Traveling: September 2018

Sunday, 30 September 2018

Helsinki 2018 - Part 1

Flying To Helsinki

Wednesday - August 15th 2018

Everyday life was stressful and so it was time for another short vacation. August 15th is a public holiday and so we took Thursday and Friday off and flew to Helsinki, Finland. Tuesday after work we drove to Munich airport where we stayed for one night at the Novotel. Our Lufthansa flight should have left Wednesday early morning, but due to technicla problems it was delayed for an hour. Around noon we arrived at Helsinki airport and from there we took the train into the city. In Helsinki we stayed at the GLO Hotel Kluuvi which was conveniently located in the city centre just a couple of minutes away from the train station. Checkin was quick and easy and soon we had our room keys. Our room was small, but nice and clean and we enjoyed our stay there.

GLO Hotel

Our Room

Nice Shower

Helsinki

After we checked in, we headed into the city to get something to eat. We hadn't been to McDonald's for almost ten years now, but in Finland McDonald's is offering a vegan burger and of course we had to try that. So we stopped at the nearest restaurant and ordered the burger and all I can say is, that we loved the burger. It was really good and hopefully it will make its way to Austria too. Afterwards we got some drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate the start of our short getaway. A couple of drinks later we jsut walked around the city. On our way to the harbour we stopped at Helsinki Cathedral and at Uspenski Cathedral.

Helsinki

Lunch at McDonald's

McVegan

Hard Rock Cafe

Helsinki

Helsinki Train Station

Helsinki

Helsinki Cathedral

Helsinki

Helsinki Cathedral

Helsinki Harbour

Helsinki

Uspenski Cathedral

Helsinki Harbour

On our way back to the hotel we checked out some shops and stopped at Starbucks for coffee. Back at the hotel we refreshed and got ready for dinner. Helsinki was such a vegan friendly city and so we had many choices for dinner. However, we chose to go to O'Leary's Pub, which we already knew from Stockholm. Later we got some drinks at a bar until we returned to the hotel.

Helsinki

O'Leary's Pub

Dinner at O'Leary's

Wednesday, 26 September 2018

Helsinki 2018 - Part 2

Day Trip To Tallinn

Thursday - August 16th 2018

For today we had planned to visit Tallinn, Estonia, by ferry, since Helsinki was just across the bay. We had to get up early, becuase the ferry departed around 7:30 am. So after we got up, we were on our way to the ferry terminal on the other side of the city. It took us about 30 minutes by foot and soon after we boarded to the ship we left towards Tallinn. On board we got a coffee and had breakfast and two hours later we arrived in Tallinn.

Helsinki

Helsinki Harbour

Departing from Helsinki

Breakfast

Luckily the Old Town was hust a couple of minutes away from the harbour and so there was no need to take the bus. Tallinn's old town is really beautiful and so it gets packed with tourists throughout the day, but when we arrived the city was still quiet and empty. Our first stop was the Olde Hansa, a restaurant dating back to the fifteenth century. There we ordered two cinnamon beers, which were served in clay jugs, like in medieval times. The coolest thing about the restaurant was, that there was no electricity and so dining rooms were lit by candle light.

Tallinn

Tallinn Old Town

Olde Hansa

Tallinn Old Town

After a couple of beers it was time for lunch and so Claudia and I went to Vegan Restoran V. We ordered a starter to share and for the main course Claudia got a Caesar's Salad and I got the veggie burger. Everything was so delicious and with full bellys we continued our sightseeing tour through Tallinn. First we just walked around the old town to check out the small shops and via Alexander Nevsky Cathedral we headed to Telliskivi Creative Centre. Telliskivi Creative Centre was a former industrial site turned into a place for creative people with many bar, lounges and restaurants. Since there were so many lovely bars, we decided to take break and get an iced coffee.

Vegan Restoran V

Starter

Ceasar's Salad

Veggie Burger

Tallinn Old Town

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Tallinn Old Town

Telliskivi Creative Centre

Lounge

Unfortunately our day trip to Tallinn was coming to an end and so we had to return to the harbour to catch the ferry back to Helsinki. On our way back to the old town we stopped at a supermarket to buy some snacks we wanted to eat on the ferry for dinner. Back at the ferry terminal we boarded the ship and found a table on the upper deck, where we enjoyed our small dinner in the warm summer sun. Our lovely day in Tallinn ended with a beer at the lounge.