Day 4, Tallinn
Today was our last morning in Helsinki and after enjoying a hearty breakfast meal [JP: very hearty! the breakfast in our Helsinki (the Klaus K) was outstanding. It was buffet style but had a wide variety of meats,fish, cheeses, fruits, pastries… everything.] we began getting ready for our departure. We took a cab to the ferry dock and while I was expecting the ferry would be a 2 or 3-floor reasonably sized boat it was a full-on massive cruise boat. Not complaining! The ferry worked out great; it took us from the port in Helsinki to the port in Tallinn, a 2 hour boat trip across the Baltic Sea. We enjoyed lunch on the ferry and were in Tallinn by 12:30. [JP: I elected the ‘business lounge’ class tickets when I booked this ferry last week. I’m glad I did. I never go for that stuff, but over the years I’ve thought several times (usually on trains) how the 1st class compartments would make such a world of difference if you could spread out, get some sleep, get some food, and get online. The ferry did not disappoint. There were, I believe 5 or 6 of us total in what amounted to what a Delta skyclub lounge should be. There was seating, food, and drink for well over 100 people. There was red wine on tap. TV’s with the Olympics on. Wifi… couches… a great situation].
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| Lunch on the ferry |
Once in Tallinn, we rented some bicycles and spent the afternoon exploring the old town and shopping. It was beautiful and it didn’t take me long to decide the old town of Tallinn was one of my all time favorites. The medievalness of this town is completely preserved making it so enchanting to walk/cycle down the hilly and cobbled old streets full of romantic courtyards and alleys. There is a huge stone wall that surrounds the old city, which is further surrounded by green parks with very well-maintained flowers and gardens. On the inside there are restaurants and cafes all over the place, each looking more romantic and inviting than the last. I am very excited to spend the next 3 days here, there’s so much to see.
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| Part of the wall around the old town |
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| Beautiful gardens surrounding the town walls |
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| [JP note: Oh yeah we got bikes too! We got road bikes for long treks, but they let us trade them for more comfy cruiser bikes from time to time. We started with Nat on this beach-cruiser and I got a proper mountain bike with a suspension. Awesome for the cobblestone roads. I look forward to racing up these cobbled climb as fast as humanly possible at some stage… until it inflames my L5/S1 vertebral disc! (inevitable).] |
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| The Viru Gates are the main entrance to Tallinn’s Old Town |
We had dinner at an Estonian restaurant where we enjoyed a variety of things pictured below. The two that stood out was the pork rib meat with mustard and the steak I ordered which had an unexpectedly awesome flavor to it. Many stores, cafes, and restaurant were in the basements of the city such as the one pictured below, the restaurant we ate dinner at. These walkways are typically very low and anyone taller than me needs to lean over to survive.
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| Pork rib meat with horseradish mustard, bread, and a beetroot salad. |
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| [JP: this was pickled herring on toast… nothing to write home about.] |
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| [JP note: this was a salad with beets and a roasted appled covered in a honkin’ chunk of this Bree-wrapped Goat cheese that we ran into once in Helsinki as well. Bottom line – it’s what you want to be eating.] |
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| Jerry ordered rabbit [JP Who ever orders rabbit any more? Or ever before, for that matter? I had to grabbit like a rabbit.] |
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| Steak with potatoes and veggies |
We ended the night with a perfect touch of tea and desserts at the Imperial Cafe.
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| A selection of chocolates. Clockwise from top: coconut, almond, prune stuffed with a nut and covered in chocolate (my favorite), and a chocolate cookie. |
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| Tasty almond cake |
Perullo Press 
That food looks delicious! But why eat at an Estonian restaurant when you could've eaten at that McDonalds? I kid, I kid.