Finland's Famous Booze Cruise
The route from Kaajani to Helsinki
A little worse for wear after our night in Helsinki, we woke the next day and headed to the Helsinki Ferry Terminal. The journey across the Gulf of Finland is fairly short and easy (approximately two hours) and only costs around £50. That said, it was certainly a unique experience. Once on-board, we soon noticed that the ratio of drunk to sober passengers was around 50:50 and we couldn’t work out why! It was only after the music started that we realised we had inadvertently joined one of Finland’s famous ‘booze cruises’. These crossings offer relatively affordable booze for the Finns who, on the mainland, often have to pay eye-watering sums for a pint of beer. Despite the upbeat atmosphere, I can confirm that this voyage is not conducive for one suffering with a Helsinki hangover…
Tallinn
After a gruesome crossing, we finally docked in Estonia (roughly 5 km from Tallinn’s Old Town). We disembarked as swiftly as possible (nearly forgetting my laptop in the process) and were soon in the city centre. I found us a central place to park and we hit the streets.
Views of The Köismäe tower
The first thing we notice was just how beautiful the Old Town is. Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this ‘exceptionally complete and well preserved Medieval European City‘ has loads to see.
A good place to scope out the city from above is the Patkuli Viewing Platform:
Tallinn from above – Patkuli Viewing Platform
On the journey to and from the viewing platform, we got to see a number of the best sites:
The Old Town’s narrow streets
Piiskopi Street with views of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
After wandering around the winding streets, we settled down for dinner in Raekoja Plats. This square is a little ‘touristy’, but definitely worth visiting:
Dinner spot in Raekoja Plats
Our first oven-cooked meal since leaving London. I know it’s not Estonian… but we had pizza on the mind since Norway!
The Jägala Waterfall
Jagala, Estonia’s highest natural waterfall, is located on the outskirts of Lahemaa National Park. The park and it’s surroundings are perfect for exploring by van. Naturally, we decided to spend a couple of days exploring, running and barbecuing here before hitting the road and heading south. Our next stop was the outskirts of Tartu. Once in location, I would fire up the GPS and begin the ‘T’.
Here’s a few snaps of the impressive waterfall from various different angles:
