Helsinki to Tallinn

With a noon departure, we had a lazy morning. We breakfasted at a nearby cafe, which had coffee and pastries and a breakfast bar, plus meals throughout the day, plus served as a bar and nightclub with lights and soundsystem and everything. An efficient use of space, all things considered.

We checked out and wandered over to the waterfront, taking a break at the Kappeli once more. Then we boarded our trimaran jetboat to Tallinn, taking about an hour and a half to cross the water. Margo got some lunches for her and Sarah and also a Finnish pear cider for herself; I tried it and got one for me too as it was quite tasty (but not as tasty as those Swedish ones!).

Tallinn was not exactly welcoming. We had another passport check after docking, supplementing the one we had before docking; we'd not experienced two in the same trip. There were no bank machines at the ferry terminal; we were directed to a gas station "down the street", being about a quarter of a mile away in actuality around a few bends. We found a taxi queue not far away and some of the city looked fairly dodgy; I noticed more decay than I had elsewhere. At our destination, the cabbie revealed he hadn't turned on his meter, so he estimated a charge, no doubt a bit higher than usual. I'd never been to Eastern Europe before - none of us had - so I was feeling wary of being taken advantage of.

Our hotel is quite nice, however. We settled and, since it was around 3 pm already, we planned a trip for the day, as we'd only have so many hours to explore the city.

Our hotel is only about two blocks from the old Medieval city centre, and that's where our plans took us. On the way, I saw this sculpture at the entrance to a park. Is it not the perfect metaphor for Estonia: a blend of Scandinavian modernism and Soviet classicism? Is this not the perfect photographical representation of the soul of this nation?



Entering the old town area, our first visit was to the Alexander Nevski Cathedral. A Russian Orthodox wedding service was taking place inside.



Soon we encountered this gate in the Medieval wall and passed through. Is it not a perfect metaphor for the city? An ancient portal to a modern future? I await my Pulitzer.



We picked our way among more narrow streets and arrived at the town square.



Margo and Sarah wanted to spend time at a shop selling pastries and Marzipan so I proposed we split up for a while. I ended up finding what is apparently Estonia's first pub (circa 1993?) named Hell Hunt. It was the closest to an English pub I'd encountered so far, serving Irish, English, Scottish and Belgian beers in addition to their own: Hele (I lager I'd guess), Tume (a darker ale, which I sampled and enjoyed), and Siider (cider), as well as Shepherds' Pie and other standard pub fare.

I rejoined the womenfolk but their next chosen stop was some shop selling trinkets made out of amber so once again I split off. I traversed the shopping street and left old town, crossing a park and entering a massive shopping mall. On the other side I got a better view of the downtown buildings.



The mall was very modern, but I noticed that each shop I stepped into would have a security guard watching over shoppers.

On the way back to the old town, I got this picture of the entrance and the high street.



I joined up with Margo and Sarah and we had dinner at a resataurant serving Estonian fare.



We got a plate of garlic bread, slices of dark bread fried and served with diced garlic. Sarah had a beef tomato soup that was like a bolognese with less meat and citrus from lime wedges. Margo had pork with sauce and nice seasoning, with veg. I had salmon in a pot with cheese, potatoes, cream, garlic, squash, herbs, and lemon wedges. Margo and I both had some of the local lager, A. Le Coq.

After dinner, we took a cab back to the hotel, returning well before dark. Because if the movies have taught me anything, it's that, in Eastern Europe, nightfall is when the vampires come out. And the Russian spies. Plus the Russian Mafia. And perhaps worst of all: yobbish English tourists.

Another Day in Helsinki

We had a late morning. Margo and Sarah let me sleep in since I didn't sleep well. The northern sun was brilliant. We decided to get a light breakfast at the Cafe Kappeli and I took pictures like I promised yesterday. Sarah's in the lower right.



I also got a picture of the Lutheran Cathedral nearby.



We spent a while browsing the stalls in a local market along the waterfront. Sarah bought a Finland flag and wood-beaded bracelet with the five euros Margo gave her. Margo found an etching of the harbour. We passed a fountain with a child sitting on one of its features, so of course Sarah had to also.



Then we boarded the number 3 tram which circles around the city. We got off near the end of our circle to visit the Temppeliaukio Church, carved out of solid rock. This is its exterior context.



The interior, looking back from near the altar.



Margo says the ceiling is a single wound strand of copper, 13 miles in length.



We found a cafe for lunch. Our afternoon has been quite mellow. The weather completely turned, and for a while it was dumping down rain. I took a few strolls. My first took in the Forum shopping centre.

Later I walked around our neighbourhood and then back to the esplanade and found a shopping street I hadn't noticed earlier and walked along it. I spent some time in a Nokia store looking at new phones. Some twist and some unfold and some spring open and they all seem to have really nice displays. There was an interesting marketing concept: each wall had a band of flat panels; once you took a phone out of its cradle, an electronic brochure for the phone would open on the wall in front of you.

We're feeling travel-fatigued so we'll lay low this evening, getting a simple dinner. Tomorrow at noon we take a jet boat to Tallinn; it's an hour and a half journey.

First Day in Helsinki

We arrived in Helsinki around 10 am this morning. It's still quite chilly; I've been wearing a sweater and shell all day. We haven't done much to see the city yet. When we arrived at our hotel, we were feeling pretty fatigued.

We decided to walk the nearby Pohjoisesplanadi esplanade, a street of shopping with a park alongside. Our first stop was the Stockmann department store, which is quite huge. We ended up making lots of small purchases. I got a music magazine. Then we looked at men's dress shirts and Margo found one she liked for me. It was the house brand and fairly inexpensive (for once) so I got it. Margo had been considering buying a pair of comfortable shoes, so shoes and socks came next. Finally on the way out Margo bought some magazines also.

It's also nice to handle euros again. In Norway, Denmark and Sweden it was kronor, and the currency was unique in each country. Unfortunately, we had to be careful to spend or convert all of the currency we'd get as we moved from country to country. Margo tells me Estonia has its own kronor also ...

We didn't want to haul so much along for the rest of our walk, so we went back to our room to drop things off and continue our walk. Only, Sarah got comfortable on the bed, and we thought maybe we'd take a rest first. Sarah ended up staying in bed all afternoon, mostly in a long nap.

I went out to take in the esplanade, looking in shop windows and later settling down at the Cafe Kappeli, which is large and old and has lots of glass and is quite lovely, but I didn't have my camera so I'll get a picture later.

Margo then took a walk through the nearby neighbourhood and the esplanade, getting this picture of the sculptures in the park alongside:



Later, with Sarah still sleeping, I took a walk (with the camera this time) to the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. I found little I enjoyed, but the building was quite new and an interesting design. This is the main interior space.



Along my walk, I got a few pictures of streets. The architecture and planning here are interesting in a way I can't quite describe. I know a few things. Helsinki is about the only European capitol to have a post-Medieval street layout. There's also a Soviet influence in that there are large plazas and some massive buildings, and of course there's a very Russian look to some of the cathedrals, which I plan to get pictures of tomorrow. Yet there's also the traditional European look of small building fronts right next to each other, plus lots of exciting glass-and-steel modern architecture. I've also noticed that some of the major streets are paved in stone.







I think the place names are especially difficult to pronounce. Here are some examples from a street map to try out on your tongue: Punavuorenkatu. Eteläesplanadi. Jääkärink. Tarkk'ampujank. Kaivopuistonpaasi.

For dinner we visited Zetor, featuring Finnish country cuisine presented with a very cheeky menu. There are tractors inside as decor; they also claim the interior was designed by one of the Leningrad Cowboys. Margo and I both tried a glass of sahti beer, apparently the world's oldest commercially brewed beer. It was quite strong and seemed like something I'd brew, but before it had time to ferment: flat, and very malty. Margo thought it smelt like ripe banana. At any rate, she hardly touched hers. I mostly finished mine but could only sip at it, though I did feel quite fuzzy when I'd finished.

In another odd coincidence, Margo and I decided to order the same entree, the Finnish Hash, a grilled collection of diced potatoes, sausage, bacon, onion, with a fried egg on top and with beetroot and pickles. Sarah had a kids' chicken breast with salad.

I was quite tired when we returned, and still feeling the effects of my red wine bender last night, so I fell asleep early. I'm only now writing this in the middle of the night. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the city tomorrow.

Stockholm to Helsinki

We started our Tuesday in Stockholm. Sarah and I donned the Sweden shirts I'd purchased the day before.


The three stars indicate the kingships of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The same three stars appear on top of the tower of City Hall. And on lots of T-shirts.

But those shirts put a definite kink in our day. I'd bought them the previous afternoon, and late in the day I attempted to get some groceries for our dinner at the co-op on the corner when it denied my HSBC debit card. This morning I had to spend about 13 pounds of roaming fees calling HSBC, proving I am who I am, and informing them that, yes, I did buy those T-shirts and would you please unlock my card? It may have been a transaction problem. Grrrr. Margo had a similar problem with her card last week in Balestand and another similarly expensive call was needed to sort it out. We appreciate our bank's security precaustions, but my, wouldn't it be nice to spend our money overseas without worry?

After breakfast, we agreed to visit the Djurgarden, visiting the Skansen attraction - sort of a zoo and aquarium and historical museum rolled into one large hilltop site. Most of it was outdoors, which was unfortunate as we'd continued to wear our summer clothes. Margo and Sarah wore sweaters, but I'd foolishly worn merely my T-shirt under my waterproof shell. In August. As we endured harsh winds, occasional rain, and chilly temperatures that had me zipping my shell to the neck to ward off hypothermia.

Margo was quite taken with this phone booth and wanted to pose in it. How could I deny her?



Inside the Skansen, we saw so many animals. Bison, moose, reindeer, a bear. Here Sarah is in the children's zoo with some goats.



Later on we saw a real Viking rune. The message was pretty banal, basically a memoriam, but ... how cool! A Viking rune!



We had lunch in the middle of a reproduction of a traditional Swedish village. This was our food: Swedish meatballs with potatoes and berries and lingenberries; and on my plate, the special: Swedish sausage with sliced potatoes.



Next we visited the Aquarium, which had a surprising number of non-aquatic animals also. Such as these lemurs, which we were encouraged not to touch, but could have easily.



We also saw sharks, skates, crocodiles, rattlesnakes, turtles, and tarantulas. And Margo and I were quite impressed: the exhibits were very well-lit and it was quite easy to see the specimens.

By this time it was almost mid-afternoon and we had to make our way back to prepare for our 5 pm sailing to Helsinki.

Our boat, on the Silja line, is our most massive yet: twelve decks, with about four restaurants, three bars, two play areas, plus the ususal cinemas and casinos and duty-free shopping and whatnot. This is the view of the atrium over the promenade.



We heard over the PA that the Swedish Symphony Orchestra were onboard and would be giving a concert later that evening. Some of the members played for us during boarding.



Once underway, I went on deck to say goodbye to Stockholm. I watched the church towers and the Kaknäs radio tower disappear from view behind corners.

We had thousands of small islands to navigate before reaching on water. It would take us hours.

We followed another ferry/cruise ship from the Viking line for a while. Once we saw another Silja Line ship approaching us around an island; its metal-fairinged smokestack would occasionally be visible over the fir trees like a giant shark fin. We were massive. When the sun was out, our shadow would engulf nearby islands. When we turn, it is listless. Like the panning of a movie camera.

We passed lots of small red cottages. Some were clearly accessible by boat only. It made me wonder how long they must have taken to build.

Above the twelfth deck is a "star deck" that's only part of the deck. It gives a panoramic view forward that's only bettered by the bridge. We spent some time there.

Sarah become the impromptu chair of an international playgroup. Despite their lack of commonality of language, their first task was decreed to stack stools upon a disco platform. All three participants agreed ... at least until parents intervened. Like me, when the stacking got too high.

We watched the little cottages go by and wondered if they must be ship-spotting.

And now for something completely different. (Because we forgot to write about it earlier.) We met our first trainspotters in Peterborough. On the route from Ipswich to Newcastle. With cameras. Even video cams.

Grrr. As I write this it's now 9 pm and apparently we've reached open sea as we're listing to and fro. It's bad enough that Margo and I killed a bottle of Valpolicella from the duty free shop. Our buffet dinner gives us another drink choice and we've chosen a Chilean Cabernet. I hope to be sleeping soon because if not things could go quite badly ...

Our First Day in Stockholm

We didn't do much today. We walked to the laundromat that our hotel's concierge recommended, but it was a longer walk than she had indicated. We were able to drop it off and continue our trip.

We found the Drottninggatan shopping street and walked its length. We stopped at a few department stores on the way. I've been looking for dress shirts while in Scandinavia because some colours look better with a fair complexion like mine. I'd be quite happy to find a nice deep blue or burgundy solid shirt. However, most of the high street shops are for a different demographic. The models are in their 20s and the styles are way younger than I could wear to the office. I've found that if I go into a shop and they're playing boom-shee boom-shee music, it's probably not for me. I need to find a shop for balding men with pot bellies. It will probably play polka music.



We crossed to the island of Gamla Stan, the "old town" of Stockholm. The streets are laid out in Medieval paths and are quite narrow. It's a popular tourist area and there are many stores and restaurants waiting for us. It's also home of the Royal Palace, so we walked past its gates first.



We came to a bookstore. Margo found some Pippi Longstocking books for Sarah. I found a dictionary and found how to say "spanking head" in Swedish: "smäll huvud". Then we went to find some lunch.



We had considered seeing the Djurgården park, but we'd done so much walking already that Margo and Sarah decided to return to our room. I got a few more pictures over the afternoon.

This is the Stortorget square in Gamla Stan. The buildings remind me of the style of buildings we saw in central Amsterdam.



I found a Glenfiddich "Warehouse" restaurant that claimed to have the best beer selection in Sweden - 15 craft beers on tap. Ten were Swedish. I tried a porter and liked it. Later that day I found myself in the same neighbourhood and tried a "double IPA". Twice as malty, but twice as hoppy. I can't say I've had anything like it before.

I also got a picture of this; lots of stairs have these rails on them. The rails are for strollers. Brilliant.

Kalmar to Stockholm

Today was more a day of travel than of exploration. We had a very lazy morning in Kalmar, snoozing and reading and lounging in our most comfortable hotel until our checkout time of noon. On the way out I took one final picture of Kalmar, including the Kalmar Castle, the only castle we've seen with what looks like double glazing.



We ambled to the train station to await our 13:01 train to Alvesta. After about an hour or so, we had about ten minutes in Alvestra to switch to a train heading to Stockholm. This last leg was a few more hours. We were in business class because the reservations made for us in Copenhagen were faulty; we rescheduled in Malmö but the only remaining seats were in business class. It was also a "quiet coach", a particular challenge for Sarah. To help her out, I used operant conditioning. I took the remainder of my Toblerone chocolate bar and put it on the table, telling Sarah that she could have it all at the end of our journey provided she stayed quiet; for each exception I would eat one piece of chocolate. She stayed quiet the whole trip.

We arrived in Stockholm in early evening. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant around the block (nothing special). Afterward I went for a walk to try to reacquaint myself with the city and get some pictures of Stockholm At Night. These were the better ones. The first two are of the Kulturhuset centre in the Sergels Torg plaza.





This is the City Hall building.



We're looking forward to more exploring tomorrow. But we'll probably have to do some laundry first. I've been cycling through my four polo shirts pretty well. I have a theory that, after a day or so of not wearing something, most of its bacteria dies, so as long as I don't soil a shirt, it'll be OK to wear in a few days. I did wash a load of underpants and socks in the sink back in Oslo. But Margo and Sarah aren't holding up so well.

Copenhagen to Kalmar

As Margo mentioned, we are now blogging from the land of blondes and ümlauts. I have a special affinity for Sweden as it's my primary ancestry. I'd last visited about ten years ago and I will enjoy seeing more of it.

Sarah and I have both been mistaken for locals on our trip. People start talking to us in the local language, but fortunately everyone speaks English also.

Margo came up with two more language jokes that Sarah loves repeating:

Can you tell me how to say "no" in German?
"Nein".
I didn't ask about numbers ...

Can you tell me how to say "thank you" in Swedish?
"Takk".
But I am talking! I'm trying to ask you a question ...

We left Copenhagen in late morning. I have to say, I found it a quite dirty city. There were lots of fag ends and rubbish on the sidewalks, and the air was hazy for much of our stay. Sarah and Margo were blowing their noses in the mornings.

Our first journey was a train ride to Malmö, just across the water. We crossed on a very long bridge.



When we arrived in Malmö, we had about two hours to kill. I took a stroll through some of the town centre, taking in some shopping streets and two plazas.



Then we boarded a train to Kalmar for a journey of a few hours. As the landscape rolled by, I noticed a few things. There were lots of birch trees. I think birch is the type - thin and tall, with white bark and small leaves. Small lakes would appear now and then. I also noticed that building roofs are metal or tile but that there is some wood frame construction, though most buildings are made of masonry.

We arrived into Kalmar and had to merely cross the street to get to our hotel, the Frimurarehotellet. We love it! I think it's the cosiest hotel we've yet seen, and probably will see on this trip. It feels like the proprietors have invested a lot in making their guests feel comfortable. Our room has two sides of windows. The floors are old hardwoods. There are comfy chairs and bookshelves just where you'd want them.



This is the lounge, where tea and coffee can always be had. It overlooks a park with rows of trees.



For dinner we strolled to the nearby square and sat outdoors at a pub. In this picture, the pub we ate at is on the left.



Margo had a shrimp salad sandwich, and Sarah and I split a platter with local sausage slices, some veg, and nacho chips. Margo and I also had some Rekorderlig Swedish pear ciders. I'd had some previously at my local in Ipswich and really enjoyed it - it's very sweet and smooth yet strong.

After dinner we walked to the nearby waterfront.



As we turned the corner from the waterfront, we were back on the grid of shopping streets we'd eaten on earlier. It gave the pleasant illusion that there was nothing more to the town than the train station, our hotel, the waterfront, the shopping streets and the square.

Back on the square, we got some ice creams and walked through the small park by our hotel. Sarah had no idea what her face looked like when I took this.



Since then we've taken lots of time to relax and read, and Sarah's enjoyed playing with the Legos in the lounge. I'm sure we'll sleep well tonight, well rested for our next journey to Stockholm.

I Fart, therefore I am

With some amusement, Sarah noticed that the red button that lit up whilst we waited for the elevator in our Copenhagen hotel said "I FART." I remembered reading something about the fact that this was some common phrase, but had to look it up - It actually means "in use" but really, I FART is much more interesting to an English speaking family.

Our hotel in Denmark was not as nice as the others we have stayed at, though adequate for our needs. We were one block from the railway station and just barely on the wrong side of the tracks and on the edge of the red light district. Lots of street noise also which kept us up late at night and early in the morning.

On the other hand, the price was right in a very expensive city and we WERE just a block from the train station (and on the other side of the station is Tivoli Gardens), so the location was convenient in terms of our sightseeing and traveling.

Kalmar

We took the train to Kalmar today, crossing the bridge from Copenhagen to Malmo, and then changing trains in Malmo. Kalmar is in Southern Sweden and is very lovely. The weather is really pleasant also - sunny and warm with a nice breeze. We had a low-key dinner at a cafe on the square and then took a walk to the waterfront and back through town to the hotel, buying ice cream cones for all on the way. Mike will post some pictures later tonight. Our hotel is right on the town square and the room is gorgeous - nicely furnished with a desk, couch, leather chair and ottoman plus the bed and wardrobe etc.

Tomorrow we travel to Stockholm and spend a couple of nights there - then on to Helsinki and Tallin.

This has been a really relaxing trip, in spite of the many travel connections. We have enjoyed doing the long bits by overnight boat - a very civilized way to cover some mileage - and it is nice to arrive at a destination having had a good sleep, good food, a swim or sauna if we want it, and a shower, rather than having spent hours in airports and uncomfortable steerage class airline seats! It also compares favorably to the cost of a hotel + travel for the three of us. Although there is some cost in respect of travel time, I highly recommend overnight ferries for travel when possible!

Scandinavia

There is no denying that Scandinavian men and women really are gorgeous - and it's not just the blond hair and light eyes. I can only conclude that there is something to be said for a few generations of good education, excellent health and dental care - and low rates of poverty. Also a low birth rate and a generally healthy diet and lifestyle - notwithstanding a high rate of alcohol consumption. One nice change from the town where I work in England is that every 4th teenage girl in town is not pushing a baby buggy! England, like the US, has a really unacceptable rate of teen pregnancy ... the worst amongst western nations.

It has just been very easy to travel here. Although it is a bit disorienting to not understand signs at all - fortunately for us virtually everyone understands English so we travel with ease. The train systems etc are orderly and efficient and people in general are polite and friendly - no shoving or crowding on the trains etc. The children are really cute - it feels like we are walking around in a Hanna Anderson catalog - the little girls really do wear cute striped tights and leggings and lots of colorful clothing. It seems in these family-friendly countries that children are welcomed just about anywhere we would care to go - great for traveling with a young child.

Well, I am tiring out and ready to prepare for a bath and bed. Photos and more blogging to follow from Mike.

Love. Margo

Copenhagen, Day 2

Welcome to another day in Køpenhavn. We spent the entire day in the Tivoli amusement park.

How to describe Tivoli? It's smaller than Disneyland. I also noticed that Mazda had sponsored one of the rides, but other than that, there was no branding. There are music stages, theatres, lots of restaurants and food stands, a kids' play area, and a good assortment of rides and amusements. There's also a garden, and I was quite amused to see that many of the planters contained vegetables. As we were walking past, we could have picked fresh tomatoes, eggplants, rhubarb or squash.

We arrived as the park opened at 11 am. It was quite empty, but unfortunately none of the rides opened for another hour, some not opening until 2 pm. It gave us time to survey the grounds. Then we started going on ride after ride. Sarah was very happy; ecstatic nearly. We let her lead us on our walks. The lines remained quite short because it's a weekday and Danish children started school this week; we were able to get onto any ride in a minute or two.







I ended up going on the chair ride below by myself. I think it was the scariest ride in the park, especially so for anyone who is mechanically minded. As you are flung about high above the city, you try not to think about how the failure of any link in the chain could send you flying out of the park.



Sarah and I also took in the shooting gallery.







We had lunch in a biergarten. I was talked into a litre of Paulaner Salvator. It cost just a little more than a half litre. And I was sharing it with Margo. (Honest!)



I had bratwurst; Margo had schnitzel and Sarah had spare ribs. My sausage came with a great-tasting mustard and a sweet tomato ketchup-like sauce, but thicker with vegetable chunks. And it was accompanied by these very nicely spiced potato slices. Fantastic! It was like a trap laid just for me. I felt like if I kept eating and drinking, I would turn into a pig like the parents in Spirited Away. But of course, I cleaned my plate.

We continued on our rides with good cases of the giggles. But first, some desserts.





On the boat ride, I was trying to remember some sea chanties, so I'm actually doing a yo-ho-ho in this picture, not just pumping my arm.



Around 4 pm we decided to take a break and crossed the street to the train station, walked through the station, and crossed the street to our hotel, where we had a few hours of cartoons and naps.

We returned to the park in the early evening. As the sun set, we rode a Ferris wheel, but you won't see it because our staff photographer was taking a break. We also went to the kids' play area, having first purchased some Carlsberg Special brown ale from the pub below it. We sipped our ale whilst watching Sarah's Muppet-like head bobbing on the bouncy platform, thinking, we couldn't do this at Disneyland. You know, beer and happiness are often found together, and I believe there may be a correlation.

We set off to get some dinner at a "gourmet" burger restaurant, to have our first disappointing dining experience in Denmark. The burger (Margo and I split it) was overcooked and quite bland, the moniker "gourmet" earned solely through the creative choice of build-your-own condiments.

As darkness fell, the park filled considerably. Queues for rides were much longer, so we only had a few more rides (which we'd been on previously) before finding some ice cream and then walking home.