Tallinn, Estonia!

Last week I was fortunate enough to go on two amazing trips! The perks of going to school in Finland are many, but at the top of the list for me is the opportunity to travel within Europe rather affordably! I mean half the battle of traveling to Europe is the airfare, but once you're already in Europe the flights between countries are relatively inexpensive! I'm looking forward to checking more countries off my list over the next 2 years. 

I took my first journey out of Finland, since moving here, last Tuesday; four of my classmates and myself travelled to Estonia. Magdalena, Joe, Steve, Rene, and I took a cruise from Helsinki to Tallinn (the capital of Estonia). At 9pm our ship left Helsinki, and after 3 short hours the boat docked in Estonia. The boat company, Viking Line, offers really cheap "day" trips to Estonia at 20 euros per person. While the boat technically leaves on Tuesday night and arrives around midnight, they don't let you off the ship until 7am the next morning (Wednesday). At 7am you are forced to get off the ship, where you're then not allowed back on until 6pm that same evening, meaning you spend a 'day' of nearly 12 hours in Estonia. The boat sets sail again at 7pm, and you arrive back in Helsinki around 10pm - at which point that concludes the most inexpensive trip I've ever taken to another country! So on the journey to Estonia everyone just parties on the boat, and wakes up all groggy for their day in Tallinn; we followed suit. 

Much dancing ensued. 

This guy was the entertainment, in many senses of the word.

After the enjoyable evening partying with Finns, we retreated to our cabin, where we slept for a mere 3.5 hours before being forced off the ship. Thankfully we were forced off the ship, otherwise I probably would have slept away my whole trip. When we initially got off the ship it was freshly dawn, so it was rather dark outside. We decided to hide out and have a proper breakfast in a cafe until the sun came out. After breakfast we spent the day exploring the old part of Tallinn - there is the old town and the new town - and we were focused on checking out the historical part. We were also lucky enough to have our own personal tour guide in the afternoon, because one of Magdalena's old classmates lives in Tallinn. Her friend took us around the whole afternoon showing us some of the spots that are less often ventured to by tourists.

The entrance to the old town. 

I found a piece of home in Tallinn!

The architecture was beautiful.

I really liked these door knockers, I might steal this idea if I ever own a home.

Steve and myself. The walls were all brick and beautiful, and so many doors were in this old, wooden style.

Looking at the old town from the top of the city.

Looking at the new town from the top of the city.

I'm an Asian tourist in Tallinn.

Here is the sun shining in the square in the center of town. They were setting up the Christmas market while we were there.

Although it was a long day of walking around, nearly 12 hours, I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Tallinn. The city was beautiful and quaint, the food was cheap, the weather was pleasant, and the company was great! Plus I got to ride on a boat! :-) I highly recommend taking a day trip to Tallinn if the opportunity ever presents itself.