We headed to Helsinki, Finland this morning, which is the fourth and final country on our agenda. This trip necessitated taking a ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki, roughly a 2 – 1/2 ferry ride. When we say ferry, it wasn’t the type of ferry you might cross the mighty Mississippi on. It’s the size of a small cruise ship and has amenities onboard such as duty...
(Fair warning, this will be a long post with a lot of pictures… there was a lot to see today.) Our time on Saaremaa ended this morning and we headed for Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. We again had to take the ferry, which is thankfully only a 20 minute ride. Once we arrived in Tallinn, we hit the ground running, which seems to be the only way we know how to...
Hard to believe, but we just passed the halfway point of our trip. That said, we aren’t slowing down!! We started the morning off with a brisk walking tour of Riga Old Town, led by local ‘Rita from Riga’. Brisk because it was 38 degrees out, sans windchill. Thanks to the buildings and the architecture, Riga Old Town has a Unesco designation, and is absolutely amazing...
Our first day was so hectic that we didn’t mention much about the hotel. On this trip, we’ll be staying in boutique hotels. These are smaller hotels, no name brands, that are a block or two off of main thoroughfares. The Rinno Hotel is charming and the rooms are very spacious. We are sure we’ll be comfortable here for three nights. Before starting out for the day, we...
Finally – a day not at sea! We stopped in the town of Castro and, due to the lack of having a dock big enough for an expedition ship, we were tendered to the shore. This excursion was a guided walking tour of the city. Getting up into the town from the docks was up a very steep street. On the sidewalk up, lining the street was several hand-carved...
“The day we became millionaires”. Misleading statement……. We exchanged $200 USD and got back 2,180,000 Uzbeki Cym (pronounced “SOOM”). The bills were 100K and 5K notes, so we ended up with a stack of 37 bills. Talk about a fat stack! (We were told you used to have to bring a back-pack to carry your money… but that thankfully they...
Day 2 was a long, busy day. We picked up our rental car in the morning and headed out for the Golden Circle – Þingvellir National Park, Geysir, and Gullfoss – with a few extra stops along the way. Just getting there was an adventure – the car is a diesel with variable transmission therefore shuts off at a complete stop, the gear shift is on top of...
This was our first City Tour / City Escape, which are quick 4 or 5 day on-your-own trips to a single destination. Just you, an airline flight, and a hotel. The exploration is up to you. Since this was a single trip (same hotel for the duration), this trip is being posted as a single post, with tabbed days. Enjoy! Day 0 (11/22)Day 1 (11/23)Day 2 (11/24)Day 3 (11/25)...