Tallinn Part 2

Apologies for the lateness of this post, I blame it in true transport fashion on the wrong type of ice! Day 2 in Tallinn began with meeting a guy from Helsinki which would be our next port of call, he had lived in Tallinn for some time and helpfully told us where the 'real' Estonian bars were. We were surprised at the contrasting nature of the old town from the new town; medieval Estonia (York) meets modern Estonia (Bluewater/Meadowhall) and just beyond the shopping centre a concrete jungle of tower blocks that were a flashback to the Soviet Union days (Harlow). A trip to the beach was made to ascertain the extent of ice that would be expected on the following day's ferry crossing, the sea was clear, although the beach still contained piles of snow. The evening was interesting having the intution of a 'local', who took us to the 'Valli Baar' bar which matched the tower blocks in terms of interior design. The bar in itself is preserved as an example of soviet design and the barman we suspect has been preserved with it. The drink to have as recommended by a Glaswegian who is now a local resident is the 'Milli Malikas' which is Sambuca, Tequilia and Tabasco a local favourite and is the ultimate challenge for the adventurous tourist, it will set your mouth on fire (lol). Drinks were more expensive in Old Tallinn than the rest of Estonia but were still fairly cheap, it is clear that the new countries of the EU have managed to catch up considerably on price with Western Europe.

An early ferry compelled us to get up early, an efficient and swift ferry service took us to Helsinki, taking 2 hours to make the crossing. Surprisingly we were identified by border control/ferry ticket checkers by first names before we even had chance to speak. We were amazed that Estonia had a faster boarding time (i.e. immediate) and was better organised than Dover or Turku. The crossing was smooth and we arrived in Helsinki on time and de-camped at the Eurohostel before finding a parking spot that was free which is fairly impossible in Helsinki. In the end we parked up in a dodgy looking industrial estate surrounded by a major road, flyovers and a petrol station, 20 minutes walk from the hostel.