May 31, 2016: The Star, my Tallinn Ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki, is spacious, clean, efficient with friendly crew, quick electronic check in, comfortable room for lots of people, cars, buses and trucks, options for dining, drinking and duty free shopping (a real revenue resource especially with deals for booze and beer), features trip cabins if you want to relax, really good and fast internet, the world’s biggest floating Burger King, and both a business class and “comfort” lounge. The business class lounge is for those frequent travelers who want a quite place to work while the comfort lounge, a private hideaway on the front upper deck, a spacious comfortable lounge style area to relax away from the “common folk”! Both lounges feature complimentary snacks and beverages — with a near by bar for something stronger — and service staff to do the heavy food and beverage lifting. About USD$25 to upgrade to one of the lounges — one way passenger walk on and off fares around USD$50 for the two hour voyage. The folks here and the rest of Europe have figured out how to make public transit services (ferry, train, bus) work and work well. We could take a lesson!
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Somewhere on the Baltic Sea Between Estonia and Finland
May 30, 2016: It takes around 2 hours to travel by Tallinn Ferry from Tallinn, Estonia to Helsinki, Finland — one country to another; back home in 2 hours I can travel from my home in California’s Sonoma wine country to a Burger King in Weed, California (same state, same country, granted a somewhat different world). Geez — transportation so much more efficient in other parts of our world! By the way, for Burger King fans, they have one onboard the Ferry — largest most efficient I’ve ever seen. For those that remember, “Where’s the meat?” At Burger King — on the high seas!
Tallinn Maritime Museum a Must See Visit
May 28, 2016: The Museum was founded in Tallinn on the initiative of former captains and sailors in 1935. During its long history, the museum has moved on a number of occasions and since 1981, its main exhibition is located in the 500-year-old Fat Margaret tower in Tallinn Old Town. In May 2012, the Maritime Museum opened another exhibition place at the Seaplane Harbour.
Today, the Maritime Museum is one of the largest museums in Estonia, and the most popular one — particularly thanks to the Seaplane Harbour exhibition.
The Seaplane Hangars at the Seaplane Harbour accommodate the Lembit submarine, built in 1937 by the British Vickers–Armstrongs shipyard; a Short 184 seaplane; the Maasilinn ship (i.e. the oldest sunken ship discovered in Estonia’s waters); and numerous other genuine items, like sail ships, boats and naval mines.
The Museum also hosts the Suur Tõll icebreaker and other museum ships (the only steam powered ice breaker in the world).
The exhibition includes over 100 ship models, from old sail ships to modern freighters and passenger ships.
http://lennusadam.eu/en/the-museum/
Tallinn Rocks When It Comes to Sushi
May 27, 2016: Gotta give the Estonians credit for creative marketing when it comes to Sushi take out — yes, the counter staff does dress like the caricature in the window.
In Bound Estonia: The Dreaded Barnacle Goose
May 26, 2016: Not really dreaded — only if they’re over your head — the Barnacle Goose is one of the most popular to hunt and Estonia is know as the best Barnacle Goose hunting ground in most all of Europe. Goose hunting is best in October and November and hundreds of Barnacle Goose trackers “flock” to Estonia to hunt the 400,000 or more that migrate to this small Baltic country. The hunts are call “safaris” and usually include warm comfy lodging in a wilderness hunting lodge.
Lunch Break in Old Town Tallinn
May 25, 2016: Food in Tallinn covers a wide range of tastes — from Russian and Scandinavian delicacies to lighter local flavored treats like meat or vegetable dumplings — bite size, served warm and accompanied by various dipping sauces like warm garlic, sour cream, dill and chives. And of course, washed down with a very light and very chilled local beer — and Russian vodka chaser!
Cobblestone Bricks Line the Streets and Walkways of Tallinn
May 24, 2016: Cobblestone roads and walkways are certainly neat looking — but let me tell you — hard to walk on and by the end of the day you and your feet feel it. Most Tallinn city streets and walkways have some combination of cobblestone — the Old Town, pictured here, doesn’t give you a chance to walk on anything else. Old Town is a charming section of Tallinn, full of history, souvenir shops, indoor and outdoor dining and art galleries that amaze. Be careful when you visit — early am is best — as Tallinn is a major cruise ship destination for the Finns, Russians and Scandinavian countries — and thousands of people arrive in the city daily — some day trippers others overnight and beyond. Prices are reasonable (Euro), food outstanding and no small portions, the local beer, vodka and gin all keep getting better the more you consume.
Tallinn, Estonia — The Baltic City Alive With the Sound of Music … and More Music.
May 23, 2016: This Baltic City, not really on most US travelers visit list (and it should be), is alive with music and concerts inside and out. In one of the many old and new town squares, audience here is entertained on a Sunday afternoon by one of the top entertainment groups in the country. Its all free — and its all fun!
Summer Travelers — AVOID Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG)
May 22, 2016: Current Events — Egypt Air — Was it an onboard fire that spread quickly and brought the AirBus down? Was something planted on jet while on the ground at CDG that initiated the fire?
The real message from the Egypt Air Flight 804 incident this week is: US travelers should avoid using Charles De Gaulle Airport for connecting flights to other world destinations. Plenty of other “safer” airports to use — the French themselves admit they have security issues at CDG (with this coming summer being especially vulnerable with a major world soccer competition in Paris). The huge confusing airport and airlines employ over 80,000 people to operate the facility — with a good number of lower level service employees coming from countries on high level security and terrorism watch — recently the airport dismissed more than 50 workers who, after being employed and given access to a wide range of airport facilities, could not pass security clearance — read this sentence again — they had been employed and were working at the airport without proper security vetting. On the TC’s recent transit through CDG, I observed very little visible security — like military or police uniforms with big guns — unlike Heathrow and Milan Malpensa where security is “overly visible” and seems to be working. Visit Paris if you must — but avoid CDG if you can!
Estonia is Cold But Wired?
Estonia is Cold But Wired?
May 21, 2016: Tallinn is the largest city in Estonia — about 500,000 people — in a country with a total population of 1.5 million. The country and city prides itself in being very “wired” and a world leader in high business development and being internet available in just about every corner of the country. And best off all — its easy to connect and always FREE! You can do just about anything and everything on the internet here — start a business, vote, become a citizen, do your taxes (takes less than 15 Estonian minutes), book a seat to travel, eat, visit a spa or check on your kids grades in school. The “locals” are friendly, like Americans (don’t see many of us), dress extremely well, work hard, play hard, enjoy music, and seem to be very happy with life. The TC traveled here on Air Baltic from Paris — Air Baltic is the Estonian flag carrier and flies to over 2 dozen cities. They fly older Boeing 737s and some newer Q400 76 passenger NextGen Bombardiers. Their service is friendly and efficient — something lacking these days with most US carriers — and the inflight crew looks you in the eye when they say “welcome aboard” and “thank you for flying Air Baltic.” Now about that word “cold” in the headline? Well, Estonians must always be cold because they keep the heat up to around 75-80 in almost all indoor areas. And, one final note, you can tell when you see a real native Estonian — easily over 6 feet tall — men and women!
