My first hostel choice was full so I caught the metro and walked a fair distance to another place, dropped my bags there, then was forced to walk around for four hours until they let me check in. I used this opportunity to explore the center of town on foot and see the State Hermitage Museum, allegedly one of the best art museums in the world; to me it just felt exhausting. It did allow me an opportunity to warm my hands though.
As a result of the poor weather, I spent the greater part of my first day in St. Petersburg indoors. I finally ventured out just as all light was fading from the sky at about 10pm. I found an Irish Pub where I joined a pair of old Brits to watch Man U beat some Germans in the semi finals of the Euro Championship.
I awoke the next morning determined to escape Russia as soon as possible. I ventured over to the train station and inquired into a trip to Helsinki. I quickly purchased a rather pricey ticket to the Finnish capital on a high-speed train leaving at 3:30 that afternoon. I used my remaining few hours here to explore the grand government buildings, which housed the Russian government until the revolution in 1918.
Making my way back to the train station, I boarded the fancy European train along with a bunch of business travelers and rich tourists (a different crowd than in the rest of my Russian trains), and we were soon zipping towards the border at 190 km/h. The border crossing went smoothly as I was easily stamped out of Russian and into Finland, and the European Union at large.
And how grand it was to be in another country after two weeks in Russia. As if on cue, as soon as the train passed into Finland, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and the landscape turned sublime as we passed by small farms with nice cottages, all surrounded by a noble evergreen forest.
It took only about 3 hours to reach Helsinki, so there was plenty of daylight left. Feeling like I was about to blackout, I quickly procured some Euros and a sandwich, and was shocked into the realization that I was now truly in Europe, with outrageous prices to match. With some food in me and new strength, I walked the 2 km up to the old Olympic stadium which houses the Stadion Hostel, where I booked a bed for two nights. I rested for the remainder of the day, writing my reflections on Russia into my journal, reading, and otherwise enjoying my new-found bright spirits. I also admired the novelty of the fact that the sun did not set until nearly 10pm here, and there was still twilight at 11:30.
The next day in Helsinki, I set out on a self guided walking tour through the center. I bought a ferry ticket to Estonia for the following day, then went over to the central harbor and took a boat to the fortress island. There are, by the way, countless islands in and around Helsinki, low-rise granite outcroppings that reach south into the Baltic Sea. And it was good to see the ocean again, which I had not seen since disembarking Hanjin Pretoria so long ago.
The fortress island, which starts with an "S", is a naval base where the occupying Swedes, then the occupying Russians afterwards, protected their interests in Helsinki from other invaders. I navigated the tall stone walls and bunkers and enjoyed the seascape all around me. It was a pretty nice day in Helsinki and I was able to wear only a sweater.
After that, I explored some more of the city on foot, witnessing the mix of old and new architecture and the mild natured Finns, who spoke remarkable English. This has been the first country where I have not been motivated to learn a few words of the native language, mostly because my time here would be short and the incentive was low. Unfortunately, the restaurants, cafes, and bars here are damn expensive, so I opted to go to the grocery store and prepare my own meals, and not venture out to explore the nightlife. To be truthful, I was not feeling remarkably social here and was enjoying my alone time after so much time of traveling with other people.
My remaining hours in Helsinki were passed without event, and late the next morning I shouldered my rucksack and hoofed it down to the Viking Line boarding dock for my 3-hour trip across the Baltic to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, a trip of about 70 km. The ferry had no assigned seating, only bars and restaurants, so I grabbed myself a beer and sat out on deck and felt ecstatic to be traveling the seas again.
So now I arrived into Tallinn early in the afternoon on May 7, and now you might ask, "Where the devil is Estonia?", to which I would reply to get yourself a map. It is actually a beautiful place that is trying earnestly to get over the Soviet occupation, as they call it. They are enjoying their new-found independence after fifty years of alternating domination by the Soviets, then the Nazis, then again the Soviets.
I ended up staying at the Tallinn Backpacker's hostel, a true party place located in the heart of the old city, (the old city being a cross between Medieval Times and Disneyland). I will not continue with a chronological description of my time in Tallinn, and I will just say that the nightlife here is something to be experienced. For three nights I stayed up until the break dawn, which does not take as much effort as it sounds in these northern latitudes. During the days I explored the history of this place in the museums and cathedrals, ate elk soup and pies in a 700 year-old town hall building, took a ride to the beach with a fellow Californian and enjoyed the relatively warm weather.
My time in Tallinn was highly social and filled with excess, and it truly was one of the more enjoyable places on this trip. Estonia is a place for which I held no preconceived notions, and I have to say that I'm happy to have known it. On May 10, yesterday, I joined up with an English guy for the bus ride to Riga, Latvia, another place that is full of beauty and wonder, but one that I can not yet explain. Out for now America.
