I was awake before the 6.30 alarm. I had a chat to Kaoru and then went downstairs for some breakfast. It was mayhem in the restaurant. I closed my suitcase, checked out and caught the shuttle to the airport.
Checked in, waited for the flight, and eventually got home.
Melbourne airport is really slow for getting bags! After immigration I was waiting >20 minutes for my bags to arrive.
But I’m home after a wonderful holiday!
We have been traveling east for 11 hours – not sure what part of the flight we will say this started, but nothing happened anyway until about 10 minutes before landing when the girl across the aisle from me vomited butdidn’t look for a sick bag and just did it in theaisle. So the stewardesses had to work to get it all cleaned up quickly and get themselves seated for landing. Luckily none splashed on me.
Kaoru came through immigration with me. It was our first international arrival at Haneda. We had landed there once before coming back from hokkaido with Michael and Leila. Immigration was busy and we were in line for a good half hour. On the plus side, by the time we were through our bags were ready and we left.
We caught the bus to Futako tamagawa – theusual location when we are starting at Mio’s.Then a taxi to her house, and arrived just after 7. Mio gave us some food and then i went for a lay down to get some sleep, about8.
I was surprised that the next thing i knew it was 10! I dozed for a while and dropped off again until a bit after 11. I had a shower to freshen up a bit and went downstairs. Everybody was there (Nakao’s, plus Yoichi was home) so I said hello and we moved to the kitchen table to start eating and drinking.When we booked this trip we realized we hadto do an overnighter. By coincidence the day we were staying was a public holiday! Which meant we got to see everybody.
We started with some champagne and a spread Mio put on, and then beer. At 1.00 two large trays of sushi arrived. We were a bit quieter than in the past, for several reasons. All a bit older and wiser, me being tired, Yoichi had been out the previous night…but it was as enjoyable as ever. Kaoru disappeared for a sleep which i could tell sheneeded from a long time earlier. I went and had a half hour “recharge”, and got up to say goodbye to Minami as she had to go to Jouku. I then stayed downstairs and had a few more drinks, more food, and a green tea, which got me going. Mio, Kenichi, Yukari, Arisa and i played some card games.
As much fun as i was having, i thought i really do need to leave. I checked the Narita express train times and found they stop running at 8.30. And the last bus was 8.50. Crap. Plans a and b were not going to work as i couldn’t get to either on time. So it wouldhave to be a local train instead. Kozue drove us to the train station and Kaoru and i got ona train to Skytree (she didn’t trust me to get there on my own). We rushed to the connecting platform, said goodbye and i wasoff. Kaoru caught the train back to Mio’s.
It took about 90 minutes to get to the airport,and then i caught the free hotel shuttle bus to Narita View Hotel and checked in. I actually had a decent sized room! I had a bath (cause that’s what you do in Japan) andwent to bed.
The alarm was set for 6 but we were both awake before then. So we caught an earlier “Hoppa” bus to the airport than expected. Kaoru took the bags on a trolley to the tax refund counter, and because the line was long, i took our oyster cards to get refunded. Unfortunately because there was more than £10 on them i couldn’t do it at a machine, so was told where to go to the ticket office. Once I got there though, i was informed it didn’t open until 8 (it was about 7 at the moment).
I did the 7 minute walk back to where Kaoru was, and still hadn’t moved too far. So i wentto get some breakfast while Kaoru finished, and then we checked in. We went to the cafe to get Kaoru a coffee, and it was about 7.45. So i left Kaoru to relax and i went to do the oyster refunds. Luckily i left a little early as there was already a line forming at the visitoroffice, and by the time it opened it was even longer. But i got our £16.50 back for each of them which meant we now had some moneyto spend.
We went through security and wandered around the shops. Kaoru bought something from Harrods, and we bought a few other goodies. Our plane boarded on time at 920, but took off later than the 940 scheduled departure. It was probably closer to 1030 by the time wheels were off the ground.
We watched a couple of movies and got a little bit of sleep on the flight. We had a magnificent red sunset out the window! The 11 hour flight was long but non eventful.
It was nearly 9 when we woke up this morning. I had some toast and tea for breakfast, and passed the time until Hamish got up, and we all chatted for a while.
Kaoru, Yukari, Sean and i went in to the market. It was about a 25 minute walk in. There we bought some fish, veggies, wine and some bread. We got back to the house about 2, and Hamish and i got the (coal) bbq going, and then Kaoru and i went to the bottle shop to get some beers for Hamish and i. Hamish had bought some beautiful aged beef that we were going to cook along with the fish for the girls, while they preparedsome lovely accompanying salads.
I took the beef off earlier than Hamish was expecting, but to me it was perfect, and Hamish also enjoyed the meat a bit rarer than normal. The fish needed a bit longer though. We sat outside and enjoyed the sun, food, drinks and company.
Kaoru and i assessed a few different options to get to our hotel for the night (near Heathrow). We eventually decided to just get a car all the way – we were able to lock in £45, and it saved changing trains and buses, and also meant we didn’t need the un-air conditioned tube. It was considerably later than we expected by the time we got away, but an easy trip. The driver said he went as route about 10 miles longer but bypassed London traffic; it really was a hassle free trip,door to door. Sean was quite upset at havingto say goodbye which was very touching as it had been such a short time.
We checked in to the hotel and had some dinner. We did a little bit of repacking our suitcases as the room had a massive floor. We showered so as to not have to do it tomorrow and called it a night.
I was pretty rough when i woke up this morning. I went downstairs and had a bit of food and then went back to bed. But we couldn’t waste the day so we left the house about 11.00, after a bit more food and rest; still feeling pretty bad. Hamish was at work (although he went in late) and Yukari had taken the kids to school but had other thingsto do for the day.
Kaoru and i walked in to Hackney and got a hot drink, and i also bought an apple to get some sugar and liquid in me. We then caught a bus in to London, going through Angel where Kaoru used to live, but nothing looked familiar to her. We got off at London Victoria and still nothing familiar to Kaoru; i wasn’t expecting it to look familiar to me as i only came in to London a couple of times in 2001.
We walked around for a bit towards TrafalgarSquare, and stopped somewhere for lunch. After our food stop we went to the National Gallery; it was somewhere Kaoru used to go to regularly, and she was able to make her way directly to her favorite picture – Madam de Pompedeau. The route to the picture was probably the most familiar part of the day to Kaoru!
We walked around the gallery for an hour or so, looking at a number of the works of art. We then left and had a look at Trafalgar Square. This was closed off largely, for a cricket demonstration, of different variations of the game. So we couldn’t actually get to the main structure.
We walked around for a while longer, eventually stopping for an ice cream. We even found a Moomin shop! After a bit more aimless wandering we caught a tube to London Bridge, figuring we should at least see that. We had to skip the first two “tubes” because they were too full. We pushed our way on to the 3rd. They are the most uncomfortable design for the last people on because of their shape – if you are against the wall you can’t stand up straight. There was also no air conditioning, and it was hot and muggy, so a pretty terrible experience allup.
Once we got to London Bridge, we both realized at about the same time that we wereactually thinking of Tower Bridge! Well, we were here now so we took some photos and walked halfway across the bridge for a look. We then started to walk towards the Tower Bridge, and decided to stop for food. I was getting quite hungry now which meant i finally felt sober from yesterday. Kaoru had pasta and i had lasagne and salad. Still without a beer though.
It was then time to make our way to Kings Cross, where we met up with Eiko – another of Kaoru’s friends from the travel company she was working at in the past. We found theagreed venue and went to the table Eiko had booked for us. But the venue was really loud and it wasn’t easy to communicate. We had 1 drink and then decided to leave.
We found another place very close which was much quieter. We had to wait 5 minutes for a table but it was well worth it. Yukari arrived not long after to join us, and we ordered some food and drinks. The girls mostly spoke in japanese and i just passed the time, but it was easier for them to catch up that way. Eiko had travelled about 2 hoursto get there so a good friend.
About 11ish, Yukari, Kaoru and i caught the bus home. We had to wait about 15 minutes for the right bus to come but it dropped us <5 minutes from the house. Hamish was up playing music but i was too tired to join him, as much as i wanted to, so we went to bed.
Kaoru was up early. I was woken by the bins from 8 to 820 so started the day with anothercooked breakfast. A small inflatable world issue to deal with, and then we finalized our packing and passed the time. The 3 of us caught an 11.50 bus to Oxford.
We went to the John Lewis cafe between the bus stop and our next bus departure point, and had some lunch. We said thank you and goodbye, and Kaoru and I caught the 1.15 bus to Shepherd’s Bush, where we bought anoyster card and caught the overground to Hackney Central, although enroute found thenext stop to be better. Once off the train we got our bearings and made our way to Yukariand Hamish’s, but stopped at Tesco on the way for some food.
Hamish wasn’t home from work when we arrived. I had spoken to Yukari a couple of times on Skype before but it was the first time of meeting her and the kids (Jana and Sean). Jana was a bit shy at first but eventually opened up. Sean was a chatterbox from the second the door opened.Watching this 4 year old talk confidently in Japanese and English was amazing.
Kaoru and Yukuri went to the shops to get some beer and I stayed and watched the kids. Sean and i played on his slot car set and Jana did a drawing. Aunty Diane had sent me back with her old badge making set so i got that out of the suitcase thinking she might like to immortalize a drawing. She loved it! So we made a couple of badges and a fridge magnet.
Hamish got home so we met, and after a bottle of red was drunk (with the babysitter assisting too) we caught an uber to dinner. We went to a nice tapas place that charged like a wounded bull and had small servings; but they were all delicious. During our first glass of bubbles Hamish announced that tonight was their 10 year wedding anniversary! So it was something to celebrate, and celebrate we did.
We split the bill and then went to another barwhere we had a couple more glasses of wine, i got to know Hamish better, and the girls got to have a good catch up. Eventually we caught an uber home, where Hamish and i had some scotch whisky and a stout as a night cap.
No need to get up early, but Kaoru was back to her usual self so up bright and early. I got up and cooked breakfast and got ready to start the day.
We left about 10.30 and caught the bus in to Oxford. We then worked out the route to Glouster green in preparation for tomorrow. We picked up some bus timetables and checked prices. Some were £8 and some were £9 for the exact same place (London Victoria). So we took them with us and walked to the train station, and then to the Oxford playhouse where i used to work. It had a new paint coat and different clientele to when i was there, but looked largely the same. We then walked around Oxford to see if anything looked familiar. Very little. It was certainly much busier than either of us recalled but the streets and buildings were largely just like a new experience.
We stopped for some lunch and had a look at the drop off points for the buses, to assess ease of access. We also found what looked like a better way to get on the bus at the start, so we walked that to check it out – much easier! We walked around a Tesco express to pass the time and then met AuntyDiane at the Head of the River pub.
We bought tickets and then joined the 2.30 river boat ride to Abingdon. Aunty Diane had done this a few weeks ago, and i always wanted to experience a lock, so we thought this would be an enjoyable activity. In 2 hours we went through 3 locks down the Thames (or Isis, as it is called in the Oxford section), and had a generally enjoyable ride. Aunty Diane had bought some banana cake for a snack as well.
Once at Abingdon i got some more money out (at a much better exchange rate) and we caught the next bus back to Radley to get home. I then went next door to say hello to Eric and have a bit of a chat. I had forgotten what a card he was. So we caught up on a few stories for half an hour or so and then i went home.
Dinner tonight was spaghetti. I had never had this with Aunty Diane in the UK because of foot in mouth disease last time i was here,and a tart for dessert. We then couldn’t put it off any longer – we had to pack. It was surprising how we arrived with 2 suitcases, found very little in the roof to come back, but filled 3 suitcases! We had packed very loosely to ensure things didn’t bounce around, but still. ..
After a bit more talking and an email tidy up we called it a night.
We had a great sleep in this morning. Nothing to wake up for, no noise, a dark room. ..It was about 9 when we got out of bed.
I cooked breakfast (bacon and egg sandwich) and we planned our day. First job was to go up in the roof and sort out stuff i had left here in 2002 when i left. It was a great nostalgic trip seeing old skydiving t shirts, maps and postcards collected from my travels, as well as old guidebooks and other assorted odds and ends -even old payslips, for £4.30/hour! Most of them just ended up in a box for the salvos or the rubbish bin, and a very small amount went inthe “coming home” pile. Kaoru was happy asit meant more suitcase space for her to fill up!
After a shower we drove in to Abingdon and went to the bank – i had a statement showing ~£50 and wanted to see if i could get my hands on it. I had previously communicated with the bank and they had told me to just come in with id. But no. They needed proof of my current address, bank account for it to go in to (in my name, meaning exchange rates, etc, as that would be in Australia) and it would take some time. I decided it wasn’t worth my time, as i would have to come back in.
We had lunch at a Costa coffee as it was something Kaoru remembered. After lunch we had a walk around Abingdon, Aunty Diane pointing all the sights out. We stoppedat a pub and Kaoru and I had a drink (warm beer on a hot day. ..disgusting) while Aunty Diane moved her car (she was in a 2 hour free zone). We met back at the museum/old town hall, and Kaoru and i went to the top for the scenic lookout. There was a volunteer up there who pointed out the sights in every direction, making it well worth the £2 each.
We only had 5-10 minutes to look at the museum as it was nearly closing time. So werushed through that (luckily not too big) and were done. We were taken around the rest of Aunty Diane’s favorite places before going back home. We relaxed for a while and had dinner (salmon and salad), and played a few games of “Set” a pattern recognition card game Aunty Diane had. We had a look at some options for getting to Yukari’s house, and then i took Kaoru up to the pub for a drink. She had a nice cold cider and i thoughtI’d give english beer another go. Nope. Last one. We went back home, chatted for a while and went to bed.
It was no alarm this morning – there was no need. We grabbed a small bite from the supermarket and packed our bags. I weighedmine and it was ~26kg. We were allowed 2 bags of 23kg, so we did some shuffling between Kaoru’s bag and mine until i was down to about 24kg. This took us longer than expected and it was now 10.30.
We went to Pipsa’s flat to return the key to Bambi, and say goodbye to her and Tommi. We then went outside to catch our 11.00 busto the airport. Once there we had to use a Checkin kiosk. It told us the flight was overbooked and asked if we would volunteer to catch a different flight. Ummmm…no. We weren’t even next to each other although we were only one row apart and both had aisle seats so it wasn’t too bad.
I grabbed some food as i was quite hungry by now, and then we went through security and slowly looked at the shops. Eventually we were at a passport control checkpoint, which we weren’t expecting as we were still in the EU. But we even had our passport stamped. I was starting to get concerned – Kaoru had been told that she should do the tax free receipts in the UK; i hope they were right! Well find out in a week or so.
We found the gate as we were starting to wonder how far away it was. We then came back to look at shops and passed the time. We bought some food for the flight, and Kaoru bought some blueberry jam, getting ourselves down to just €10 exactly left over, so we considered that another win; and finally we boarded. Because of my silver status we could board early which was great- it meant we were guaranteed a spot to put our bags. We waited for the plane to fill up, and finally pushed off about 20 minutes late. Hopefully we will make the time up over the 3 hour flight.
The people i was sitting next to were friendly.I had a good chat to them. She spoke Russian and they had spent some time in St Petersburg. I was very interested as we weregoing to go there but decided we didn’t have enough time. They are the only people i haveheard say they didn’t enjoy the country. The people were rude and would ignore them, even though they could communicate directly with them. I think everybody else i have spoken to had done a tour so that mustbe the secret. I took a mental note that we had to do a tour when we do make it there.
The flight was uneventful and eventually we landed on time at 3.05. We collected our bags and got some money out from an ATM.First time I’ve been screwed with my ING card (but not INGs fault). The rate was worked out by the ATM rather than just giving me £’s and ING working it out. So i gota shitful rate. But at least i had money.
Aunty Diane was waiting to pick us up. So we got our 2 suitcases into her small car, plus the 3 of us, and off we went. It was a hotday -the car was saying 29! It was quite loudwith the windows open but it was needed! We went to Sainsburys to buy some ginger ale (i had some bourbon from Tallinn) and some dessert and then went to the house, unloaded the car and sat down.
After a bit of a chat we got dinner organized (cold pie and salad), had dessert (meringues) and then spent the rest of the night talking.
We were awoken about 6.30 to the noise of cars getting on the ferry. Even though we had boarded last night, departure isn’t until 8.00. Fantastic business idea – the ferry has to stay in port and incur costs, so they just open it up as a hotel and make a bit of money from it! Of course only passengers can stay, but it actually worked out cheaper for us than a hotel, and we didn’t have the stress of checking out and getting to the porton time.
We slept on and off for an hour and my alarmwent off at 7.30. Our breakfast was booked for 7.45 so we went and ate from the buffet, as the ship pulled out of port. After breakfast we went back to bed for an hour, and my alarm woke us again at 9.30. We were feelingmuch better after that extra hour! So we showered and watched the ferry go past Suomenlinna from the luxury of our couch, looking out the front windows. The whole tripin looked great, and once docked we headed towards the door to leave. We looked in a couple of rooms that were open, so could see what the interior rooms were like – we were certainly happier with what we had!
We disembarked and caught the tram and bus back home; we dropped our bags off, grabbed some things for the day, and headed off while our 90 minute ticket was still valid. Kaoru had read about the silent chapel in Kamppi so we went there. It was totally different architecture to any chapel wehad seen before. No big steeple on top and built of wood, but a modern design. Inside was very basic as it was Lutherian. Just some pews and a small alter; but they don’t do sermons there.
We then rushed off to get a bus; strictly speaking, as we understood it, a single trip ticket allows for changes to get to your destination, but you have to board the last transport within 90 minutes of buying the ticket. So we convinced ourselves that the stops at the house and chapel were just “transfer points” and we weren’t really finishing the trip yet. So the bus took us north, as we wanted to go to the Siberian monument. The bus took us close but we still had to walk 500 metres or so. We saw a Fazar cafe (the famous Finnish chocolate) so stopped there for a hot chocolate. Then just as we left it started to rain.
We had driven past the monument on the tour bus a few days ago, but now we got to have a closer look. We were hoping the rain would mean less tourists, but no, there were a few buses there so it was quite crowded. We took some photos and headed off.
Our plan, now that our ticket had expired, was to walk home. It was only about 4k according to Google maps. So we enjoyed the exercise and our last walk in Helsinki, even with the light rain. We stopped for lunchat a bakery which didn’t have a menu in English but the staff spoke great english and translated it for us. I also tried Google translate which did a good job. So we had salmon soup, and a shrimp salad, both of which were delicious but we struggled to finish it all.
Back at the house we did that job that always sucks at the end of a holiday – packing. We got things more or less organized and then passed the time until Pipsa and the boys got home. We then all went out for dinner. Kaoru and i wanted to take them out, especially Tommi as he gave up his apartment for us so we had a place of our own during our stay. So we took them to a sushi restaurant, which was actually an all you can eat buffet for €15.90 (and €11 for Bambi). We were wanting something “nicer” but they were all happy with it. The quality wasn’t that good although the salmon was great. The wasabi was terrible and had no kick. Pipsa had previously told me she didn’t eat wasabi in Helsinki and now i knew why. i told her that if she comes here again, bring the tube of wasabi we had bought them.
We were all pretty stuffed as we walked out. We then piled in to Tommi’s new car and he took us to his work. He is a producer so at his office there is a full size cinema screen and a few couches for customers to preview movies. We watched “Big Game” which has Samuel k Jackson in it and was filmed in Finland. It was one that Tommi’s company had produced.
After the movie we went back home and saidgoodbye to Ville. Pipsa came over to our room with a present for us to take to Aunty Diane. We said goodbye to her and then went to bed. It was actually dark. We couldn’t believe that in just over 2 weeks it had changed so much.
The alarm went off at 730. Kaoru was already up. We went downstairs and bought a salad for breakfast, brushed our teeth and were out of home by 830, on our way to the ferry terminal. The tram we wanted doesn’t start until 915 on Saturdays though, so we had to walk from central to the ferry terminal.
We didn’t have as much time wasted sitting around this time, as we knew how easy it was. So we were able to go straight to the departure lounge and wait for our call. We left on time (maybe even a little early) at 10.30. The ferry trip over wasn’t exciting – it was 2.75 hours this time though so noticablylonger. We found some seats and had a bit of a sleep. Then wandered the ship a bit.
Once in Estonia we returned our bus passes. We were expecting to get remaining credit refunded but (we thought roughly €2.80, plus the €2 deposit) but we only got the €2 deposit back. so that pissed us off a bit as we suspected she was going to do it after weleft and pocket it herself.
Then we went to an alcohol shop to buy some beer for Tommi. It was nearly half the price! I also bought a bottle of bourbon to take to the uk. We put the alcohol and our overnight bag in a locker at the station and were ready to start our day.
It was well past lunchtime so we found a place to eat. They had these little dumpling type things so i got meat and Kaoru got salmon. There would have been about 20 of each and we polished them off. Really nice and filling.
We then walked in to the old town. We came in a different gate so ended up in a part we hadn’t already seen. We found the centre square where i had read there would be a medievil market, but there was nothing. So we went to the tourist information to ask what time the parade starts. We are over here for the song and dance festival – a once-every-5-years event, and it starts with a parade so we wanted to see that. We walked out to the main road and there was a sea of spectators as well as and endless procession of people dressed in traditional Estonian outfits. Sometimes there were primary school kids, sometimes older people, sometimes playing music…We watched for awhile and took a heap of photos, and then started walking on towards the festival grounds.
We stopped at a fancy cafe for an hour or so.I had a macha latte and Kaoru had a latte. We didn’t need to be at the festival grounds for a couple of hours and enjoyed the sit down after all the walking. But we left and went to a supermarket to buy some food for the trip home, and a bottle of juice to drink.
We followed the procession another 15 minutes or so and went in to the festival ground. I think the entire population was there! Somehow we managed to find a spot on the grass to sit, but we were behind the speakers (so it was very loud) and we couldn’t see the screen. The audience were trying to get a Mexican wave going, and when they finally succeeded in going from the stage all the way to the back it was followed with a round of applause.
We were sitting on our homemade “sheets”. The ground was mostly dry, even though it had been raining earlier, as we were in the sun. But this kept us nice and clean, and i managed to lay down and even had a power nap!
The song festival was enjoyable. We couldn’tunderstand what they were saying and there was no translations, but the sense of pride these people had was very strong. I could see tears in the eye of one lady as they were singing what i assume was the national anthum.
Kaoru went and got us some food from a tent which was locally cooked meat, potatoes and sauerkraut. I got an ice cream for dessert, as it was still nice and warm in the sun. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
It was due to finish at 10. Boarding for our ferry starts at 11.30, and we estimated a 45 minute walk back to the port; but if everybody was leaving at once it would be much longer, and difficult to not get separated. So we headed off about 915, firstly by walking as close to the front as we could get, so we could experience the crowd more.
We walked in what we thought was the general direction of the port. We didn’t want to go on the main road again so walked through a park. There was a Japanese garden in it, with some japanese writing in it.Kaoru explained it was about a bloke who was giving visas to people even after being told he couldn’t, to let the Jews out of the country during communist rule.
Eventually we ended up back on the main road. We went in to a supermarket as we hadlearnt Finland doesn’t accept 1 and 2 cent coins, but we had a couple from our Baltic trip last week. We found a piece of chocolate for 27c which got rid of a heap of coins, and we felt like we had won, after losing the money from our bus passes.
As we approached the ferry terminal we werewell on time so stopped at a bar for a cider and rest. We got some more euro out from the ATM and went to the ferry port to pass the last 15 minutes before boarding.
Once on board we found our room. We had booked an interior room, so it would be dark (it was only one night). So we searched for our room and found we had the very front cabin (as in, facing the front of the ship)! We had 2 massive windows, and room for 2 more (but they were not cut out). We had a separate sitting and sleeping area! We had a huge bathroom! This was almost as big as the suites mum and dad get on their cruises!There was no bath but a massive shower. Then Kaoru opened the fridge and there was a sign saying “please enjoy these complimentary drinks”, which included a bottle of champagne. I had a look on the escape strategy diagram on the door and this was by far the biggest room on the ship.
We looked at our ticket and upon closer inspection, we must have decided to treat ourselves (since we weren’t paying accommodation), and we had in fact paid fora window room – the inside ones were all bunk beds. So the upgrade wasn’t quite as big as we had originally thought. But it was still a much better room than we had expected and the complimentary drinks werestill a surprise, so we cracked the bottle and watched the tv for a bit, before going to bed.
We woke around 8.30, and realizing we only had an hour before breakfast closed, went downstairs before showering. It was a big buffet with mostly Finnish style food. I had cold meats, salad, cheese, yogurt, fruit salad and hot chocolate.
After breakfast we showered and headed outfor the day. I left my backpack behind and just carried a water bottle, so it was a very easy day. We started by walking in to town and were pleasantly surprised to see a market operating! So we wandered through that, enjoying the smells of the fresh fruit.
We then walked along the water (Savonlinna is an island so there was plenty of it!) to the museum and walked around that for a bit. We then went to the castle and paid €10 for entrance to check it out. There was a guided tour starting in 10 minutes so we did that, and were able to go up into the towers, and learn some of the history of the castle.
By the time the tour was over it was almost 1.00 and we were hungry. Pipsa had told us about Hesburger -a Finnish fast food restaurant that was supposed to be good. We were thinking something like Mosburger, so thought we should give it a go; we had noticed one back in town. So in we went for our first and last. It really was just the same as McDonalds.
We went back to the market to get a Savonlinnain specialty – Lorsty (??). We had the sweet version – Kaoru had cloudberry and I had vanilla. It was basically a flat jam donut; it was nice and cleared the taste of fast burger from our mouths.
We had time to kill so walked aimlessly; we went in the Savinkinna cathedral, and a few other stores. About 3.00 I was feeling sleepy so went back to the hotel for a nap while Kaoru walked around on her own. By 4.30 Kaoru was back so we showered and put on our good clothes for the reason we had come all this way – our evening at the opera.
We were here to see The Barber of Seville. Kaoru had been to an opera before but it wasmy first time. We stopped by the supermarket to get a sandwich, and then had a beer at a food van just outside the castle walls, before excitedly going inside. We were still early so had to wait before we could take our seats.
The show was very enjoyable; a real modern version with some comedy in it. There were screens that gave a few english words to let you know the storyline at the current location. At interval i bought a bottle of waterbecause my mouth was getting quite dry.
The show finished around 10.15, so we went to the supermarket and bought an ice cream.I also had a drink left from yesterday’s purchase so we had that in the room and watched tv before bed.
Today was another slowish start. However something made Kaoru look at the train tickets and she noticed they were for tomorrow instead of today! So panic set in.
We went to the R kiosk downstairs and explained the situation. Luckily the person spoke and understood english so it wasn’t hard to get the problem rectified.
We didn’t have anything on until 11, so went to a cafe next to the R kiosk for breakfast, reorganized our bags, and headed off about 10.30. We caught the train to the city and goton a Panorama tour. It was still (just) with the 48 hours (by 17 minutes). So we got the same seats as we had used yesterday and enjoyed a different route of Helsinki. This included a stop at the rock cathedral – a cathedral built into the granite rock. It was a nice place but very touristy, and the staff were constantly shushing everybody. Unfortunately we were there 10 minutes afterour Helsinki card had run out so we had to pay the €3 to get in.
The tour finished late and we already had a tight schedule. So we hurried through the city and got to the train station with just enough time to get a sandwich for lunch, andthen got on our intercity train.
Strangely enough the seats on our ticket hadus sitting on either side of the aisle; so we summized the train was going to be full. But there was nobody next to, in front of, or behind me. Kaoru had somebody next to andin front of her. Strange.
On the journey we were watching as the scheduled time to get to each station, and the current time, were getting further and further apart. We knew there was a 6 minute transfer time, and by 2 stops before, we werealready over 20 minutes late. We waited withbaited breath on what would happen.
Luckily it all worked out. There was a train waiting on the platform but the screen only mentioned the train we were getting off. We saw somebody getting on the other train andasked them, and they confirmed it is going toSavonlinna. So another hour of traveling and we were there. We could see the castle as wearrived in town from the train window; it certainly stood out!
We got our bearings and walked to the hotel. It was only about 10 minutes and luckily wasn’t raining as we had hit some bad weather on the way. So we checked in to our room. This hotel wasn’t designed for couples; there were no double rooms. Our heads were at opposite ends of the bed with a big gap between! So we did some rearranging.
We were both pretty hungry so decided to treat ourselves to a proper meal. We found a restaurant with a view of the castle and shared a ceasar salad to start, with a whisky sour (it included an egg white so i had to give it a go as it was something i hadn’t seenbefore-really nice). I had lamb with lindumberries and veggies and gravy (and a beer). Kaoru had tortellini with pesto (so she didn’t have to share with me 😠). Then for dessert we had blueberry pie, with a cider dessert wine. €100 all up, so by far our most expensive meal, but it was worth every penny!
We walked closer to the castle to get some photos while nobody else was around. The castle was closed though for final rehersals. We went to the supermarket across the road and bought a few drinks (still before 9). We then went back to our room and watched tv for a couple of hours (we hadn’t done this before and needed a lazy evening).
I needed a sleep in this morning. Kaoru wokeme to say goodbye. I didn’t realize how late itwas (~9). So off she went to do some shopping. I had a shower and did a couple ofwork things, had a Skype with mum and dad,and was ready to leave myself around 10.15.
I got some breakfast (pastries from the supermarket) and caught a bus uptown, and went to the museum of technology. I got there just as it opened (11.00), so it was lucky i didn’t get there any earlier. I had a slow, nostalgic look at the history of technology and was amazed at what has been accomplished over a relatively short time.
There were a couple of extra buildings in the museum; these were from when it was a hydro electric plant. So i got to look around them too. And given it was raining, it was a good way to spend the morning. But eventually it was time to leave. I caught a bus back down towards the city. It was a bit of a walk from the bus stop to the market. Once i had grabbed a pastry i met Kaoru at our planned meeting point, to get on an Urban bus tour – a tour of the neighborhood’s.
We got a seat upstairs and looked at what we could through the wet windows. We stopped at the Aribba factory and museum, so got to have a 40 minute walk through there. The tour finally finished at about 3.
We went in to the main cathedral, and went down to the crypt to see an art exhibition that was on down there. On our way to the train station we suddenly realised we were outside the money museum so checked out their exhibition too.
At the train station we thought we would buyour train tickets for tomorrow. We got a number and it was going to be a long wait! i asked at the information counter and was told we could buy them from an r kiosk. That sounded easier! So we got that done in a matter of minutes.
Once back at the house Kaoru had a shower and did a load of washing. We packed our bags for the next day and then went out for pizza for dinner at a normal dinner time!
After dinner i went out for a couple of beers with Tommi and Ville – it was Tuesday night, after all! So they took me to a craft beer brewery nearby. We then went back to the house for Ville to make pea soup for Pipsa (as she missed out last night). We had a chatand then went home.
After a shower, the day started with us finding a cafe in the station for breakfast. The old lady in the shop spoke english so it was easy to find out what the various foods were.
Back in the room, i had to deal with some work issues while Kaoru planned the day. Once i had finished we left a little bit later than originally planned.
We caught the train in to the city first, and bought 48 hour Helsinki cards. With our Tallinn cards we got a €5 discount each which was great! We then caught the ferry over to Suomenlinna – the Finnish castle. Which is really a fort, consisting of 6 islands. We walked around a bit and then did a 1.00 guided tour of a part of one of the islands. It was a very windy day, and it was a cold wind.
We wandered round a bit more before catching a ferry back to the main land. We then walked to Amos Rex – a museum of modern art. Pipsa had told us about it and asit was included in our Helsinki pass, why not?Well it was a different exhibition than when Pipsa went and we were quite disappointed. The only consolation was that we hadn’t paid the €15 to get in.
We went outside and had a beer in a sheltered area so it wasn’t too cold, and looked at the discounts available to us with our pass. After the drink we went up to the state museum as it was only a 7 minute walkaway. I think this was my favorite museum of the trip. It had the most detail of the stone ages, and non war related historical events. Of course there were floors on the atrocities of people in the past as no museum would be compete without it.
After the museum we caught a tram back to the centre and walked to the docks. We grabbed some food from one of the few stalls still open at the market and then got on a 6.30 boat cruise around the bay (€30 worth, but included! ). Because it was so windy and cool, we went downstairs and hada drink, and stayed down there for the duration.
Once we were back at Port we got off and looked at a couple of restaurants on our way to the station, as we needed a “proper” meal instead of the junk we had been eating. But because of the food we had eaten as the cruise started, and it was already after 8, our plan was to get a pizza when we got home. On the way i got a message from Tommi inviting us to join him for a drink so we went with that option.
It was a different bar to where Kaoru and i had been last night – Tommi and Ville were on the roof top enjoying a cool beer. We wentto the supermarket before it closed and bought a few bottles, and then joined them for a couple of drinks.
Ville was going to make pea soup and invited us to join them so we thought why not? So we went back to their room and had a chat. Pipsa was in bed, so we didn’t see her. But had a couple of drinks and some good soup with a special Finnish mustard for flavoring. We then went back to our room and called it a night. It was almost even dark!
I didn’t sleep well last night. So didn’t like thealarm at 730. Shower and breakfast downstairs, last check of the room and we checked out by 9. It was a short walk to the bus stop to await our tour to Trakai castle. This was discounted €15 because of our card. We had an audio guide on the way introduce us to some history of Lithuania. We then were dropped off for 2.5 hours of free time.
We went in to the castle and explored. In the courtyard there were a set of gallows and a cage you could go in to experience medievil torture.
We then walked in to “town” (Trakai is quite asmall village), to go to the chocolate museum. This was another one on our pass, and we could see numerous chocolate sculptures. These were amazing but i wouldn’t have paid €5 to see them!
We stopped for an ice cream on the way back and passed the time before going back to the bus stop. The bus was about 5 minutes late and 6 people weren’t there. Too bad though! We don’t know if they deliberately missed it (and had told the driver) or if they were just late, but once the 4of us who were there were on, we were gone! It was much hotter today and i was feeling the fatigue and lack of adrenaline so slept for some of the way back.
We walked for a bit and then had some lunch. We had beetroot soup, beef stroganoff and a potato pie, with a cider this time. Then it wasoff to the palace for a tour, which was free today as it is the last Sunday of the month. Bonus! Plus it was air conditioned inside so lovely and cool. Double bonus! We took our time walking around as we had an hour to kill. But we hadn’t factored in the size of the place! By the end we were rushing through, getting more and more urgent as the tour took us up a floor when we needed to go down to leave.
Finally we got to the exit, grabbed or bag from the locker and hurried back to the hotel to collect our other bags. We got in a taxi and went to the airport, sad to say goodbye to this country, and the Baltic component of our holiday. We checked in and boarded our twin turbo prop back to Helsinki.
We caught the bus back to Pipsa’s place no problems at all – we were locals here now! Pipsa and Ville still weren’t back from the farm so we went to a bar nearby and had a drink and some nachos. We thought we should grab some drinks to bring to Pipsa’s, but whilst the supermarket is 24 hours, the alcohol section closes at 9. So we were out of luck.
We walked round the back thinking we wouldwait for them to get home. And they were just parking the car! Perfect timing. So we went inside and had a chat, and then grabbed the keys to Tommi’s flat. Kaoru did a load of washing. We had a shower to makesure we didn’t being back any bed bugs, and passed the time until the machine finished. Once the washing was hung up we went to bed.
Kaoru was going to wake up early and go to the market before breakfast. But she slept in,so we got up, showered and had a relaxed breakfast (again, inclusive). We left the hotel about 10.00.
Our first stop was the cathedral, for a bit of a look. Then it was off to the tourist information centre to get a few plans. We decided to get the Vilnius city card for €19.99. We got them to start it from 12.00 as we didn’t really know what we were going to useit on.
We walked around the city and went to Uzopia – a Republic within the city. They have passport stamps but i wasn’t game to put one in my passport so i just put it in a notebook. We sat down and had a drink and a think.
Once we had made our plan, the rest of the day was going to be busy. So we payed and rushed down to the market for a look, taking photos of a few sites along the way, including the gates of dawn. It was quite a small market so didn’t take us as long as we were expecting. We bought some pastries for the afternoon.
Next was to get on the “hop on hop off” bus. So we went to the ticket office, showed our Vilnius card and were given our passes, just in time to catch the bus. We were doing this as a means to an end – we needed to be back at cathedral square by 1.30 and the busarrives there at 1.28. So we got to see some of the outside of the city, and then got off and rushed to the statue.
Now for the “alternative” city walk. Not around the old city but started by catching a bus (€1) to an old neighborhood, nestled between ever-growing skyscrapers of the business district. It was a lovely area, which still didn’t have running water to the houses!
Walking through the cbd a bit, we went to the22nd floor of the Radisson hotel for a commanding view of the city. There is a bar but it was closed so we could only look out the two end windows of the rectangular shaped building. It was still great to see the city from up so high.
After a short walk we stopped for a break, where we had a crepe and i had a bottle of gira. Everybody else had tea or coffee. Then to the bus stop to go to the other end of the city.
We walked through the train station and were shown a cafe recently opened that looks out on the tracks. It was about 4.00 so too early for hipsters to be there. Then we were taken to an older part of the station where a number of trains and the platform had been converted to another hipster cafe. Not having a man-bun or beard meant i couldn’t stay for a drink😊. But it was cool to see.
We went through a number of other similarly bizarre buildings, before getting to the market. We didn’t have to rush there earlier! but at least we got pastries last time (which we had consumed by now). Our walk then concluded with us saying goodbye and giving the guide a tip, as it was a free tour.
We went to the fort and were given another museum to walk through, and more views of the city. Seeing the artifacts discovered makes it hard to comprehend the times that people have lived through.
We walked back through the village with our next destination in mind, but decided to havean ice cream. While thinking about what to get i got a tap on my shoulder. It was one of the guys from our Riga trip! They invited us to join them (they were sitting across the road) so we sat down and had a beer while sharing stories of the day. But we couldn’t stay long as there were still some things to cram in.
We rushed to the cathedral belfry but were too late. We made it 15 minutes before closing time but last entrance is 30 minutes. So no luck there.
We tried to find the entrance to the grand dukes tower but couldn’t find it. We got to the palace but didn’t want to do that right now. so instead we went back to our hotel for the toilet, and asked where the entrance was. We got conflicting directions from the 2staff members but decided if we did a lap we would have to find it.
Sure enough we got to it and started the longwalk up the rocky, cobblestone path. We were wondering where we were supposed to pay. Once we got to the top of the hill (the base of the tower) we found the ticket office and showed our card. We looked around the ground floor of the tower and were pretty disappointed at what we had seen, as there was nowhere else to go. But on our way out we were directed up some more stairs and after looking through a number of rooms along the way, eventually made it to the top. And this was the most awesome 360° view of the town!
Once photos were taken and we had enjoyedthe view for a while we made our way back down to the bottom. Then across the river and up to the top of 3 cross hill (not to be mistaken with the hill of crosses). This was atrying hike after all we had done for the day but again was worth it to look back over the town from such height. We took photos with our “Shaw and Partners” hats for Ben, as thisseemed like a nice spot to do it.
We walked back a different way and made our way to the air kitchen. It was open this time! It was basically a food truck festival with music and beer. We walked past a truck that was scraping melted cheese on something so decided then and there it was what we wanted. It came with potato, bacon and salad, and was a melted Swiss-type block of cheese. I got a beer and we found a seat and enjoyed our dinner.
As we were finishing it started to rain so we waited 5 minutes for that to pass and startedthe walk back to the hotel. We were thinking of going for a drink but decided to just go home and have an early night. So we packedour bag for tomorrow and went to bed.
The alarm woke me at 730. Kaoru was in the shower. Once i had showered we had breakfast and then checked out to catch our next tour bus. We found it just outside wherewe had been dropped off 2 days ago.
Today’s tour had 7 of us; we said hello and all got in our car and off we went. Our first stop was a the Salispals Memorial monument built by the Russians in the 1960s showing the suppression from the Germans. It is a controversial monument to the Latvians, and as our guide was explaining it, the emotion in her voice was clear.
Back in the car, after a quick rest stop we went to Rundalez Palace, where we could walk around the magnificent gardens and admire the palace from both inside and out.
Lunch was another half hour down the road, at a nice little restaurant. Kaoru and i both had venison, but she also had some soup. I had a beer but Kaoru tried the local drink – nesa (???). It was described as a fermented bread drink and was really quite nice and refreshing.
Our next stop was the hill of crosses. We knew this was on the itenerary so were looking forward to it. But it cannot be described by words or pictures. So many thousands of crosses on this hill in the middle of nowhere. Ranging from gigantic ones like from a cemetery to small ones made from twisting lollypop sticks together. Anna explained the history of it to us which was another reminder of the hard times these people have been through.
We continued on towards Vilnius, and i noticed a sign saying 205km to go. It’s 290km total if you go direct so we certainly were taking a scenic route. We made a slightdetour via Kaunas and walked around the old city. There were lots of churches and we went in the one that Pope John Paul II visiteda couple of years earlier. We also saw the high water mark from when the town floodedduring the construction of the hydro dam.
Another 75 minutes of driving and we finally made it to Vilnius. The traffic was that of a big city. Eventually we found somewhere to park, got out of the car and said goodbye. We could hear music playing so there was some event nearby. We walked across the road to Amberton hotel and checked in. Our room here was lovely! Much larger than our other rooms. However it was a twin, not a double. So we just had beds next to each other with about a10cm gap between them.
Kaoru did a load of washing and i checked work things. We then went out for dinner. Our plan was “open kitchen” – an open market that operates Friday and Saturday nights. So we made our way down there, through swarms of people coming down another street near the cathedral square – the event had obviously just finished (we later found out it was to do with the president standing down after her 2 terms); but there was nothing to be seen. So instead we wandered back up and found a Lithuanian cuisine restaurant.
Dinner was a couple of things from the menu. The first was a mushroom soup in a bread bowl. The second was a crepe with meat inside. The third was a Lithuanian specialty -potato around meat. Didn’t go down too well!But at least we tried it.
Quite stuffed, we needed a walk, and found a place to have a beer. But we were also quite tired so went back to the hotel and went to bed.
We woke up about 8, showered and had breakfast, which was included in our room cost. There was quite a spread to choose from. No bacon and eggs though! just local food.
After breakfast we left to start exploring. It was a dismal looking day and was definitely going to rain so i went back up to get my rainjacket and Kaoru grabbed her umbrella. About 5 minutes out of the hotel we stopped to put on all my layers and the umbrella was up. But we weren’t going to let that stop us.
We walked around the village, opting againstbuying the local tourist card. The architecture was beautiful and we enjoyed looking at the buildings down the narrow streets.
We decided to have a break and had a hot chocolate at a Belgium chocolate shop, which left us feeling quite bloated. So after a bit more walking we decided to do the war museum. Entrance was free and the sign says 3 hours! i don’t think we will be that long! I didn’t really know anything about Latvian history so this was a very moving stop. We were there for a good 90 minutes, and put some money in the donation tin.
A bit of a walk took us to the canal where we decided to catch a 1 hour boat ride. We went along the canal, up the river and back down again. It was windy and cold, but luckily they had a blanket in the boat for us-i was still in shorts. We got to see a number of the sites from the outside, including the freedom monument, and relax a bit.
We wanted to go to the market for lunch-it was about 215. But we were quite cold so i went to put jeans on, and Kaoru put on a jacket. We then walked to the market and wandered around deciding what to eat, and also looking at the food for sale. We bought a few things not knowing what they are, and they all tasted great.
A bit more walking and we ended up at the cathedral which we could go up the top of, and get one of the highest views of the area. It was beautiful but very windy. And after a couple of minutes the rain came too. So once we had taken photos and had a good look we caught the elevator down.
A bit more walking around and we decided it was time for a drink. We found a place called”Easy Beer”, which is the most awesome concept I’ve seen for beer dispensing. They give you a card, and you tap and pour your own drink. So you can put as little or as much as you want in a glass and it shows you how much you have dispensed and how much credit you have left. Then at the end you pay for what you used. You could also get shots of whisky or measures of wine.
We wanted to get some food for the day tomorrow so went to a supermarket; but theydidn’t have as good selection as the one we used in Tallinn, so we found another supermarket which was marginally better.
Then it was dinner time so we ended up at an Irish pub before going back to our room and packing our bags. We went to bed about 10.45 after thinking a bit about what we would be doing in a couple of days.
We were both awake and showered before the alarm went off. We went to the same place for breakfast where i had the same but the croissants hadn’t arrived yet so Kaoru had the quiche. Back at our room we did our teeth, double checked we had everything, putthe key back in the key box and went across the road to wait for our 9.00 tour bus. There was a very light rain.
The bus was there. ..bus being a van that squeezes 8 passengers. We were 16 so filled2 cars.
Our first shift was about 2 hours driving. We got out and walked around the 6th largest city in Estonia. There were old castle ruins that we explored. After a good leg stretch it was back in the bus for another hour to lunch.
For lunch Kaoru had salmon and a sprite, while i had wild boar and a beer, and we shared an ice cheese cake.
5 minutes down the road we went to an old museum with war relics, including vehicles. Our driver briefed us a bit on the war of independence and on the history of the country. The museum was set in an old check point, as we were right on the Latvian border.
Back in the bus we had another long drive through the Latvian countryside and stoppedin the National park. We went for a walk down to the lake and then a short 1.5km walk around the old limestone cliffs. It was now really and warm.
Another 45 minutes or so took us to another town, called Cesis (?), which was famous for bombing it’s own fort so as not to lose it to Ivan the terrible. It was already 630 so we didn’t get to go inside but we found a toilet anyway (we had to pay €0.3 but once we did everybody else found it so we just left the door open between uses).
Back in the car for a bit longer, and we arrived at the point i was looking forward to -the bobsled park. This was a replica of the bobsled track used at the 1984 Olympics, built in 1986, so the Russians could train. Wecaught the lift to the top and were at the highest point in Latvia. We then walked down the bobsled track, slightly slower than people would be riding down.
At the bottom there was an old bobsled that we could sit in, so we all took turns with photos. Then it was back to our bus for the final 45km to Riga.
Once in Riga we said goodbye to everybody and walked to our accommodation. Kaoru had found a place very close to the drop off point which was also next door to an aussie backpackers. ..One place i will be staying away from! We checked in to our room and Kaoru did a load of washing while i found a place to eat. There were ear plugs on our bedside tables which was concerning.
It was less than a 10 minute walk and we passed plenty of suitable places but i had read a review on this place which looked good so we went there. It was a jazz craft beer hall. I ordered an IPA and got Kaoru a blackcurrant cider with Earl gray, which she enjoyed. I had some ribs for main.
After dinner we were both pretty tired so went to bed. It wasn’t loud so no need for theear plugs!
We woke around 8 and it was pretty quiet and warm. After a shower we went outside inthe almost empty street and walked to a place called caffeine for breakfast. I had some quiche and a chai latte and Kaoru had a choc filled choc coated croissant with a coffee.
After breakfast we went to the tourist information to buy a Tallinn card – €26 each for free entrance to a number of places. Now to try to get value for money!
After our teeth we followed a walking tour i found online (from the app Izi). We skipped the first point (will pick it up later) and the second (town hall-just near our hotel) hadn’topened. ..So on we went to point 3. We followed the walk as best we could-sometimes it was hard to read it off the map.We stopped at a number of places including…
-puppet museum
-wall walk
-nuns tower
-Epping tower
We went to our room to get something warm as it was now going on 3 and we were about to leave the city. On the way we bought some pancakes (15, but they were bitesized) and some ice cream. After recharging we walked to the bank and saw an exhibition there, and then caught a tram to the skywheel. The map we followed said to catch a number 2 tram but enroute Kaoru found another which said number 2. So we got off where they branched and could see the wheel, so walked the rest of the way.
The wheel was on top of a shopping centre so we had a walk through there. We got 10%off with our Tallinn cards. At the top we were given a great view of the city and surrounding area including the airport and harbor.
We found a cafe in the shopping centre and had a beer, dumplings and soup. They also served some black bread. Kaoru asked if it was for dipping in the soup and the lady looked shocked. There was a tube of mustard which we put on the bread. All fantastic. I wasn’t hungry at first but the dumplings were great with the beer. We then went to the supermarket to get some snacks for tomorrow. Water here was 3 times what we paid yesterday so we didn’t get that, but we were able to get some pastries cheaply. We then caught the tram back to the old village.
On the walk back to the hotel we got to see the main gates (spot 1we bought a couple of waters and picked up some last sites. We dropped our bags back in the room and went out for dinner. Kaoru had found a restaurant which had good reviews so we went there. Because we didn’t have a reservation we couldn’t get a seat inside but there was one “walkup” table left so we took that. We ordered mushrooms for entrée, i ordered the elk for main and Kaoru got the white fish; with a sparkling rhubarb for Kaoru to drink and I had a bottle of cider. The meal was also served with some black bread.
I shouldn’t have had those dumplings! not being mega-hungry, plus being tired, and no normal food time for so long, made it really hard to eat. Somehow Kaoru managed to still have a blue cheesecake for dessert!
Back at our hotel we got our bags organized for the next day which meant packing as much as possible so as to not be too busy inthe morning. We set an alarm for 745 and were in bed by 10pm!
We woke up before the alarm. All of our washing was dry so we finished packing our bags and tidied up the apartment. We left our suitcases behind (and my laptop) and left with just a backpack and bag to cover a few days of clothes. We then went to Pipsas flat to return the keys, and were on our way. Our original plan was to have breakfast locally and return the keys but we changed our mind and did the keys first to get breakfast intown.
We caught the train and tram to get to the ferry terminal – very easy especially as Pipsahad installed the local transport app for me. Checkin hadn’t opened as we were more than 2 hours early. We wandered around for a bit and then used the self Checkin kiosk.
We went upstairs to the restaurant to grab some food and then just passed the time until boarding. It was quite smooth and took less than 20 minutes to get us all on – we actually departed a little early! We put our bag in the lock room so we didn’t have to carry it and had some food. We were feeling a bit sleepy so went for a walk around the ship.
Outside was quite breezy and cool, as well as smokey, so we went back indoors. There were several bars and entertainment areas around the ship.
We found some brochures for Tallinn, got a chai latte and planned how we would spend our time once we arrived. We pulled in to port at 2.00, right on time. We got off the ferry and made our way by foot to the old town where we were staying. There was no immigration which made the whole process much quicker than last time i did this trip in 2001.
With the help of Google maps we easily found Tallinn city apartments and luckily Kaoru remembered i had received an email with the access code – one for the front door and one for the key box. We took our bags up to the room and then left to make the most of the day.
We went across the road to the tourist information centre and worked out how to catch the bus to the Open Air Museum. We had to go to a kiosk to buy the bus ticket. Rather than paying €2 each way (the easy way) we decided to try the more challenging way of using the pass which is €1.10/hour or€3/day. And we were off.
We got off the bus one stop early. ..The name was the same but this stop had a suffix on it. So it took us a little longer to get there but the exercise was good. We payed to get in to the grounds and could then freelywalk around. Kaoru found a map (50c) whichhad a suggested route so we followed that. We got to look at old shacks and see a bit of farm life. The houses had people sitting out the front with varying levels of interaction with us. At one place the lady had some notes in japanese so she explained it to Kaoru and she had to explain to me! (What i hadn’t understood already).
We had some food and drink at a cafe to recharge us and continued our exploring. Wehad finished around 7 and caught the next bus back to the city.
We walked around the city to a couple of the sightseeing spots. Up high on the city wall we had magnificent views! For dinner we went to a themed restaurant from an old time tavern. I had a sausage and an ox rib, and a beer to wash it down.
After some more exploring Kaoru was hungry, so we went to a supermarket to get some food and some water for tomorrow. We got a rice meal which Kaoru fried up as we didn’t have a microwave in the room. It was delicious, for a cheap, easy meal.
We took our maps and went to find a bar to plan our tomorrow over a drink. We had planned to have an early night but by the time this was all done it was about midnight, so we went to bed and feel asleep pretty quickly. It was the darkest night we had experienced for some time now. Outside wasstill very lively with music from the restaurant across the road.
I was a bit rougher this morning. After eating breakfast i went back to bed.
Had some cheese for lunch. Kaoru, Bambi and i went for a walk to the b&b nearby. It used to be the milking shed, and had lots of old working equipment.
At around 5 we had my birthday lunch which was a whole salmon (which Ville fileted) and potatoes. Then pipsa brought out a birthday cake for me, which was traditional Finnish cake with banana in the middle and sour cream on top. Pipsa also gave me a mug as a present.
Tommy had a sleep to rest before the drive home. We just pottered around and eventually left about 7. With fingers crossed that there wouldn’t be a problem with the car!
We drove back on the old freeway as the speed limit is slower and we wouldn’t have to push the car as much. It also gave us different scenery than the way up. Luckily all was good and we were back at the flat around 830. First job was to do a load of washing. We then went to Pipsas flat and had some food (leftovers) and a chat before saying goodbye. We went back to our room to hang up washing and get ourselves organized for tomorrow. I booked us on the 1130 ferry to Estonia.
We needed a bit of a sleep in. We got up about 930 and had breakfast which was bread with salami, cheese and a garlic cream cheese. Followed by blueberries and yogurt.
Lots of talking.
Kaoru, Ville and Bambi went to shops for sausages which were cooked on the bbq.
A few beers.
I took the atv for a spin. Much easier without a passenger.
Passed the day. Really hard to know when the evening starts without the sun setting.
First sauna was short (5 minutes and i needed a break). Each time was longer though, usually with a swim in the break.
Eventually turned midnight and we were in the water. ..even Kaoru! Beautiful red sky reflecting in the water.
Went to bed about 2. It just never got dark.
Woke up early. Had a shower and went for a walk for breakfast about 8. The place we wanted to eat at didn’t open until 9 though so we went to a convenience store at the station and bought a panini, a sandwich, a bottle of juice and a “double ginger shot” drink. We ate at a table in the store.
Did our teeth and then went to Pipsas flat. She and Ville left last night for the farm and Tommy was driving Bambi and i up today. We decided we would leave in an hour or so, so Kaoru and i went for another walk and drink at a cafe. We went to the shops for some drinks and bumped in to Bambi shopping.
Once we packed the car we left about 11. Kaoru and Bambi feel asleep pretty quickly. icouldn’t last long either so got 20 minutes sleep in. We arrived at the farm just after 12, and I was promptly presented with a beer.
Pipsa gave us a tour of the farm house, and it was getting warm so we had a bite to eat and then a swim. The water was 25 degrees so it was lovely for cooling down.
We had a few more drinks and passed the time. Ville had to change the engine on the back hoe so i hung around and supervised while Kaoru helped pipsa with cooking dinner.
We went back to the house and opened the bottle of sake that i brought. Nobody had tried it before so a good experience.
I took the ATV for a ride with Ville on the back telling me where to go. Then i got on the back with him driving which was about 3 times the speed. Got the heart going!
As the sun started to go behind the house it started to cool down.
We had dinner which was amazing. Salmon, mini potatoes and salad.
We spent some time at the water and then Kaoru and i had a laydown. We wanted to make it to midnight so needed a recharge. Then i moved on to bourbon. We passed the time with a sauna, which i could barely last 5minutes in. Then back to the lake but i had cooled down already so didn’t need a swim.
Another sauna to warm up and i did then go in the water. ..i checked my watch and it was1159 and still very bright. The water was warm.
Back at the house i got my laptop out and showed some photos of our Simpson desert trip. I then spoke to mum and dad as they had just woken up, and we went to bed about 130.
We woke up about 8 so on a good time zone.
Shower and went next door for breakfast. Then Bambi came with us for the day as she is on school holidays (she is 11)
First place was tourist information centre. It took us an hour or so to get there walking past beautiful buildings. We detoured past a market. It was a perfect day.
After collecting some brochures we went for a drink and thought about what to do for the day.
Walked down to the skywheel. We stopped atthe market on the way and had some lunch which included the small fish. Then we did the touristy “flight” over Finland (4d cinema) and skywheel. Fantastic views.
We had a look in an old church with an amazing chandelier.
Walked along the water edge for a while stopping for ice cream.
Went to Japanese supermarket.
Caught the train back to the house as Bambi couldn’t walk any further.
Kaoru taught pipsa how to make sushi.
Couple of beers.
Went back to our room and went to bed
Went to airport Tuesday night. Driver missed turn on to west gate bridge.
Check in quick
Drink and got on plane
Flight to Tokyo. Watched a movie or 2 and tried to sleep
Transfer to next flight took over an hour. Quick shop and straight on to next flight
Just under 10 hours to Helsinki
Caught bus to suonienen. Pipsa and Bambi
met us at bus stop.
Went to her ex’s house and dropped bags.
Went to her house next door
Champagne and chat.
Ville got home. Not much english. Went out to fix car.
Chat for a while.
Went to a bar for a drink
Shops to buy Some dinner
Went to bed 11.00pm to get on local time Zone
This will be our first serious trip together that isn’t Japan. Our plan is Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, before going to London and wrapping up in Tokyo.
Packing clothes is not easy. What weather are we going to encounter? Tokyo will be hot (but I’m only there for 1 day). Helsinki could be hot or cold. London the same. Baltic region should be hot.
So I’ve wrapped up from work (just taking care of important stuff that pops up), and waiting for dinner time.
Then off to boys night before the airport.