Telling Tallinn Tales - July 2023

We had heard good things about the ferry between Helsinki and Tallinn for years, and with our friends Sean and Beth living in Helsinki, it was finally time to make the dream a reality!

The boat is massive. It has multiple food courts, restaurants, shops, a casino - it's the biggest ferry I have ever been on. We grabbed a spot in the back area with a view and settled in for a pretty relaxing journey over. Relevant topic of conversation: history's worst tragedies by sea.

Upon docking in Estonia, we took a nice jaunt over to our hotel in the historical center where we could drop off our stuff. Next thing on the agenda: a tour of the historical area, including the castle, the onion dome cathedral, the old city hall, and the panoramic view from atop the hill.

We went to a lovely crepe place for lunch - had to wait in line for a few minutes, but it was worth the wait! After more strolling, sightseeing (including a suuuuper old building) and souvenir shopping (including adorable hand-knitted cat scarves), we found a nice outdoor seat and ordered a bottle of wine. The neighborhood drama: a baby(ish) seagull begging for food.

The rest of the evening was spent grabbing drinks and food at various establishments: a sweet treat from a tucked away chocolate shop, some limoncello from the Italian place, some delicious dumplings, a beer from the Scottish-themed bar, a margarita-adjacent cocktail from Escobar (after a failed attempt at getting actual margaritas). It was a very enjoyable evening.

The next morning, we went for a brief jaunt to say goodbye to the historic center before walking to the boat. Highlights: seeing street art being created, getting very nervous because the drawbridge held us up en route, almost entering the bingo game on the ferry. Would I go back? Heck yes.

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