The Grain and Grape

On our trip to Tallinn, Estonia, we decided to take a ferry to Helsinki for a day trip. It’s always a bonus when you can easily visit a nearby country, especially when the ferry ride alone is a fun adventure. The Tallink Silja ferry is a small cruise ship with multiple decks of duty free shopping, restaurants, lounges, bars, a quiet area, a play area, and an outside deck experience. The route through the Bay of Finland goes from wide open sea to picturesque clusters of islands as you get closer to Helsinki.

We booked our tickets in advance through DirectFerries, at €19 / person. Our 07:30 departure boarded at 06:45, and it was a 20 minute walk from our hotel in Old Town to the departure port. Check-in at the kiosk was very easy, with options for different languages, including English.

Helsinki

Once we docked at Helsinki, it was a 20 minute walk or 4 minutes cab ride to Market Square. Since we were meeting up with a friend, we took the cab ride for €10. Market Square, right on the bay, is a big outdoor market with room to walk around and browse the food and souvenir stands. The souvenirs here are quality, hand-made, unique items – we bought a few treasures here.

Foods of Finland

From a food stand in Market Square, we had a unique and delicious lunch of Moose Meatballs, Reindeer Sausage, Vendace, vegetables, and potatoes. Vendace are small freshwater white fish, fried up whole, and they are an excellent treat. The Moose Meatballs was tender and delicious, while the Reindeer Sausage was just OK.

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress

We took a small ferry from Market Square to the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, a World Heritage Site. This 18th century sea fortress is very cool, and slightly eerie. It’s all so quiet and a bit overgrown, but people do live on this island year round.

On the ferry ride back to Helsinki, dark storm clouds were gathering, rolling toward us in massive dark layers.

Sights of Helsinki

Back in Helsinki, the rain started down in buckets. Everyone was almost instantly drenched, including the Pride Parade that was energetically winding through the streets. We danced to the music alongside the Parade as we trekked through the crowds looking for shelter from the storm.

Anywhere You Go Around The World …

… You’ll Find an Irish Pub. The Old Irish Pub looks wonderful, but it was packed with everyone trying to stay dry. We found room at Kitty’s Public House and were able to dry out for a while in that homey setting that an Irish pub provides. Heads up – Guinness is €10.40 a pint! Literally Black Gold!

When we were ready to leave Helsinki, we were able to change our return ticket from 19:30 to a 16:30 ferry at the customer service desk at the port for a fee of €10 / person. It was a fun day outing in Helsinki.

Kippis!

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