Where in the World?

The body travels more easily than the mind, and until we have limbered up our imagination we continue to think as though we had stayed home. We have not really budged a step until we take up residence in someone else’s point of view. – John Erskine

I was in Helsinki, Finland the latter part of this week for work. As I had a Saturday free, I took the SuperSeaCat ferry to Tallinn, Estonia across the Gulf of Finland. The fast ferry took about 100 minutes to arrive at our destination. There were a few swells today that made the boat pitch, but it wasn’t too bad.

As we got off the ferry, we could clearly see Old Town Tallinn ahead, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our first destination was St. Olav’s Church. It seemed to be the tallest non-modern building in the area. The photo to the left was taken from the top of the tower, which meant we had to climb 250+ steps on a small spiral staircase after paying 3 Euro. The effort was definitely worth it, as you could see for miles in all directions. It was a great way to get our bearings and decide where we wanted to meander next.

For the next three or four hours we walked up and down the narrow streets to get a feel of the city. The architecture was a mixture of medieval and modern, which gave the town a really personal but unique feeling to it.

Our next goal was the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, pictured to the right. The interior was exquisitely decorated from top to bottom with ornate images and a myriad of paintings, sculptures and etc. Unfortunately photography was not allowed inside. During our visit, there were simultaneous activities of confession, a funeral and choir practice. It made for an interesting but harmonious mixture of sounds.

We ate lunch in Raekoja plats, which was a large town square full of arts and crafts booths and a myriad of restaurants. The weather was perfect for eating outside under large umbrellas. We continued our exploration of the numerous shops up and down the many narrow, cobbled streets. Amber and linens seem to be the preferred items sold in just about every single store we saw. The amber is mined from the Baltic Sea and is a high quality. We saw one piece that had an ancient spider entombed. Very cool!

Overall, it was great day. My visit to Estonia marked my sixth new country for the year. My goal is 10. I’m almost there.

Have a great day!

Michael