(not so) TEMPTING TALLINN

After we successfully obtained our Russian tourist visas from the embassy in Helsinki, we had a couple days to spare before heading on the train to St. Petersburg. Since we had our passports back in our possession we were free to cross the Gulf of Finland for the day and visit the Estonian capital of Tallinn.

We obtained this handy language guide in Tallinn's tourist center to help us survive the various cafes, restaurants and shops we visited during our eight hour stay.

After getting off the ferry (or the "express hydrofoil service"), one is immediately greeted with city blocks of abandoned factories and decrepit smokestacks. Not the best introduction to a new country, but certainly a reminder of Estonia's past and present.

The historic city center is the principal tourist attraction in Tallinn, and certainly a popular one, as we were among thousands of tourists visiting Tallinn that day. Some were fellow day trippers from Helsinki, but most were on a day excursion from their large cruise liners touring various Baltic ports.

This friendly pub sign greeted us as we entered the historic city center.

The main square is certainly a pretty sight, with enough cafes and "tourist menus" to make you wonder if it is possible to get a decent, cheap meal anywhere in town.

The many churches and steeples of Tallinn are certainly beautiful and we got a brief introduction of what was to come in Russia.

This local "babushka" was very content praying and crossing herself repeatedly in the searing midday sun in front of the local cathedral.

Old meets old: there was a surprising large amount of classic American cars parked around town, including this vintage, pea green Pontiac.

Although we had very few expectations regarding our visit to Tallinn, we had an enjoyable day walking the historic cobbled lanes, eating blood sausage and grilled trout with caviar, drinking overpriced boxed wine in a hip West African cafe, watching a group of Australians get very drunk on the return ferry and adding another country to the world tour. One of the most interesting sights, however, was observing cash conscious Finns on the ferry ride back to Helsinki importing as much duty-free alcohol as possible back to their homeland. It's amazing how many cases of lager, cider and cheap fizzy wine a single person can pile up on a small rolling cart.

With the Estonian flag waving in the fierce wind, Rachel poses on the back of our hydrofoil boat back to Helsinki.

Thanks again for visiting Donkey Crossing. We've been in Russia for a couple weeks now and look forward to sharing our adventures with you soon. We just got off a four night train ride from Moscow to the middle of Siberia! Check back soon to read about what we've been up to and who we crossed paths with at The Kremlin!