An unexpected trip: Poland, Estonia, and Finland
I wasn't planning on going to Poland, Estonia, or Finland, and especially not in 0 and - degrees, but a friend was working in Estonia and said come visit, so here I am with countries 26-28 and my furthest Eastern European country!
Claiming Poland might be a stretch though, as I missed my connection (thanks LOT Airlines) and ended up spending 6 hours at the airport, but after 6hrs, I'm claiming Poland! The layover in Warsaw kinda screwed up my visit time a bit, but ultimately I came to see my friend and hang out, and that's exactly what I did. The airport does have these great info posters telling you all about the various areas in Poland though, so if you wander and read them all you get a bit of history.
My first full day in Estonia was spent exploring the Old City in Tallinn. Multiple museums and churches later I made us dinner in her Airbnb and then we went out for drinks at the Cave of 100 Beers. Ironically, we both had a local cider instead, which was okay at 4.50€ each, but dry.
The second day we took the Star Ferry 2.5hrs each way to Helsinki and back. We used a third party website which got our tickets down to 21€ round trip.
The ferry ride itself was fine. We hung out in Burger King go to and in the lounge going back. The problem was the smoke from the outside area wafted through the lounge, so we ended up in a weird corner. It also made staying outside impossible.
As we approached the harbor in Helsinki we were able to see whales feeding, which was pretty awesome, but the rainy weather, freezing temps, and deciding to walk instead of taking the train was less then pleasant. I'd take the train/tram next time, or a taxi. We went to the Church of the Rock, several churches, shops, and even the mall, walked through the library, the train station, and the harbors (there are two) and ate way more food than we should have, but we did fika (tea time) and had a lovely fish soup dinner before leaving.
The following day I wandered old town, fit a few museums, more shops (see a trend?). The last full day we spent inside the Seaplane Harbor Museum (https://meremuuseum.ee/lennusadam/ ; 15E totally worth it) and then went to dinner at Old Hansa (https://www.oldehansa.ee/) for dinner where I spent way too much (52E) for a beer and bear steak. Granted, I ate freaking BEAR so, yeah, not sure it was worth it, my friends regular cow steak was better, but still, ambiance wise, this place rocked.
We ended my visit with a visit to her work and lunch and then I was back to Warsaw for 6 hours before heading home. Seriously though, LOT, wtf? I'm still in a legal battle to get a refund for the first leg of the trip...4 months later!
The ferry ride itself was fine. We hung out in Burger King go to and in the lounge going back. The problem was the smoke from the outside area wafted through the lounge, so we ended up in a weird corner. It also made staying outside impossible.
As we approached the harbor in Helsinki we were able to see whales feeding, which was pretty awesome, but the rainy weather, freezing temps, and deciding to walk instead of taking the train was less then pleasant. I'd take the train/tram next time, or a taxi. We went to the Church of the Rock, several churches, shops, and even the mall, walked through the library, the train station, and the harbors (there are two) and ate way more food than we should have, but we did fika (tea time) and had a lovely fish soup dinner before leaving.
The following day I wandered old town, fit a few museums, more shops (see a trend?). The last full day we spent inside the Seaplane Harbor Museum (https://meremuuseum.ee/lennusadam/ ; 15E totally worth it) and then went to dinner at Old Hansa (https://www.oldehansa.ee/) for dinner where I spent way too much (52E) for a beer and bear steak. Granted, I ate freaking BEAR so, yeah, not sure it was worth it, my friends regular cow steak was better, but still, ambiance wise, this place rocked.
We ended my visit with a visit to her work and lunch and then I was back to Warsaw for 6 hours before heading home. Seriously though, LOT, wtf? I'm still in a legal battle to get a refund for the first leg of the trip...4 months later!
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