Winning four European capitals in three days feels awesome.

Photo: Comments-Crab Huang Lao Rice, Production -VII

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Text photos, except annotations: all from the author.

On March 8, 20 19, my friends and I set off from Vilnius and started a three-day and two-night "Northern Europe Tour".

Of course, this trip may not be a real "Nordic" trip at all. One is that the time is too short, just to have a day off for independence day and have some fun. The other is that Estonia actually belongs to Eastern Europe geographically, but its capital Tallinn and Finland's capital Helsinki face each other across the sea, so the locals will call themselves "Northern Europe".

From Vilnius to Latvia, Estonia to Finland

Now three years have passed, winter has come, and then I recall these four days: the secret joy of asking for leave, the freedom to leave when you say it, and the memory of the far north of the earth all poured in, so I wrote a composition to commemorate it.

Before going out, my friends and I bought round-trip bus tickets to Tallinn, Estonia at Vilnius coach station in advance. The whole journey takes about 8 hours and 30 minutes, and the single person costs 45.6 euros. The distance from Vilnius to Tallinn is more than 600 kilometers, which is similar to that from Beijing to Shenyang. Such a round-trip ticket of more than 40 euros (about 330 yuan RMB) can be said to be very close to the people.

When we set out at night, we spent the first night in our sleep. The bus passes through Riga, the capital of Latvia. In addition to tourists, there are also many Russians who travel to and from the Apollo Sea for business.

Riga Ancient City, Latvia

Photography: Nikolai Antonov/Shutstock

At midnight, the bus was speeding on the expressway in Riga, and I accidentally photographed the shopping center "Akropole" in Latvia. This shopping center was named "Akropolis" in Lithuania. As brotherly countries, the practice of naming shopping malls with different suffixes of Yin and Yang really made my friends and I laugh.

The shopping center next to the highway

Arriving in Tallinn is six o'clock in the morning local time. Estonia is still snowing heavily in March, and the climate feels very Nordic. Due to its proximity to the Gulf of Finland, there are many seagulls perched on ice and snow in the city, which we have never seen in Vilnius, 600 kilometers away.

Estonia is bordered by the Baltic Sea in the west, the Gulf of Finland in the north and Lake Chude in the east. My friend and I joked that I don't know if the city of Tallinn is particularly clear and blue because of the reflection of the sea in all directions. Slightly different from other European cities, the church spires here are almost all pointed cones, so there are also rumors that the name "Tallinn" comes from this. Because it's winter and it's still early, there are almost no people here, and the city is empty and clean, which gives people a good feeling.

Tapered spire

Walking along the main road, we soon saw the landmark building in Tallinn: St. Olaf's Church. This is the highest point of the whole old city and the heart of the city. St Olaf's Church was built at the beginning of12nd century, about 1500 years ago. It was once used as a navigation landmark, with a height of 159 meters and a towering spire. Because the spire was struck by lightning many times later, it has been repaired, leaving only the height of 123 meters, but even so, compared with it, other buildings in Tallinn are still dwarfed.

Extraordinary St. Olaf's Church

On the way to the church, we started from the edge of the old city, slowly climbed high and looked down at this solemn building. At the corner, I saw this sentence printed on the red wall: "The times we once had". I think, if translated into Chinese and witnessed the scenery in front of me, it seems that "Tianya * * * at this time" is particularly appropriate.

During the filming of the church, seagulls standing on the wall moved one after another. Although the weather here is very cold, seagulls are not afraid of people at all. They are like small owners of the city, and they don't hesitate to get close to tourists.

Seagulls also leaned in for the camera.

St Olaf Church is a must-see attraction in Tallinn. In addition to its simple and unique Gothic appearance, it was once the tallest church in medieval Europe.

Legend has it that the name of this church comes from Olaf, the mysterious giant who built it: during the construction process, he fell from the towering spire and died on the spot. When his body landed, snakes and toads crawled out of his mouth, which made the whole thing full of mystery.

Later generations vividly described this scene with wall carvings in the nearby Notre Dame chapel, which became a place for tourists to visit. But according to real historical records, this church was actually a gift from King Olaf II of Norway of Norway.

Olaf II of Norway on the Norwegian tombstone

Figure: Wiki

It was already noon after visiting the old city, and my friends and I casually found a local restaurant to eat. Interestingly, although the locals flaunt themselves as "Nordic", their food is actually the same as that in Eastern Europe, which can be proved by the dazzling array of potato products and sweet potato soup on the menu.

beetroot soup

As a small tourist city, the hotel industry here is underdeveloped, but because of its low price, B&B is also a good choice, except hotels. My friend and I booked an apartment in a new town in the center of the city. Before checking in in the afternoon, the landlord warmly went out to meet us, which made people feel the temperature different from the climate here.

The homestay where we live.

Because this trip was originally a weekend trip, my friends and I didn't make a full schedule. After a day in Tallinn, we went to the pier and bought tickets to Helsinki.

My boat ticket

My permanent friend in Estonia told me that the journey from Tallinn to Helsinki is very popular here. On the one hand, Estonia's wine is more than half cheaper than Helsinki for tax reasons, so in the cold winter, many Finns travel back and forth between the two countries every week to buy wine to drink; On the other hand, many Tallinns will choose to work in Helsinki, because the wages in northern Europe are much higher than those in Estonia, so they also need to travel by ferry.

It takes only one and a half hours from Tallinn to Helsinki to cross the Gulf of Finland. There are also many entertainment facilities on board: chess room, ktv, bar ... Therefore, thanks to the developed shipping industry, it is not very hard to travel daily.

ferry terminal

When we arrived in Helsinki, our first impression of it was the intense cold and modernization. Compared with Eastern Europe across the sea, it is more fashionable here. Helsinki is only the first stop to land on the Nordic continent, and you can also see a broader natural landscape. But because time is limited, our stay in Helsinki is only one day, so how to visit has become the first important thing.

Upon arrival, we first went to the Cross Museum of Contemporary Art ... which is one of the most famous artistic landmarks in Helsinki and belongs to the National Gallery of Finland. It opened in May 1998.

Kias Ma Contemporary Art Museum

Photography: Zabotnova Inna /Shutterstock

Figure: lindasky76 /Shutterstock

In fact, the artistic style of the museum is very close to the Nordic style in our stereotype. Although we don't understand art, we can see the beauty of simplicity in its design from the interior decoration and light and shadow effects. Impressively, in the middle exhibition hall of the museum, we saw a nude model nearly two meters high. Many adults took their children to copy here, which was very interesting.

Many children in the exhibition hall are copying and learning.

Out of the museum, we walked to sibelius park along the navigation route. In fact, this is just a place suitable for taking pictures, but because it is surrounded by natural scenery and next to an unknown lake, it is even more lonely and lonely in winter, and there is a feeling of "tragic loss of beauty". The silver sculpture stands on the snow, and there are few people coming and going, which is even more deserted.

Dim sculpture

It is worth mentioning that after a short walk, we found a hut in the surrounding Woods, which seems to be the base for local people to have afternoon tea and chat. There is a fire outside, speaking a language we don't understand, but everything is calm and peaceful. After a cold morning baptism, a cup of coffee and a piece of cake made the whole trip unforgettable.

log cabin

The food in the house

Helsinki is really not a tourist destination in Finland. More Europeans choose to take a one-day tour here in order to take it as the first stop for more in-depth tours, such as seeing the aurora and going deep into Santa Claus Village. However, even so, Helsinki's urban scenery still makes people linger. As a landmark, the rock church can be called a unique building, although for people without faith, visiting the church is more like enjoying its architectural art.

The Rock Church, officially named Temple Square Church, was built in a huge rock. After the rock was dug, the builder cast the roof of the church with glass, so the lighting effect was excellent. At the same time, because the whole structure of the church is arched and the external structure is the rock itself, the broadcasting effect here is also very good, and it is often used to hold concerts.

In the church

Photography: yegorov Nick /Shutterstock

Helsinki is not a big city. Walking in the street, you will see many important coordinates one after another. Parliament Square, Adenauer Art Museum, Railway Station, Viking Cruise ... This romantic seaside city is elegant and solemn, which makes people reluctant to part. I wanted to live here more comfortably in the future, but I don't know when this dream will come true when the pandemic strikes.

liner

Helsinki Senate Square and Octyl Cathedral

Photo: Robson 90 /Shutterstock

Laogangkou

Figure: canadastock /Shutterstock

This impromptu trip came to an end after a trip to Helsinki. Later, we went back to Tallinn by the same route and returned to Vilnius by coach. It snowed heavily on the way back, and the bus was shaken by the snow all over the sky. After driving out of the Estonian border, the weather cleared up again, just like welcoming us back.

As the most impressive trip three years ago, in retrospect, more emotions are lamenting the smoothness and freedom of travel at that time, even if you think about it casually. Although the long-cherished wish of long-distance travel is difficult to realize at the end of these two years, memories will last forever. As a nostalgic person, at the beginning of the new year in 2022, I printed the little seagull photographed in Estonia into a monthly calendar. I hope they will continue to fly happily in the blue sky regardless of the wind and waves.

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