After a 5 hour train journey we arrived in Helsinki and made our way to the port, where we got onto our Ferry. This was the first time I'd ever been on a real boat! It was pretty cool and we even had our own little cabin. It was all very pleasant until the sea sickness kicked in! Cue Titanic pose...
Once in Tallinn we got to our hostel, which turned out to be closed! We got redirected to Tallinn Backpackers who in turn sent us on to Viru Backpackers. The Viru hostel was literall smack bang in the centre of Tallinn Old Town and for the price we paid was more than reasonable. It was clean, quiet and very friendly! After checking in we headed back over to Tallinn Backpackers, ran by the same people, which has a more party atomosphere. Here we met a lot of new people who had been travelling all over the world. The hostel workers themselves consisted mainly of Aussies. We also met a few Americans and a French guy (who at first we thought was Russian - Traveller rookie mistake number 1). It turned out that Julienne's birthday was also the same as mine, which called for a beer bong and a trip to a few bars and lots of Vodka shots all round (I even managed 2..which for a none drinker is a big deal).
The next day we began to explore the city, sticking with the old town, which was much more interesting than the modern part. Unfortunately, most of the museums are closed on a Monday and Tuesday. However, we did get to visit a few sites, including Town Prison Museum of Photography, Tallinn City Museum, the Marzipan Museum and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a Russian Cathedral.
After a day of wandering we went back to the hostel for a scheduled old lady nap and then headed back to the Tallinn Backpackers hostel. Another night out ensued...with KAREOKE! After murdering a few songs we headed back and got an early night. On day three we found out what was open and headed to Kiek in de Kök, which houses the entrance to the underground tunnels of Tallinn. Once again though, the tours were full so we were unable to go down. Bummer! The museum itself was good though and had some very nice views of Tallinn. We especially liked the selection of hats...
We then stumbled upon the entrance to one part of the walls, which you could walk along the top of, which again had an impressive perspective of the Old Town.
On our last night we decided to stay in at the hostel because it was freezing!! I indulged myself in TV and got slightly addicted to Investigation Discovery (it's the best channel ever!!). Although it was not the most eventful trip and I was disappointed that most the sights were closed, I still had a really good time. It was so nice to meet new people who were so friendly and relaxed. I'd definately recommend the Tallinn Backpackers/Viru Backpackers to anyone visiting Tallinn!
No comments:
Post a Comment