Copenhagen (19/06/2017)

After taking an early flight from Helsinki we landed in Copenhagen, and having several hours of layover, decided to visit the city. We took the train that brought us into the city and continued on foot. We passed by the Christiansborg Palace, rebuilt several times, and in the current Neo-baroque style in 1928. It houses the country's parliament, supreme court, and prime minister's office. Nearby we passed by the Borse, or Stock exchange, a Dutch renaissance building dating to the 17th century. After crossing a bridge we were then in Christianshavn, an island-neighborhood filled with canals, boats, and pretty buildings. On the same island, we then visited Christiania, a type of hippie freetown and alternative neighborhood where light drugs are tolerated and artists live and create. After the visit to the alternative side of the city, we headed back over another bridge and reached the old town, where the Nyhavn is located. This 17th-century canal and waterfront was lined by beautiful baroque colorful houses which the sunny day enhanced even more. From the old port, we walked further through the town and reached the Rococo Frederik's Church which we visited. It had an impressive dome which was already noticeable from far away and gave an interesting perspective and scenic point from the nearby Amalienborg Palace. This palace, which is more like a set of buildings, consists of a large octagonal square and neoclassical palaces at the corners that belong to the Danish royal family. We started to get a bit hungry so decided to head to Papiroen, or Paper Island, a popular spot which serves good street food. We grabbed a quick lunch there and then continued the exploration of the city. We reached Rosenborg Castle, a Dutch renaissance 17th-century castle surrounded by beautifully laid out gardens. We opted for the free part, visiting the gardens and enjoying the sun and nature. From there we then headed to the David Collection, a museum holding fine and applied art, particularly on Islamic art. After visiting the museum, we walked further into town giving a look inside the Trinitatis Church, a 17th baroque building. Not far we then passed through the pretty Gråbrødretorv, featuring well preserved baroque houses. Further on we ended up in Amagertorv, probably the city's most central square. Named after the farmers who came from the Amager island to sell their produce, it is now a busy pedestrian area filling with people and shops. We then walked by and entered the Church of the Holy Ghost, one of the city's oldest. Not much is left in the interior apart from a nice baroque altar. Westwards we then reached the Cathedral, known as the Church of Our Lady, rebuilt several times and now featuring a Neoclassical style from 1829. The interior was plain white and did not feature anything particularly interesting. The nearby Gammeltorv, or Old market, the city's oldest, though was quite interesting, with the Caritas Well, a renaissance fountain, standing at its center. It was now time to head towards the airport as we still had to catch out flight to Gdansk. After walking towards the train station we passed by the impressive City Hall, built in 1905 in a National Romantic style. Once there, we then finally took the next train which brought to the airport where we later took our flight to Poland.

One of the canals in front of Christiansborg Palace

The Borse, or stock exchange building

A canal in Christianshavn

The free town of Christiania

Buildings along Nyhavn

View of Nyhavn

Frederik's Church

The Amalienborg complex

Gråbrødretorv square

View of Amagertorv

The Caritas Well in Gammeltorv

Helsinki (18-19/06/2017)

In the morning we took the boat from Tallinn leaving at 9:30 and arrived at the port of Helsinki about two hours later. After getting off the ferry, we met with my friends Veera and Pinja who came to pick us up and would host us in their apartment during the time we would spend in town. After leaving our luggage at their friend's house, who lived closer to the city center, we then went to have lunch at the southern end of the city center close to the seashore. The weather was cloudy yet we enjoyed the views across the bay. After eating lunch we the walked along the shore and reaching the ferry terminals, the location where we had landed that same morning. Nearby we then headed to see the Uspenski Cathedral, an orthodox church built at the end of the 19th century on top of a hill during the Russian ruling of the city. From there we walked further and entered the Helsinki City Museum, holding objects, photographs, and memoirs about the city. After the visit to the museum, we then reached the Senate Square, the oldest part of Helsinki, surrounded by neoclassical buildings. At the northern end of the square, stands the impressive Cathedral, built during the mid 19th century on top of an elevated platform. We visited the plain interior, typical of the architecture and of the Lutheran church, and then continued our walk through town. Then, after getting our luggage back, we headed to our friends' house where we had dinner and relaxed a bit before going to bed. The next day, we woke up and headed back into town, where we took a boat that brought us to Suomenlinna, the sea fortress located on six islands in the bay in front of the city. Built during the 18th century, it was called Sveaborg (in Swedish) or Viapori (in Finnish) until 1918 when it was renamed Suomenlinna, meaning Finland castle. It is now a Unesco world heritage site and is popular among locals for picnics and strolls. After reaching the fortress, we started the visit with the island church, still in use as the fortress is still inhabited by about 900 people.  As we walked further, the sun starting peering out of the clouds, and turned into a windy yet sunshine filled day. We walked along the fortifications, crossing from one island to the other and enjoying the beautiful views of the coast and sea surrounded by blooming flowers. Once we strolled around the whole fortress we headed back to the ferry spot where we took a boat back to Helsinki. Then, we headed through the Senate Square once again and visited the nearby National Library which was built during the 19th century and visited the old neoclassical rooms in its interior. After the library visit, we headed to the northern part of the city where we entered Linnanmäki, a 1950s amusement park, which is free to enter and only requires tickets for each ride. We went up the viewing tower platform, which was free, and enjoyed the panorama of the city and its surroundings. After the amusement park, we climbed yet another tower closer to the city center called Hotel Torni, where we had an excellent view all around us. After that enjoyable view, we went down to street level and decided to enjoy a drink in a local park as the sun was setting. From there we then headed home where we had dinner and went to bed, ready to leave early the next day for Copenhagen.

Suomenlinna Fortress

View from one of the islands of Suomenlinna

Part of Suomenlinna fortress

View over the sea from Suomenlinna

The rocky coast of Suomenlinna

Rocks and small beaches in Suomenlinna

View of the rocky coast and part of the fortifications

Fortifications surrounded by beautiful greenery

19th century building in Suomenlinna

Houses inside the fortress

View of the fortifications

The Senate Square and the Cathedral

View of the Cathedral

View from the top of Hotel Torni

Estonia (15-17/06/2017)

After taking the bus from Sigulda to Riga, where we switched, we then took another bus directed to the town of Pärnu in Estonia. After reaching the destination, we headed to our accommodation where we checked in and left our luggage. We were staying at a guesthouse together with two more couples, both from Finland, staying in the other two rooms in the accommodation. So after leaving our luggage, we headed out and walked through the pretty small town center. We passed by Seegi Maja, or the Almshouse, which is considered as the town's oldest building, rebuilt in 1658 on top of a 13th-century one. Not far we then entered the Lutheran Church of St Elizabeth, a baroque building dating to the 18th century. Close by were some nice examples of typical wooden houses of the area, probably dating to the 18th or 19th centuries. Then off to another church, St Catherine's, also built in the baroque style during the 18th century but for the Orthodox faith. Once we reached the western end of the old town, we exited through the Tallinn Gate, the only remaining of the tow, and the only gate from the 17th century still standing in the Baltic States. Walking further on we reached the Pärnu Rand, or city beach, with its beautiful greyish sand and nearly no one around, probably due to the light wind which nonetheless made the sunny day a bit more bearable. After relaxing for a while there, we then headed back into town where we had dinner and headed back to our guesthouse to rest. The next day after waking up and having breakfast, we took a bus directed towards Tallinn. After reaching Estonia's capital, we descended the bus and decided to leave our luggage in one of the lockers as we would have to wait a bit before checking in our Airbnb. After locking our luggage, we then headed on foot and reached not long after the Kadriorg Palace, a beautiful Baroque building dating to the 18th century and built by Peter the Great for Catherine I of Russia. We entered the building and visited the museum which exhibited mainly foreign art in the restored rooms of the palace. After seeing the museum, we then exited and walked through the Palace's park, all the way to the nearby beach where we relaxed a bit in the sun while eating lunch. After eating we headed towards the old town which took us a while as we were on the outskirts of the city. It was quite hot and I then just realized I, unfortunately, had lost my sunglasses, probably dropping out of my bag somewhere in Kadriorg park. Once we reached the old town, we first spotted the Viru Gate, one of the many medieval gates which dot the city. This one has only the circular towers remaining, as the main part had to be torn down during the 19th century to make room for the more modern traffic. From the gate, we continued on towards the center of the city, walking by some nice burgher houses until we reached the Raekoja Plats, or town hall square. It stands at the center of the old town and is bordered at its southern end by the Gothic Town Hall, the oldest in the Baltic Region and Scandinavia. Originally built during the 13th century the current building dates to 1404. On the top of its spire stands the copy of an original which is kept in the cellars of the building, which depicts Vana Toomas, a peasant boy who managed to become a city guard after winning a crossbow competition. The model was set up on the spire in 1530 and stood until 1944 when a bomb damaged the building. It was then replaced by the copy and stands guard over the ancient city. From the main square, we then walked further and started walking uphill to where Toompea Castle is located. Dating to the 9th century, it now features several additions and refurbishments. The oldest part, dating to the 13th century stands at the southwestern edge of the castle hill and is sided by a Baroque building which now holds the country's parliament. Close by stands the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built during the Russian domination at the end of the 19th century and still serving the Orthodox community of the city. Walking further over the hill we then reached the Cathedral of St Mary, the oldest church in Estonia, built during the 13th century and refurbished first during the 15th and then the 18th centuries. After visiting the interior we headed to the northern edge of the hill where we had an incredible view over the lower part of the old town, with church spires and steep roofs jutting out to the sky. From the viewpoint we descended the castle hill and reached the lower town once more, walking along the perfectly preserved medieval walls. We then reached the Church of St Olaf, originally dating to the 12th century, while the current building is from the 14th century. We entered it first and then climbed its tower for a small fee. From up there, we had another incredible view over the old town. After enjoying the panorama, we descended back down at ground level and walked through Pikk street, the main street which took us back to the main square. It was now time for us to head back to the bus station, gather our luggage, and head to the Airbnb to check in. After relaxing a bit in the room, we were ready to head back into town and have dinner. We stopped at a place called Kompressor, which made tasty and cheap pancakes. After dinner, we took a last stroll around the old town streets and main square at sunset before heading to our room to sleep. The next day, after waking up later, we decided to head to the Kakumae Rand, a beach to the west of the city center. After taking a bus to reach the place, we spent a few hours relaxing under the sun. The beach had plenty of people but wasn't too crowded and the area looked very nice. Once we thought we had enough sun and rest, we took the bus back to the city. We then strolled again through the old town enjoying it before sunset when most people were either eating or heading to their houses/accommodations, so it did not feel too crowded as during the rest of the day. Then after dinner, we were ready to go to our room, relax and then sleep as we would leave the next day for Finland.

The Seegi Maja in Pärnu

The church of St Elizabeth

The Tallinn Gate

Beach in Pärnu

Street art in Pärnu

The Kadriorg Palace in Tallinn

The Viru Gate

The main square

The main square with the town hall

Street in Toompea hill

View from Toompea hill

Another view from Toompea 

View from Toompea towards the north

The medieval walls

Another part of the walls

View from the tower of St Olaf's church

View of the old town from St Olaf's

The main square at sunset

A street in the old town