Eurasia Day 2: Day trip to Talinn, Estonia

On the second day of my Eurasia 2014 trip, an expedition to Talinn, the capital city of Estonia. Aside from maintaining my perfect 1:1 ratio for days in Europe: new countries visited, I found Talinn to be a pleasingly modern and fast-paced city compared to its more relaxed cousin across the gulf in Helsinki. Just a fifteen minute walk to the harbour followed by a two hour ferry ride from the Helsinki mainland, Talinn proved to be well worth the wait.

The Tallink Ferry we took to Talinn (2 hour journey each way)

Attraction details:

Name: Talinn Seaplane Harbour Museum / Talinn Old Town
Date visited: 13 September 2014
Admission price: 10 euros (includes entry to both the internal exhibition and the external ships) / free
Directions: From one of the harbours of Helsinki, take a ferry to the Talinn Harbour. The Talinn city centre and Old Town area is around 15 minutes walk. The Seaplane Harbour Museum is also a 15-20 minute walk from the Harbour, but in a north-west direction.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars / 5 out of 5 stars

 Deciding on the 7:30am ferry to Talinn was a little punishing to be sure, but it ensured me and my travel companion were well into Talinn by 9:30am. And what an experience it was! Traveling by ferry to a new country (a routine activity in Europe I'm told) on the Talink Ferry, I was surprised to find not a collection of seats on a deck, but a multi-level structure boasting a perfume store, a Super Alko store for purchasing alcohol (a favourite past time of the Finnish who regularly travel to Talinn for cheap booze before ferrying it back to the mainland) and a buffet restaurant for the passengers on board.

Instead of heading directly into the city, we ventured first to the Talinn Seaplane Harbour Museum, a maritime museum that opened in 2012 after being transformed from an airplane hanger building. Along the way we passed many visually appealing buildings that foreshadowed the colourful monuments dotting the Talinn Old Town of our afternoon.

In comparison to the Estonia Maritime Museum (which seems a little mainstream), the Seaplane Harbour Museum seems targeted towards maritime enthusiasts, with an internal exhibition containing numerous life-size examples of real submarines, articles of warfare, seaplanes and ships. In this part of the museum, you are able to walk through the numerous rooms of a seaship (including cabins, kitchen, engine room, steam room, bathroom, captain's room, etc) and a submarine. Interestingly, there is an interactive airplane simulation where you can pilot your own aircraft, a section for you to dress up in nautical clothing, and a model submarine for you to explore, putting you directly inside the mind of a nautical professional. External to the building, there is the gigantic submarine Lembit you can walk through. I walked out with a renewed appreciation of the difficulties of the nautical lifestyle.

The airplane hangar turned Seaplane Harbour Museum in Talinn 

At around 12pm, we headed into the Talinn city centre for lunch, and were rewarded with views of the Town Square and its myriad winding alleys, cobblestone streets, quirky shops and vibrant architecture that formed the 'Old Town' district. There is also  We stopped at a quaint restaurant named Porgu, which is situated in an underground cellar you need to walk down to reach. The relatively low prices, sparse crowds (we were the only people there for 30 minutes or so) and free WiFi were a great motivator for my culinary beginnings in Europe. My mustard and honey baked chicken fillet with mashed potatoes, pak choi, sun dried tomatoes, and creamy mushroom sauce (9.5 euros) was a delicious blend of hearty flavours, while my friend's smoky duck fillet, sweet potato mash, black plums, baked cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas and pomegranate sauce looked positively drool worthy (washed down with a decilitre (100mL) of Hoegarrden beer).

Delicious cheap food in Porgu (honey mustard chicken)

After our brief pitstop for lunch, we continued through the Old Town streets, went inside one of the countless churches and browsed some of the surrounding shops before proceeding to the Upper Lookout spot over Talinn's Old Town. The view was simpy breathtaking! The day came to a close with market shopping and some very European people watching via a park and cafe detour for some chocolate cake and tea.

A highlight of the day was the Hare Krishna procession we saw enter the park just as we were leaving. They sing a semi-catchy song complete with drums, singing and dancing to the two repetitive words of 'Hare Krishna' - an interesting diversion to say the least. The 4:30pm ferry back to Helsinki deposited us back to the mainland around 6:30pm.

The picturesque views of Talinn Old Town from the Upper Lookout

In short: Visit Talinn for some cheap food, the UNESCO Heritage Listed Old Town and the breathtaking views. The ferry is around 18-40 euros depending on the time and date and ferry company chosen.