More on Tallinn & some on Helsinki

Raining in Helsinki today, and a good bit colder than it's been for some time, so I thought it would be a good time to add to the blog. I was in a hurry last time, so I left out some things about Tallinn.

First, I don' t think I gave you the Town Tower's full name. It's 'Old Thomas', not just 'Thomas', as I think I said. And the steps up that tower are about knee high in some places, so it's quite a climb. But the view is worth it. I mentioned the Three Sisters hotel. My tour guide said Queen Elizabeth stayed there. Also heard today from the folks I met in Denmark, and they saw the Japanese Emperor there. I didn't realize I'd asked for help from such an exclusive hotel. On the side of town I didn't mention is Kariorg Park, the palace of one of the Russian rulers when in the area. Couldn't get in to see it, as it was closed on the days I was there, but it was impressive to see from outside, and in a really nice park setting. Nearby was the huge outdoor music venue. I was told the stage is big enough for 30,000 singers, and the seating area holds 100,000. Michael Jackson holds the record, I think at around 75,000. There is an area near where I stayed that has the old wooden homes of a number of people who were deported to Siberia near the beginning if WWII. They are trying to preserve it, may even be a UNESCO heritage site, but I may have heard wrong. The tour guide told us about an organ concert in one of the churches that evening, so I went to hear it. Not bad, to my untrained ear. On the tour, and again at the concert, I met several New Zealanders. Always a pleasure. Still no Aussies, though

The trip to Helsinki was by 'Fast Boat', a huge catamaran that covered the 25 or so miles in less than 2 hours. Really moved along for such a big boat. On arriving in Helsinki, I went to the Tourist Info (TI) center, as I'd been unsuccessful in reserving a room. I was told that 3everything was full, due to some conference or some such. Probably the best that could be found would be a room 20 - 30 KM from town. They suggested I try the TI at the train station where they did hotel reservations. When I got there, they gave me the same story. I thought I'd try Turku, a 2 hr. train ride away, stay there a day or so and come back. They checked Turku, and it was full also.

I went out to think about my options, and chose several towns I could get to reasonably by train, and went back to ask them to check. In the interim, they did find a place they thought might have a room for a nite, and checked. Turned out they were open for several nites, so I reserved that one, and took the tram to get there. Not too bad a room, either. Good luck was smiling on me.

Went back to town ate lunch, wandered around a bit, etc. Town was really crowded. Musicians on Bandstands, crowds listening and cheering, etc. Looked like they were right about whatever was going on. Found a decent place to eat supper, and took the tram back to the hotel. Only thing wrong was that they haven't heard of non-smoking. The whole hotel smells of stale cigarette smoke. Opened my window to help out a bit.

Yesterday didn't know whether o clear up or rain, so it drizzled all morning. I walked around with my hood up and took in the sights. One nice one was a church that was carved out of rock. The top was of wood, but the floor and walls had been carved out of a huge boulder. There was a pianist playing, pretty good, and I stayed to listen for a while. Church was pretty unique. From there, I went to see the Sibaleus monument. I guess he was Finland's greatest composer. Pretty abstract monument, but nice. I used the tram to get around when the walk seemed too far. Works out OK. After lunch, I took in the Finland Historical museum. everything from pre-history to the late 20th century. Some pretty interesting exhibits. Also some pretty bring ones. I can only look at so much stone and bronze age.

After I left the museum, the sun came out, so I strolled around town. Helsinki is a big city, and being one, it looks like most others. It doesn't have any distinct 'Old Town', or tourist areas. I think I prefer the smaller places, such as Kalmar and Tallinn, where the history stands out. After I leave here, I'll have my wish. I won't hit another big city until Bergen, Norway, sometime in July.

Today was to be the day to see the one historical area I did want to get to, Suomenlinna island in the harbor, site of the fortress that defended Helsinki from Russia. But it started out raining and much colder than It's been anytime on the trip. So I did laundry and read. And now to the library to type this. They allow 1/2 hour free, then you are logged off and have to request a new slot. There's always a waiting list. This is the third time around at the library today. The wait is around 10 to 15 minutes each time. And Yahoo now pops up advertisements, which slows down my already snail's pace review of e-mail. I guess tomorrow will have to be the Soumenlinna day. Hope it clears up a bit.

I did get my bus reservation for my next stop, Savonlinna. It's on a really big lake. And from there, I may get to take a lake ferry to the next stop, Kuopio. Hope so, but I'm not sure they run this early in the year. Also got my hotel reservation in Savonlinna through the Helsinki TI. I'd e-mailed several places, but got negative or no responses. The TI's sure seem to be a help to travelers like me, who try to wing it (rather unsuccessfully, I might add, the way some of this trip has gone) But it's kind of fun.

That's about it for this episode. Next report will probably be from Savonlinna.