Tere!!! (Hello in Estonian)
Our stay in Riga ended and we headed north to Estonia. The heat that has gripped Europe since June has finally broken today. It is quite chilly. As we drove it alternated between rainy and sunny. This was mostly another travel day. The bus ride - rest stop - bus ride - lunch stop - bus ride into town routine. This time the terrain resembled the North Woods of Wisconsin.
To break up the trip, we stopped at Parnu, Estonia--a seaside resort--for lunch. It was quite windy but Wendy and several others braved the gales on the Gulf of Riga. There were actually folks swimming and wind surfing. Go figure; these Baltic States' folks are hearty stock.
We arrived in Tallinn at 3:00. Estonia is the smallest of the three countries, about twice the size of New Jersey, with a population of 1.2M, about a quarter of which are of Russian ethnicity.
They don't have just one Old Town, but two! The Lower and the Upper. Today's walking tour, led by our knowledgeable and funny local guide Evelyn, went through the Lower. Since these three countries share so much history, we reheard a lot of the same story. How this area was part of the Hanseatic League (a guild that formed in the 14th century), how they're celebrating 100 years of independence (again...ignoring the time of Soviet rule), how they are part of the EU, etc.
As we were walking she asked if we wanted to hear a new popular joke. "OK", said the group. "It's political", she said. "YES!", we said. "So when tourists come, we ask if they want to see the hotel where Hilary Clinton stayed when she visited. It's right over there. If you want to see where Trump stayed, you can go to Helsinki"!!! Estonian humor!
She showed us the remnants of the old city wall and its gate (hmmmm…..all these cities used to have walls and now they don't! Perhaps there's a lesson there.), and then many buildings from the 13th century on.. A definite difference here is that many segments of the original wall remain and that the merchants lived in the lower town and the upper class in the upper.
Currently, their birth rate is declining, so recently they have been more welcoming of immigrants. Evelyn said that they are a very progressive country, with excellent free health care, public education, etc. She also talked about their technology advances (they invented SKYPE here). The fact that they are so small makes them more agile. They had a robust economy for a long while, but in the last few years it has slowed down. She said part of the reason is a beer tax enacted a few years ago. Instead of raising extra money, it has instead resulted in less money coming in, as people are going to Latvia for their suds! (Cook County - Lake County; Illinois - Wisconsin; it's the same thing where we live!).
The country also bore the pains of WWII, but in a slightly different way from the other Baltics. Here, some Estonians joined forces with the Nazis to help get rid of the Soviets. But many others, often from the same family, joined with the Russians to keep the Germans out of their homeland. So in this sense, the war became a civil war, and left many scars for years afterwards.
So this tour was much more balanced than those in Lith and Lat between the "ancient" history of the country and the current state of affairs. This made it that much more interesting and relevant.
Then back to the bus and (finally) we checked in at the Swissotel. We made a very quick donut run (in case you're interested, see Wendy's donut blog , but note that experiences during this trip will not be posted until we are back in Deerfield) to Soorikukohvik (spell check anyone?) for powder sugar covered crunchy cake donuts for the front desk employees with one, of course, for the donut aficionado. It was a splendid donut.
After freshening up, we were taken (in groups of two or four) by specially hired Mercedes cars to the Gloria Restaurant for a very special, tour-included dinner. This is a fairly classic French restaurant with some Tallinn/Baltic specialties--with intimate recessed seating areas for each table (each section had a theme; ours was the Orient, featuring many pitchers and jars with Oriental drawings). The chef has won a Paul Bocuse award or two. The offerings were traditional French fare with notable presentations. Perhaps most notable was Wendy's salmon appetizer--basically rare salmon and salmon caviar/roe prepared in multiple ways but, most creatively, a glass dome covered the smoked salmon. When lifted, smoke arose from the plate. Dramatic.
Salmon appetizer
Traditional smoked herring with potato
salad, radishes and onions, quail egg
and roe.
A rather plebian tournedos de bouef avec frites
Cod with potato puree and veggies
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (and below)
She also told us that they are trying to use more wind power and less shale oil (which she was in favor of doing). But she was born and lives on one of the many islands that are part of the country, and she does not want wind farms in the sea because they would spoil the view! Definitely mixed feelings.
Path from Upper to Lower Town
Genuine centuries old cobblestones
with modern feet!
View of Lower Town from Upper
Then, back on the bus to head to the Ferry Terminal for our 2 hour ride to Helsinki. It was a huge ferry (cars, trucks and busses, including ours, down below), and several thousand passengers!
Final view of Tallinn from the boat
Our group had almost exclusive use of the Business lounge, with very comfortable chairs and a brunch buffet included! The crossing was very smooth, and we disembarked in Helsinki (latitude 60 North) at 12:30, at which point we could say "Hei!" (hello - pronounced "hey" in Finnish).
This will be another quick stop; our 4th city in 4 days and then on to St. Petersburg tomorrow. All of us are looking forward to the long stay of four days there.
Finland has about 5 million people and, in addition to the sea coast, has 188,000 lakes!!!! That means there is one lake for every 29 people!
We drove from the ferry terminal to several of the city's most prominent sites. First was the Sibelius Monument. It is comprised of 600 steel tubes somewhat symbolizing organ pipes. Sibelius, arguably the country's greatest composer, wrote much organ music.
Then we went to the Church of the Rock. Its official name is Temppeliaukio Church. From the outside, it is nothing more than a rock outcropping in the middle of a residential neighborhood. So unlike the massive, imposing churches we are all familiar with. But the real story is on the inside. The interior was excavated and built directly out of solid rock and is bathed in natural light which enters through the skylight surrounding the center copper dome. Water actually seeps in through the rocks and is carried away by a channel all around the edge of the floor It is truly breathtaking.
For many years people tried to have it taken down as it reminded them of Russian rule. In fact, Finland was at war with Russia in 1939, so they reluctantly sided with the Germans in WWII. By the way: Finland is not a member of NATO (they have what is called "observer status"). If they did join, it would not go over well with the Bear on the east. On the other hand, Estonia, like the other Baltic countries, is a full member, and Evelyn said they are proud to pay their full share (subtle political commentary).
Our only night in Finland happens to coincide with the 47th anniversary of our first date!! Coincidentally, dinner is not included tonight, so we had made reservations at Passio a few months ago.
When we asked the concierge for walking directions he told us it was "one of the best in town". On the way there (about 4 blocks) we passed TWO Marimeko stores! This is a line of clothes and housewares that was popular when we first started dating, so we had to buy some things.
Upon reaching the restaurant we were reminded that it was "a surprise menu". Not just a multi-course, prix fixe menu, but no choice and no foreknowledge of what was to come! A stretch for both of us— but we’re on vacation. We picked the 5-course over the 3-course because a) it offered us a chance to taste more things, b) our server told us the portions were smaller, and (c because we could.
Here was the line up:
1) tasty amuse-bouche of mini chilled beetroot soup with apples and cottage cheese garnish...
(apologies for the poor photo)
2) incredible soft rye bread with herbed fresh butter (seemed just churned)...
3) surprisingly delicious veal tartare with pickled cucumbers, fried onions, and oyster mayonnaise...
There was at least a quarter pound of meat there, so after this course, we asked if we could split the remaining courses. Our server happily obliged.
4) delectable mushroom ravioli with chanterelles...
5) delicate trout confit with creamy cauliflower sauce and vegetables...
6) rare and beefy Angus beef filet with mascarpone potato cake and vegetables...
7) birch leaf ice cream with strawberries and caramelized buckwheats...
and finally 8) rum banana cake with candied pineapple and passion fruit ice cream.
Clearly, either the 5 course promise was just a guideline or they count differently in Finland than we do. Whew. What a feast. What an experience. This is what Wendy works out for.
See you next time in Russia. Wish us luck!!
Love, w&w………...
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