while, stopping in the church (that has a lighthouse on the top!), walking through the passages of the fortress walls, and gazing out to the rocky coast of the island.

People actually live on the island too. 

 

After being sufficiently frozen, we thought it was as good a time as any to try out the Finnish past time of  visiting the sauna.  If I'm being honest, I must admit that the Americans were a little nervous about the prospect, seeing as how Finnish saunas require one to be naked.  Americans tend to not be the most open people when it comes to their bodies.  But we all agreed that we didn't want to miss the opportunity for a true Finnish experience.  By the end of the sauna session we all agreed that when we were rich, we would immediately put a sauna in our own home.  It was a wonderful way of warming up and experiencing the culture.  Thankfully we had two Finns with us who knew what they were doing!

The sauna we visited was from 1929 and nothing has been modernized.  Though repairs have sometimes been made, almost all of the furnishings and equipment were original.

The night was ended by meeting Mave and our friend Aarne for dinner at a traditional Finnish restaurant.  

The name of the restaurant means "tractor" in Finnish.

The next day, our final in Helsinki, was spent shopping for souvenirs and presents.  Afterward we went to Torni Hotel, which we had heard had a great view of the city.  We weren't disappointed, and even the bathroom had a spectacular view!

Our last night in Helsinki was topped off with a party at Aarne's apartment with my American friends, old Finnish friends, and new Finnish friends.  Overall a great way to end the week, despite the fact that I was too enthusiastic with the alcohol.

Even though I'd heard some warnings from other people about visiting Scandinavia in the dead of winter, I'd say the country exceeded our expectations.  For some of us (Erika and Susi) there weren't really any expectations going in, and therefore a great first impression was made! For others of us (me) who has known Finns for a while and heard stories of their majestic land, I was certainly not disappointed!  I have to give a truly heartfelt thank you to all my friends who were awesome guides and hosts to us last week, especially Mave and Ulle who let us pretty much take over their apartment!  Even though the three of us have memories to last a lifetime, I hope it won't be a lifetime before I get to come back and visit again! <3

Until Next Time,

Chelsea