Conquering four European capitals in three days, I feel so good

Text/LUYI

Pictures and texts: Review-Crab Roe with Rice, Production-Seven

Cover picture: freestocks / unsplash

Photos in the text, unless otherwise noted: are from the author

On March 8, 2019, my friend and I set out from Vilnius and headed north , started a three-day and two-night "Nordic Journey".

Of course, this trip may not be called a real "Nordic" trip at all. Firstly, the time is too short. It is just a day off for Independence Day to have some fun. Secondly, Estonia actually belongs to Eastern Europe geographically, but its capital, Tallinn, and Finland's capital, Helsinki, are across the sea, so the locals call themselves "Nordics."

From Vilnius to Latvia, Estonia to Finland

Now, three whole years have flown by, and winter is approaching. I recall these four days again: the joy of taking a break from busy work, the freedom to go when I want, and the memories of the far north of the earth all come flooding in, so I wrote this essay commemorate.

Before traveling, my friend and I purchased round-trip bus tickets to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, at the long-distance bus station in Vilnius in advance. The journey took about 8 hours and 30 minutes and cost 45.6 euros per person. The distance from Vilnius to Tallinn is more than 600 kilometers, which is about the same as Beijing to Shenyang. From this point of view, a round-trip ticket of more than 40 euros (about 330 yuan) can be said to be very affordable.

Since we departed at night, we spent the first night of the trip in our sleep. The bus passed through Riga, the capital of Latvia. In addition to people traveling, there were also many Russians traveling to and from the three Baltic countries for business.

The ancient city of Riga, Latvia

Picture: Nikolay Antonov /Shutterstock

At midnight, as the bus was speeding on the highway in Riga, I accidentally took a photo of the Latvian shopping mall "Akropole". This shopping mall is named: "Akropolis" in Lithuania. As brother countries, the two countries use different yin and masculine suffixes to name shopping malls, which really made me and my friends laugh.

Shopping mall next to the highway

Arriving in Tallinn at six o'clock in the morning local time. There is still heavy snowfall in Estonia in March, and the climate has a very Nordic feel. Due to its proximity to the Gulf of Finland, there are many seagulls perching on the ice and snow in the city. This is a sight we have never seen in Vilnius, 600 kilometers away.

Estonia faces the Baltic Sea to the west, the Gulf of Finland to the north, and Lake Chud to the east. I was joking with my friends I wonder if it is because of the reflection of the sea water from all directions that the city of Tallinn is particularly clear and blue. Slightly different from other European cities, the spiers of the churches here are almost all cone-shaped, so there are also rumors that the name "Tallinn" originated from this. Because it was winter and it was still early, there were almost no people here. The city was empty and clean, giving people a good feeling.

Cone-shaped spire

We walked along the avenue and soon saw the Arrive at Tallinn’s landmark building: St. Olav’s Church. This is the highest point of the entire old city and the heart of the city. St. Olaf's Church was built in the early 12th century. Around 1500, it was used as a guidepost for people's navigation with its 159-meter height and its towering spire. Since the spire was struck by lightning several times since then, it has been repaired and only remains at a height of 123 meters. However, even so, other buildings in Tallinn still pale in comparison.

The eye-catching St. Olaf Church

On the way to the church, we started from Starting from the edge of the old city, we slowly climbed up to a high place and looked down at this solemn building. At the corner, I saw this sentence printed on the red wall: "the times we had". I think, if translated into Chinese, looking at the scenery in front of me, it seems that "the end of the world is at this time" is particularly suitable.

During the filming of the church, there were many seagulls standing on the wall. Move over. Although the weather here is cold and freezing, the seagulls are not afraid of people at all. They are like little masters of the city, not stingy with the opportunity to get close to tourists.

Seagulls also came close to take a look

St. Olav’s Church is a must-see in Tallinn A landscape. In addition to its simple and distinctive Gothic appearance, it was once the tallest church in medieval Europe.

Legend has it that the name of this church comes from the mysterious giant Olaf who built it: During the construction process, he slipped and fell from the towering spire and died on the spot. As his body hits the ground, snakes and toads slither out of his mouth, lending the whole thing an air of mystery.

Later generations vividly depicted this scene with wall sculptures in the nearby Notre Dame Chapel, which became a tourist attraction. However, according to true historical records, this church was actually a gift to King Olaf II of Norway.

Tombstone of Olaf II

Picture: wiki

After walking around the old town, it was already noon, and my friend and I randomly found a local restaurant for dinner. Interestingly, although the locals label themselves as "Nordic", their food is actually the same as that of Eastern Europe, as evidenced by the dazzling array of potato products and beet soup on the menu.

Beet soup

As a niche travel city, the hotel industry here is not yet developed, but because its prices are not high High, apart from hotels, B&Bs are also good choices. My friend and I booked an apartment in the city center of New Town. Before checking in in the afternoon, the host came out to greet us warmly, which made us feel the temperature was different from the climate here.

The B&B we stayed in

Because this trip is a weekend trip to take a break from the busy schedule. , so my friends and I did not arrange the trip to the fullest. After a day of wandering around Tallinn, we went to the pier to buy tickets for the ferry to Helsinki.

My ferry ticket

A friend who lives in Estonia told me that from Tallinn Trips to Helsinki are very popular here. On the one hand, wine in Estonia is more than half cheaper than in Helsinki due to taxes, so in the cold winter, many Finns travel between the two countries every week to buy wine and drink it; on the other hand, many Tallinn people choose to work in Helsinki , because the salary income in Northern Europe is much higher than that in Estonia, so it is also necessary to travel by ferry.

The journey across the Gulf of Finland from Tallinn to Helsinki only takes one and a half hours. There are also many entertainment facilities on the ship: chess and card rooms, KTV, bars... Therefore, thanks to the developed maritime industry, daily travel is not very difficult.

Ferry Terminal

Arriving in Helsinki, our first impression of the place was the strong atmosphere. Strong frigidity and modernity. Compared with Eastern Europe across the sea, this place is more trendy, and Helsinki is only the first stop on the Nordic continent. If you go deep into it, you can also see a wider range of natural features. However, due to limited time, we stayed in Helsinki for a long time. There is only one day, so how to visit becomes the first important thing.

After arriving, we first went to the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. This is one of the most famous art landmarks in Helsinki. It belongs to the National Gallery of Finland and opened in May 1998.

Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art

Picture: Zabotnova Inna /Shutterstock

Picture: lindasky76 /Shutterstock

The art style of the museum is actually very consistent with our stereotype of Nordic style. Although I don’t understand art, from the perspective of interior decoration The simple beauty of its design can be seen in the light and shadow effects. What is impressive is that in the middle exhibition hall of the museum, we saw a nude model that was nearly two meters high. Many adults and children copied it here, which was very interesting.

Many children were copying and studying in the exhibition hall

After walking out of the museum, we followed the navigation Route hiking to Sibelius Park. In fact, this is just a place suitable for taking pictures, but because it is surrounded by natural landscapes and is next to an unknown lake, it feels even more lonely and lonely against the backdrop of winter, giving it a "tragic beauty". The silver sculpture stands on the snow, and there are no people coming and going, so it looks even more deserted.

The bleak sculpture

It is worth mentioning that , after a short stroll, we found a small wooden house in the surrounding woods, which seemed to be a base for locals to drink afternoon tea and chat. There were people warming themselves by the fire outside, speaking in a language we didn’t understand, but everything was calm and peaceful. After a morning of freezing weather, a cup of coffee and a piece of cake made the whole trip unforgettable.

Cabin

Food in the house

Helsinki It is not really a travel destination in Finland. More Europeans choose to take a day trip here in order to use it as the first stop for more in-depth tours, such as watching the aurora and going deep into Santa Claus Village. But even so, the cityscape of Helsinki is unforgettable. As an iconic landmark, the Rock Church can be called a unique building, although for people without faith, visiting the church is more like appreciating its architectural art.

The Rock Church is officially named the Temple Square Church. It is built in a huge rock. After digging out the rock, the builders cast the roof of the church with glass, so the lighting effect is excellent; at the same time , because the overall structure of the church is arched, and the external structure is the rock itself, the sound absorption effect here is also very good, and it is often used to hold concerts.

Interior of the church

Picture: yegorovnick /Shutterstock

Helsinki It is not a very big city, but while strolling on the streets and looking at the sights, many important coordinates will come closer to you one by one. Parliament Square, Ateneum Art Museum, train station, Viking cruise ship... This romantic seaside city is so elegant and solemn that you can't bear to leave. I originally thought about staying here for a longer period of time in a more comfortable manner in the future, but when the pandemic hit, I didn’t know when or what month I would be able to realize this dream.

Cruise

Helsinki Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral

Photo: Robson90 /Shutterstock < /p>

Old Port

Picture: canadastock /Shutterstock

This impromptu trip ended in Helsinki The journey comes to an end. Later we returned to Tallinn and took the long-distance bus back to Vilnius. There was heavy snowfall on the way back, and the bus was swaying due to the flying snow. But after we drove out of the Estonian border, the weather cleared up again, just like welcoming us back.

As the most impressive trip three years ago, when I look back now, I am more emotional about the smoothness and freedom of travel at that time, and I could do whatever I wanted. Although the long-cherished wish of traveling long distance has finally come true in the past two years, the memories will last forever. As a nostalgic person, at the beginning of the new year of 2022, I printed the little seagulls I photographed in Estonia into a calendar and put them in front of me. I hope they will not be afraid of wind and waves and continue to fly happily in the blue sky.

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