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Back from Tallinn and Helsinki, special thanks to Minna

Back from Tallinn and Helsinki, special thanks to Minna

Old Sep 10th, 2002, 11:56 AM
  #1  
Kavey
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Back from Tallinn and Helsinki, special thanks to Minna

We returned on the weekend from a wonderful trip to Tallinn.
As our flights were via Helsinki we stopped there for one night. We had a wonderful meal at Lasipalatsi (Crystal Palace) restaurant, thanks to a recommendation from Finnish Fodorite Minna, thank you Minna.
The next day we really enjoyed walking around Helsinki before taking the catamaran/ ferry across to Tallinn for 4 nights.
Tallinn was wonderful, we had a fantastic trip. The hotel (Domina City) was extremely well located, comfortable and had friendly staff, though no AC. Normally that wouldn't be an issue but the weather throughout our trip was unusually sunny, clear and hot.
We ate at wonderful restaurants and had a great time sightseeing.
If you have any questions, please ask.
I don't visit the board everyday so if you get no response please do email me for information.
Thanks again Minna for your help.
Kavey
 
Old Sep 10th, 2002, 12:19 PM
  #2  
Lindsey
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Kavey, no disrespect intended but what did you find so appealing about Tallin. I was just there too and found it to be dismal with the exception of the old town and even that wasn't to interesting.

Helsinki and Stockholm, on the other hand, were magnificent.
 
Old Sep 10th, 2002, 01:04 PM
  #3  
kavey
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We found the old town just beautiful, with so much mediaeval building preserved.
The restaurants (we got recommendations before going) were excellent.
We had nothing but good experiences with the people we met.
The hotel was lovely and the prices excellent.
There was plenty to see and do.
I can't imagine finding it dismal but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Kavey
 
Old Sep 10th, 2002, 01:07 PM
  #4  
kavey
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Helsinki we thought was beautiful but found half a day was fine. The only thing we missed which I would have liked to see but didnt work out with ferry timings for our crossing to Tallinn was the old fortress.
We thought it seemed a truly wonderful place to live but not very interesting to visit.
Somewhat clean and tidy and pretty but sterile. (Minna, forgive me, I am trying to explain and that's not meant as an insult, just to compare with how we felt about Tallinn).
Kavey
 
Old Sep 10th, 2002, 04:57 PM
  #5  
Another
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Kavey

Interesting, I was with 2 couples from England recently on a tour of Scandanavia, including a stopover in Tallin, and all four of the Brits said, and I quote, "Tallin was a dump."

Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.
 
Old Sep 10th, 2002, 05:04 PM
  #6  
Lindsey
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Helsinki sterile?

The lovely parks and pedestrian areas in the center of the city with the fountains and restaurants and ice cream stands and children playing. The beautiful buildings in the dowtown area with the sidewalk cafes with people actually sitting outside and enjoying a lovely summer day, having coffee and lunch.

I didn't see anything like that in Estonia and the architecture, with the exception of the old town, consisted of concrete in the most basic display the builders could imagine, and believe me that was very limited imagination.

I don't want to belittle your experience but I also don't want people on a travel board to think they are getting something that isn't there.
 
Old Sep 11th, 2002, 01:51 AM
  #7  
elina
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I am glad your trip was a success. And the weather sure has favoured us for four month already (today is the first day that is a little chillier).

I like old town Tallinn very much, too, and go there quite often. Another nice place in Estonia is Pärnu, their "summer capital". And Domina City is my favourite hotel because of its great location, moderate price, and new, fresh rooms.

If you had stayed a little longer in Helsinki like Lindsay, you would have found a very different Helsinki. It is clean (the cleanest capital in Europe), but not sterile. You have obviously just walked around a small part of the center. The trouble (for a tourist) is, that Helsinki spreads on a very wide area, and tourists visit just a small part of the center. Perhaps you make another trip someday and walk the shoreline (with little boats and people washing their rugs in sea water)in Kaivopuisto, visit the sandy beach in the very center of the city, walk around old Kruununhaka area (specializes in antique shops) and jugend style Eira area. Or old Punavuori that was 150 years ago so dangerous area, that "good" people never stepped their foot there. And take a boat trip to numerous islands of Helsinki, that is best fun on a beautiful summer day.

All in all, I am glad that both you and Lindsey had good trips. Maybe more Fodorites begin to realize that there is life also outside central and southern Europe...

 
Old Sep 11th, 2002, 12:16 PM
  #8  
kavey
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I am sure we would have found more to interest us in Helsinki had we prebooked a longer stay there. Certainly I do not claim to have seen all or even much of it.

I can report only on my own impressions - how it struck us on this visit. Sterile is probably the wrong word to describe what I mean. I guess it's just that it didn't excite me.

Tallinn, old and new, did.

Having read in detail the turbulent history of the country I found the Soviet era buildings fascinating rather than just ugly and the historical perspective added so much to my experience.

We do hope to visit again as we would like to visit Viljandi which has been recommended as well as other towns in the country.

I am surprised that anyone could find it a dump, though I can certainly understand some may find it less interesting than I.

But really, I don't think it's necessary to panic that people might "think they are getting something that isn't there" since I would not expect anyone to rush out and book a trip based on a posting of one person's experience.

Rather I would think someone thinking of Tallinn would do a search, retrieve my posting, and any postings others have made about Tallinn and make their mind up that way.

When I look here for advice, I also take into account the posters previous opinions on places I have liked or not liked. I will obviously tend to put more weight in the opinions of those who happen to share my own tastes.

Of course we all have different tastes and wouldn't life be boring if not?

Personally I loved that Tallinn was not as mobbed as other visitor hotspots in Europe, so if people want to argue the other viewpoint, that it's a dump or not worth visiting, I won't argue with them.



Kavey
 
Old Sep 11th, 2002, 01:23 PM
  #9  
minna
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Thanks for your kind words, Kavey. It´s good to hear that you enjoyed your trip. I think I understand pretty well why you describe Helsinki as you do, so NHF!

I don´t think this is a big city for exciting sightseeing or great museums (although there is nothing wrong with the museums). And it surely is clean and safe to the border of sterile...But it´s beautiful too, and if you go to the right places and find the right things for yourself, it´s a lovely place. At least to live in. So I agree with Elina too, of course. You can´t really find the very best of Helsinki in one day.

Like I was saying about the restaurants: there are so very many wonderful ones. You just need to know about them.

I also do understand that you loved Tallinn. The old town is enough: it´s so old and well preserved enough to be a museum, but in the same time it´s so alive and "touristy" in a positive sense. And yes, prices are reasonable.

The rest of Tallinn might give you a good lesson about history and harsh realities, but that´s not necessarely what you´re looking for in a tourist trip.
 
Old Sep 11th, 2002, 01:33 PM
  #10  
minna
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Sorry, just one thing I must add: for anyone keen on architecture there is "big sightseeing" in Helsinki and surrounding of course: buildnings by Aalto, and the Finnish version of Art Nouveau ie Jugend style particularly in Kruununhaka and Eira like Elina wrote. Some pieces of very modern architecture too, like Kiasma museum by Steven Holl, and the old wooden houses in Seurasaari open air museum or Porvoo etc.
 
Old Sep 13th, 2002, 06:31 AM
  #11  
mauld
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I am planning a trip to Helsinki with a side day trip to Tallin and found your comments very helpful. I'm a woman travelling alone and do not speak either Finnish or Estonian, what was the language situation like? Should I pick up a phase book? (I'll only be in Tallin for a couple of hours).
 
Old Sep 13th, 2002, 06:37 AM
  #12  
Marc David Miller
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For a few hours in the center of Tallinn you won't have a problem with using English. Most restaurants, shops, museums, etc. have signs in English and many have staff who speak it.
 
Old Sep 13th, 2002, 06:58 AM
  #13  
kavey
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As Marc said, we didn't have a problem.

In Helsinki we didn't interact a huge amount with people, but had no language problems when we did.

In Tallinn, we were fine when in the Old Town and immediate environs. Occasionally out on the trams we'd meet someone who spoke only Estonian or Russian.

Infact on one tram this old guy kept smiling at us and talking but we didn't understand. The lady tram driver popped out of her cabin to translate that he was telling my husband that he had a fine looking wife. (This is much funnier when you understand that I am a middle aged heavily overweight lady with nothing special at all in the looks department). Still it made me blush and smile at the same time.

One of our favourite experiences was a visit to the Kalev chocolate museum. When we got there it was locked but it was posted as being open at that time so we rang the doorbell. Just as we were about to go the curator popped along and opened the door. We were the only visitors so he had locked up whilst in his office. He gave us a private guided tour, not much to see but lots of history to learn. He has worked for the company for 47 years, as a researcher and then helping the directors office. A couple of years ago he was asked to set up the museum and it's easy to see how proud he is. We were the 21st British visitors and we were there on our wedding anniversary. It was a lovely morning. And the prices in the shop next door were excellent.

Kavey
 
Old Sep 13th, 2002, 11:00 AM
  #14  
minna
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Mauld, you won´t have any major problems with the language.

Since the 70´s everybody in Finland has learned at least one foreign language in school (in addition to both Finnish and Swedish). Before that it was not all, but many.

Usually English is the first foreign language, and here in Helsinki most people are used to using it, too. No chance working in restaurants or shops etc. without somewhat fluent English.

(Actually, there is now one upmarket restaurant where the waiters don´t always speak Finnish! I find that intolerable. Customers should be allowed to speak the native language. Not all elderly people have travelled like we do nowadays.)

If you need to understand any signs, street names etc, I suggest reading the second line: that is Swedish, which is at least related to English. For example Railway Station would be Rautatieasema/Järnvägsstation. The second one makes some sense, doesn´t it?

People won´t except you to know any phrases in Finnish. We are perfectly aware about the language barrier. (In fact we are surprised that there really are some people around the world who do study our language. There are - and it´s getting more and more common since Finland joined the EU.)

You´ll be fine in Tallinn too. You won´t be the first English speaking tourist there! In less touristy places like markets or grocery shops people might not speak foreign languages, but in old town they will.

Anyway, I must say that a couple of hours sounds quite busy. Personally I think even half a day is too tight, as Tallinn is a lovely place with all it´s art galleries and restaurants and cafes. You´ll find that for example good quality modern prints (art, I mean) are very reasonably priced there (I don´t mean the market stalls, but proper galleries).

Did you find the websites Elina and I and other Finns have suggested for planning trips to Finland?



 
Old Sep 16th, 2002, 08:01 AM
  #15  
mauld
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Thanks so much for the information Minna, one more question if I may. I know that Finland is part of the EU and thus I will be using euros, but are there ATM's in Tallin or where can I get local currency? Or should I bring a small amount over with me from the US?
 
Old Sep 16th, 2002, 09:15 AM
  #16  
Marc David Miller
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ATMs are easy to find and use in Tallinn; I suspect you won't find any Estonian currency in America without paying a huge fee. Also currency exchange bureaus are common and will accept US Dollars and Euros.
 
Old Sep 19th, 2002, 02:34 AM
  #17  
minna
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No need to change money before Tallinn harbour. There are a few of them, so I don´t remember about the ATM´s, but there will be at least an exchange bureau (and one on the boat/ferry too).

You need just some change to start with (for the taxi, as on a short trip that´s the most convenient way to get to the old town or where ever you are going to. It won´t be expensive!)

In the old town most shops and restaurants accept cards. Just check the signs. You´ll find an ATM if you need to.
 
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