Tallinn, Helsinki and back

To wind up the last week we went to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. We started on Friday in the early morning to get to Helsinki by train. About 2.5 hours later our group (14 exchange students) reached the Finnish capital at about 11am. From the train station we went to the first tourist information, where we learned that the next good ferry would leave for Tallinn at 14:30. So went to the place at the harbor where the ferry would leave and waited until ‘boarding’. Although I have been on a ship before, I have never been on such a big one. It’s hard to say how many people were on the ferry, but for sure some thousands. There were several cafes, restaurants and besides all the other stuff even a supermarket on the ship. But the only thing, which wasn’t that expensive was the alcohol. So we started having some beers already on the ship. The ferry left Helsinki just in time at 14:30 and two hours later we already arrived in Tallinn. So actually we were faster from Helsinki in Tallinn by ferry, than from Lappeenranta in Helsinki by train… anyway the trip was nice and the weather couldn’t have been any better.

So we arrived in Tallinn, which meant the first time being in Estonia for me. Though Estonia is already a member of the EU, they still have their own currency – the Estonian kroon (EKK). The exchange rate is about 15:1, meaning 15 EKK are worth 1 Euro. Anyway that wasn’t a problem at all because money can be changed at many places, you can get money easily from all the ATMs and you can pay with credit card almost everywhere.

From the harbor we went to our hostel in the center of Tallinn by walking, though some people of our group were too lazy and took a taxi to the hostel. At the hostel we had some problems getting our rooms, because the guys of our group, who booked the hostel, booked it for the wrong date. Anyway at the end there were enough free beds for all of us so no problem at all. After checking our rooms we wanted to get something to eat, but in a group of 14 people there are also a lot of different opinions, so we split up and everybody went to the place he prefers. Later we went to a pub and afterwards to a nightclub called Hollywood. At 4:30 I was finally at home then in my bed and sleeping.

The next day started for me at 12:30 with a breakfast at McDonalds and a short tour through the city. Most of the time in Tallinn I have spent in the area called ‘Old Town’, which is basically the center of the city and the place where the main part of the historical buildings are. On the evening we went to some Kebap place for dinner (yes even in Estonia they have Kebap =) Anyway… the guy running the Kebap was a Turkish guy, born in Germany, studied in France and now lives in Tallinn. In addition he had some Russian employees, who helped him. So it was funny to meet someone in Tallinn, who’s fluent in German, English, French, Turkish, Russian and Estonian. Finally we went again to some nightclub, but not too long this time because we had to get up early the next morning for our ferry back.

On sunday morning we left Tallinn to have some time left in Helsinki for the rest of the day, before going back to Lappeenranta. In Helsinki we were walking about three hours through the city, sight-seeing, making some photos and finally we also ate something. Helsinki is a really nice city with many churches, squares, cafes and restaurants. At 6pm in the evening we went back to Lappeenranta by train. At about 9:30pm I was back at my flat and I was a little bit exhausted. So I didn’t go out that evening anymore, which was the first time not going out since I’ve arrived here.

The next morning I had courses at the university… programming, programming and Finnish 1. So far I’ve liked most of the things here, except my courses. They are either too easy, or just not interesting at all. Learning Finnish is a little bit funny. The language is completely different than anything I have heard before and I guess the few things I would learn in that course, I would forget again as soon as I am back home. So I decided to drop Finnish and do Spanish instead, which I have already learned one year at my home university. Going to Finland – learning Spanish might sound a bit weird, but I think the outcome will be better =)

In the evening we (a Russian girl, a French guy and me) went down to the lake to have some beers and just hang around. Later we went again to some pub. Tuesday was for relaxing and today I also didn’t go to any courses. Actually I don’t have any courses left the whole week so nothing to do until next Monday =)

Afterwards I will go downtown with some friends to look for some good sport shoes, because I have planned to go playing football and basketball at the sports hall of the university from now on. In the evening we have planned to go to a nightclub, same for tomorrow and Friday, but we will see… and for tomorrow we have also planned to go dancing Salsa at the university…

After 16 days here I have to say it’s really nice up here and I haven’t had any problems with anything since I have arrived. Everything went totally easy. But also everything always has it’s pros and cons. I miss my guitars and some other ‘things’ too, but anyway… that’s it for the moment…

Stay tuned…

from left to right…
1. line: ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn – Tallinn sunset – Tallinn old town
2. line: Tallinn signs – Tallinn at night – ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki
3. line: Helsinki cathedral – Helsinki church – sunset down by the lake in Lappeenranta

~ by Markus Dietrich on September 10, 2008.