Helsinki and Tallinn

My first time in both Finland and Estonia, and I quite liked both. Flew into helsinki, very much like other nordic towns prices were quite high, but not that different. A mad taxi driver took us to the harbour and we got a ferry to tallinn which took 2hours, it is very much like a baltic town, not unlike some northern german ones, the old town is very nice, seen Paul Keres chess house, some nice old buildings and a night out prices were cheaper for food and drink.

The problem with tallinn is that if your anglophonic they assume you are an english stag party.. Returned to Helsinki on the ferry, and went for a walk to some park met a hedgehog and down by the coast and harbour, via the olympic terminal and back to the town. The Ice bar which is a must was disappointing since it was empty, wrong time of year perhaps. The cloakroom charge for every coat is annoying and kept you from bar hopping too much. Finns are mad, and i like mad people and a few good laughs and a late night.

Did the boat trip to Suomenlinna Island and Sea fortresses is excellent, the trip in bay was nice and the island is amazing well kept, well worth the UNESCO status and a visit is a must. The Harbour market is very good if your a tourist and the food, was so enticing alas we skipped it planning to visit later. A quiet night out yet we still managed to stay all hours talking to some strange Finns. The late night meant we nearly missed our taxi to the airport but the pleasant finns waited, the return flight via stockholm, reminded me of the benefits of the euro and annoyance of looking for credit card for snacks in the airport. Overall I liked both helsinki and tallinn, there was lots to do and lots we didnt do, and things would be much better in the summer. I would go again, which is the sure sign for me that i liked it. Next time, go during summer, go to olympic stadium and get that grostel like dish with meatballs at the harbour, hire a bike and take another bay tour. Two New Countries so
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