f..f..fr.freezing in finland & how lucky are we #3

Well so much for the warm welcome we had on arrival. The next morning was around 0C when we first left the hotel and it got to a top of around 3-4C. Thank goodness we took our thermals. Mark (who was rebelling against the idea when we were packing) actually kissed his thermals when he took them off... and thanked the person who invented them.

First up on Saturday we headed towards the Temppeliaukio Church. It is a church built into a rock cavity. All the walls are rock, some which was existing space and some drilled out to form a circular shape. It had been recommended to us by Emmeline who had been there on her travels. Alas we were too early for it to be open so we just walked around and climbed up and over. From the outside it has the feel of an underground house you get in Coober Pedy but it had a domed copper roof.

So from there we did a considerable walk to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to Tallin, Estonia. We were late for the one we had planned to catch. Our hotel failed to mention the need to be there around 45 mins early. We were there 5 mins before it was due to leave and it was already pulling away.

So off we headed to the next option. Another ferry liner (there are several who go there daily) but of course it was not at the same harbour. We were freezing and the walk back to town was looking daunting so we waited by the only taxi there. Unfortunately there was no driver. We waited a while and then I went inside in search of someone who looked like they might drive a taxi and con them to take us to town. I found a very friendly fellow looking bored playing a type of poker machine and asked if he was the taxi driver. He was so excited to be getting a trip that he nearly left without finihsing the credit he had accrued. I assured him we were not in that big a hurry and that he could win his fortune first. He won no more credit and on the walk to the taxi he apologised for not being at the taxi and that he was having a "coffee" break!

He was very friendly and helpful and fully backed up the idea of going over to Tallin. We had been having some 2nd thoughts on the idea as here we were in Helsinki and were taking off for other places. He assured me it was so popular to go there that last year there were over 6 million passengers just from Helsinki to Tallin and with only a population of 5 million in all of Finland it suggests some are going many times. He also mentioned that everything was alot cheaper in Estonia than Finland. eg; cigarettes were half price and alcohol around 30% less. Our aim was not to shop there though so we didnt really care about this great deal on offer.

We arrived in the market square where the alternate ferry was leaving from but now we were an hour early for this one so we got our tickets and wandered the market place. It was outside stalls of mostly knitwear, wood products and fur products. I must say I was VERY tempted to buy a full reindeer pelt. I could just picture myself reading a book with my toes nestled amongst its soft fur!!! The only thing that held me back was that I was unclear as to the Aussie govs strict rules re bringing in furs. btw... the minx ear muffs were mighty tempting too!!!

Then we went to the indoor market "old market hall" which was like going to Camberwell food market. The food on offer was so amazing. There was salmon in every way imaginable. Lots of other fish products as well and not one sign of the horrid rollmop I was expecting to see here. We ended up buying lunch to eat on the ferry as it was to be a 1.5 hr trip. So with a snack pack of rolled salmon (smoked and spiced), a potato pie (super fine wholemeal pastry shell filled with mashed potato) a bread roll and of course a couple of nice little desserts. Our hotel supplied b'fast so we were not that hungry.

The trip over was very comfortable and the locals got stuck into the bar before we had even left the dock. WE also noticed that many many people were taking over empty suitcases or luggage trolleys. We guessed they planned to really do some shopping.

On arrival we noticed everyone was getting money changed. On inquiry I found out they used a different currency and that while they were now part of the EU they had not actually changed there currency over yet. I guess this supported the cheap buying available. As our reason for going was to visit the old walled town we didnt bother to get any local cash.

The old town was only 250 mts from the ferry terminal so we had easy stroll there. (remember it was still bloody freezing!!!) We were excited with what we saw and as this was Marks first experience in seeing a walled city he was absolutely fascinated and awestruck to be seeing buildings that were built over 800 yrs ago. I will post some photos when I can but some highlights in particular were the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It is the oldest orthodox church in Estonia. It had the same "onion" top towers as the well known one in St Petersburg. (we initally wanted to get to St Petersburg but it was just a little out of our reach) This unexpected visit was really filling that gap. How lucky are we!! Also of particular interest in this UNESCO listed site was the town hall, the foreign embassies, Fat Margarets tower, and just the winding narrow streets and surrounding wall itself. It was all so beautiful and well worth the trip over. We would have loved a hot drink but... bugger... no local currency!

When we left the old town we headed towards a shopping centre. Not to shop but just to get indoors and get warm. We huddled on a seat inside just enjoying the delicious feeling of being warm again. With still an hour to kill before our return ferry we then spotted a hotel and ended up sitting in their bar having a drink we could pay for in Euro and also listening to a folk group singing in the next room at a function going on there. It was all very pleasant and warm. The ferry trip back was full of quite drunk people carrying heavily laden bags off goodies they had purchased there. It was plainly obvious that many had well over the limit of alcohol allowed by immigration rules listed but the local authorities didnt seem to care.

All in all.. Tallin... absolutely lovely and growing city which gave us a real taste of Russian society.

We were glad to get back and have a hot shower and get some sleep. We felt like we had walked a million miles.

More soon
xD