Oktoberfest in Munich

Made it back to Helsinki

Made it to Helsinki after a great time in Estonia. Will update details when I have some time to sit down with map and local information. Currently sitting in bar in central Helsinki waiting for the telecast of the Hawks vs Cats preliminay final to start - Go Hawks !!! Am having major hassles sending emails from my iPad and Optus has been absolutely useless in trying to resolve the issue - will definitely be ditching Optus on my return to Oz. Time for a four & twenty meat pie. Cheers

Last day in Saaremaa

Weather has been great up until yesterday and I have been living in shorts and t-shirts but had to rug up as the weather has become wet, windy and cold. Had a very enjoyable time on the north coast at Saka and visiting Maree's cousin Ene in Kohtla-Jarve and her elderly aunt nearby in Kohtla-Nomme. We drove along the north coast to Narva on the border with Russia and visited Narva Castle museum - Narva Castle was founded in the 13th century. We climbed the 50m high tower for a view across the river border to the Ivangorod Fortress in Russia. Also did some shopping for Robert in a very modern shopping mall and had lunch in the mall at a cafe where food was costed on the weight of what was on your plate. We travelled back to Saka via Narva-Joesuu at the mouth of the Narva River which was a popular seaside resort for well-off Russians during the 19th century and served privileged Soviet Russians during the 20th century. It still has a certain faded charm but the beach is now not so crowded, even in summer, as it is cut off from its former Russian clientele by strict border controls. On return from our day in Narva we were treated to a traditional Estonian banquet in Ene's apartment - very delicious. We also toured the Kohtla Underground Museum that celebrates the region's industrial heritage with its tunnels, miniature mine trains and functioning machinery. Oil shale, a parraffin-rich rock, was used widely as a domestic and industrial fuel until recently, and was a major cause of pollution.

Narva Castle

Ivangorod Fortress in Russia

This is even before the vodka !!!

World War 2 Soviet tank memorial near Narva

Arrived in Saaremaa

Arrived in Saaremaa yesterday after travelling via Saka, Tartu and Parnu. We have been on the go so much that entries to my blog are way behind.

Jagala Waterfall On the way from Tallinn to Saka we visited the Jagala Waterfall, one of Estonia's best-known beauty spots. Unfortunately it wasn't in full flow but still looked impressive. We also travelled via Kasmu and Altja in the Lahemaa National Park. The village of Kasmu is an old smuggling haven (salt in the 19th century and vodka to Finland in the 1920s). Altja was a prosperous fishing settlement for more than five centuries until its inhabitants were expelled by the Soviet regime. However the regime began to restore Altja's traditional wooden buildings in 1971, so that the settlement, although still almost deserted, is now a picturesque huddle of homes and boat sheds with a small old-fashioned inn which was built in the 19th century and where we stopped for a typical Estonian lunch of fish and roast pork with potatoes and sauerkraut - delicious.

Coastline near Kasmu

More coastline near Kasmu

Old inn at Altja where we had lunch

Houses at Altja

Tallinn to Saka

Last week in Tallinn we toured the Bastion Tunnels, the once-secret defence system that runs under Toompea hill. Originally built in the late 1600s to ferry powder and soldiers, the tunnels found new life in the 20th century as a bomb shelter. Maree discovered her mobile phone missing after the tunnels tour and although retracing our steps to various shops and a cafe we did not find it. After losing her glasses in Singapore, this has not been a great start to the trip for Maree. We retreated to our favourite bar, Porgu ( which translates as "Hell" in English) and drowned our sorrows with some Saaremaa farmhouse ale called Pithla, a potent brew at 7.6% alcohol. That night we dined at a medieval-themed restaurant called Olde Hansa as it was one of the few places to have bear on the menu. Robert chose the bear and I had the elk fillet. The bear had a tough texture and it is hard to describe the taste but the elk was very tender and tasty. Earlier in the day we had elk soup for lunch at a cafe on the town square. The following day we went to a Govt office to arrange an Estonian ID card for Robert which will make it easier for him to travel around Europe. It was an interesting process and the card will be available on our return to Tallinn.

. Old town Tallinn

Former KGB headquarters with basement windows bricked up to muffle screams!!!

View from hotel room in Tallinn

Elk soup lunch in Old Town Tallinn

Town Square, Tallinn Old Town

Patarei Prison, Tallinn

Patarei Prison

Patarei Prison

Patarei Prison operating room

On the Road Again

Departed Australia on Sunday Sept 1 and arrived in Tallinn, Estonia over 30 hours later via Singapore and Helsinki. Flight to Singapore was uneventful and with a 7.5 hour stopover decided to leave the airport and caught a cab to the Singapore Flyer, the world's largest observation wheel. Maree and I had been there before on our last trip but decided to visit again as our son Robert had not seen it. The views from the Flyer were spectacular and it took about 30 minutes to complete the one revolution. After the ride we decided to have some hawker food at a food court under the Flyer. Unfortunately something amongst the chilli prawns and satays caused some problems for me which made for an "interesting" 12 hour flight to Helsinki followed by a 90 minute ferry trip to Tallinn arriving at our hotel at approx. midday. My first afternoon in Tallinn commenced at one of my favourite food haunts called Kompressor which serves the best ever pancakes - both savoury and sweet. Also sampled a beer at a German-themed brewery restaurant (getting in some practice for the Oktoberfest in Munich !!!). The medieval Old Town square is just as enchanting as ever. Yesterday was our first full day in Tallinn and we started by visiting the seaplane harbour museum - the seaplane hangars were built in 1916-1917 as part of a system of naval fortifications to protect St. Petersburg. From 1918-1940 the hangars were used by the Estonian Air Force and the seaplane hangars were the largest freestanding reinforced-concrete domes in the world, and the only ones without inner support columns. Included in the museum is the submarine Lembit, commissioned by the Republic of Estonia in 1937 from a shipyard in England. It is one of the few submarines to survive intact from the pre-World War 11 era, and it holds the world record for the greatest period of time spent in water - 75 years. We explored inside the submarine and it was very interesting. Also part of the museum is the icebreaker Suur Toll which is moored at the port. It is the largest surviving steam-powered icebreaker in the world and will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2014. From the seaplane harbour we made our way to the nearby ominous Patarei Prison, originally built as a sea fortress in the early 19th century. It served as a prison and execution site through the Soviet era and was finally closed in 2002. Most of the sprawling complex has been left as it was and we inspected the dank hallways, cells, administrative areas and medical wing. Hundreds of people were executed in Patarei with the last execution taking place in 1991. We had lunch yesterday at a Russian restaurant (Troika) on the square in the Old Town and I had braised wild boar that was delicious washed down with some Estonian beer and finished off with an icy vodka. Dinner last night was at a favourite venue, Vanaema Juures (Grandmother's Place). I had roast elk and it was great.

Made it to Singapore

Arrived in Singapore late yesterday afternoon to humid and wet conditions - what a change to Helsinki.
For our last day in Finland, Maree and I went to the Olympic Stadium and visited the Sports Museum of Finland - as you would expect full of memorabilia of Finland's sports excellence. It was also a nostalgic visit to the youth hostel I stayed at over 30 years ago when I was backpacking through Scandinavia and Europe.
Today we went on the Singapore Flyer billed as the largest giant observation wheel in the world - certainly gave us a great view of the city and it has changed so much since we last here 30 years ago.
Also made a trip to Raffles Hotel for a gin sling - $A25 a glass - must have seen us coming!!!!
Thought I had left the expensive Scandinavia behind but this is another expensive city.
Maree and I are planning to visit Little India tonight for a good curry - am having cravings for a good curry.
Forgot to mention on our last day in Helsinki went to our favorite bar and managed to get the last glass of the seasonal dark stout out of the barrel - it was fantastic.