Sunday, May 10, 2009

Travel in Finland - part 8

When I arrived at Tallinn, I was a little bit surprised, because there was no passport check. Is crossing border is so easy? It seems as if Tallinn is in Finland.

But once I stepped out into the road, I realized that Tallinn was not in Finland. For example, the condition of roads in Tallinn is worse than that in Finland. No passport control, only 1 hour and half voyage, but Tallinn is different from cities in Finland.

Anyway, I got to Linnahallsadam, in English 'City hall.' Where I wanted to go was Old town. However, I didn't know how to go there, so I followed other people, since I assumed that everybody head for Old town.

I entered the Old town, and I found it was quite different from the outer world. This was what I had expected as an European old town: Stone-paved road, historical buildings, and labyrinth of streets. Without a map, I couldn't find where I was. Although the weather was not good, I could enjoy myself in old Tallinn.

In the center of old Tallinn, prices were a little higher. But in other parts of old Tallinn, I found prices were much lower. When it started raining, I entered some bakery to get under cover. What I ate in the bakery was really cheap and tasty. This was another part that was different from Helsinki. And I need to mention the Almond I ate there. I couldn't help myself from buying that Almond because of an appetizing smell, though it was expensive a little bit.

However, Old Tallinn is not wide enough for me to spend a lot of time. After four-hour stay, I had nothing to do any more. But my boat was expected to depart at 8, so I had waited for the departure time at the ferry port, reading a novel.

The voyage to Helsinki was terrible. The boat was tossing on the waves. I closed my eyes and fell asleep before getting seasickness. When the boat arrived in Helsinki, someone woke me up.

Streets of Helsinki were wet, and it was cold. I went back to the hostel.

(to be continued)

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