Dates: 29 October – 09 November 2019.

Approaching the end of the calendar year I found myself with far too much annual leave still to use, so a cursory look around Europe offered-up a trip to Helsinki and Tallinn via a ferry across the Gulf of Finland.

A straightforward train from Helsinki airport to the city centre left me with the unusual task of collecting my apartment key from a local convenience store located in the main train station.

After locating the apartment and attempting to WD40 my case’s squeaky wheels with oven cleaner (it sort of worked for a few days) it was time to take a first look around Helsinki.

The National Museum of Finland and a clock tower:

On my first full day I planned to take a look at the market square area (know locally as Kauppatori), get some breakfast, have a bit of a wander, and then take a short ferry trip to the island of Suomenlinna.

The signs around the esplanade that warned against feeding the seagulls were not kidding. A gull actually got its beak around my toastie, scared the life out of me and caused me to spill my coffee. All to the amusement of another tourist who’d witnessed the scene! Needless to say I got some replacement breakfast before exploring.

Helsinki Cathedral:

Icebreaker ships ready to go at a moment’s notice:

The architecture was lovely at times, combining neoclassicism with art nouveau. The colours of some of the neighbourhoods were really cool:

The Russian orthodox Uspenski Cathedral:

The ferry to the uninhabited island of Suomenlinna, which contains the UNESCO-protected Suomenlinna fortress, took about 20 minutes from the Kauppatori area.

A restored World War One submarine:

Being off-season, the island felt abandoned, and being so cold it felt stark and remote. Yet it still afforded a pleasant and a peaceful place to wander and take in the sea views:

Day two I headed to the nearby town of Turku via first class seats on a train. I spent most of the day ambling along the river Aura:

Along the way I met a few friendly locals:

The transporter that pings back and forth the sides of the river:

As the river splits off into the open sea, I found Turku Castle. Castle is a strong word:

On day three I took a long walk north of the city centre to take in the Kallio area. I spotted a nice looking cafe called Johan & Nyström on the first day, so I headed there for breakfast. It’s situated in a fantastic-looking building in the port area (note Uspenski Cathedral in the background):

Local greenery and wildlife sits closely with the industrial parts of the city:

Amusingly, my guide book offered a self-guided walking tour of Kallio, but the numbering was all wrong so most of the descriptions were mismatched! However, there was no mistaking the peace monument:

I ended the day with some extremely strong and expensive beer. 330ml of 15-18% local brew was north of €15!! All very tasty though.

Day four involved taking the ferry across the Gulf of Finland to Tallinn and then a Bolt (a version of Uber) to my accommodation. The room wasn’t ready straightaway but after a few texts with the owner, and then embarrassingly having to leave the housekeeper for a few minutes while I withdrew more cash, I was in and then back out again for some initial exploration.

The old town is compact, cobbled and colourful:

The Estonian Maritime Museum which doubles as the northern most gate to the old town:

The Viru Gate, the main entrance to the old town:

My first full day in Tallinn was dedicated to exploring the old town fully, doing a full circle. Near the Viru Gate you can walk the walls on the elevated catwalk:

A view northwards from the city walls, how many churches?:

The western part of the old town, the medieval defence walls and towers:

Outside the city walls to the south west is the impressive Alexander Nevsky Cathedral:

As the light faded I ended at Freedom Square, constructed to commemorate the 1918–1920 War of Independence:

One of the best streets off the main town square is called Pikk. The street is full of lovely buildings and places to eat and drink. I eat there twice, at Hell Hunt on the first night and at Clayhill’s Gastropub on the second, where I had a fantastic rabbit pie on a grid of carrots. The beer was good and local too.

On the final full day I took in the Tallinn City Museum, and I would have visiting the KGB Museum too if I could have found it. It was meant to be at the top of a shopping centre complex but I couldn’t bloody find it! Instead, I grabbing a drink on the 28th floor of the Radisson Blu Sky Hotel, which offered mediocre beer but excellent views. Unfortunately, the weather preventing me from going out onto the balcony, hence the obstructive glass in the pictures:

I finished the day with a long walk out to Kadriorg Park, which is east of the old town and north west of the airport. It was worth the walk though as the area looked beautiful in the fading light:

The streets and canal were so quiet and looked great with the pink sky in the background:

Helsinki, Turku and Tallinn are all small cities that were a delight to visit. I got through many podcasts during some very long walks through quiet and pretty scenery. An excellent few days.