Nappe, Chaul, other Finns...

[Myshkin]

Just a quick question for you: do any of you know the summer rate for ferries going from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia? I've been looking but the fee table sites don't go that far ahead. Also, any recommendations if you have experience with said ferries would be appreciated :)

[DJSparrow]

I know somebody from Riga, I'll ask when he's on.

[Sepecat]

From Tallinn to Helsinki one way tickets varies from 20-40 Euros...

http://www.helsinki.fi/jarj/isha/howtogettofinland.htm


George`

[Myshkin]

Oh so it is actually the same in the summer... I was looking at quotes that would give us a little cabin for EUR$80 round trip per person, but I couldn't check more than a month ahead or so. But I see fast boats and slow boats and this and that... what I really need is someone that has done it or knows the real thing for some advice. Also any local tips on visiting Helsinki if you only have maybe 24 hours (twice, coming and going) to check it out.

Also, I should be in Brussels for one night waiting for a connection... any suggestions would be appreciated as well.

[Sepecat]

What Airline are you flying??? and when is the trip???

George

[Sepecat]

This site has Nordic Tour Packages...

http://www.nordicsaga.com/

George`

[Myshkin]

In order to use my miles, since I have to go through FinnAir as well, there are restrictions. I could get to London or Brussels easily, the hard part was finding a way to get from there to Helsinki. Friday and Saturday were not available.

So, the tentative plan is:

Leave Austin 2:00 PM June 20th, through Chicago and Brussels
Arrive Helsinki 6:35 PM June 21st
Take ferry on the 22nd to Tallinn

Leave Tallinn July 5th to Helsinki
Take afternoon flight July 6th to Brussels, stay the night
Leave Brussels 11 AM July 7th through Chicago arriving in Austin

There are more direct flights going through Kennedy and London, I know. But there are not available seats on the corresponding Finnair flights for AA mileage users :) That's what I get for being a cheap-o. US$80 per ticket for the taxes is not too bad.

[Myshkin]

No tours. We're not doing the tour thing, but thanks. I like to just find the center of town and check it out, hang around (as far as Helsinki and Brussels are concerned). Once in Estonia I have a cousin that grew up in New York that lives there, and some other more distant family that we may visit.

[Sepecat]

Wow, Not a Bad Vacation lol……

Yeah you are right, there are more direct Flights too HEL- Helsinki..

Like this one, it goes from AUS-DFW, DFW-JFK, JFK you take FINNAIR to HEL... This flight you will get to HEL on 06/21/2004 08:50 AM...

The return Flight you arrive back in AUS on 07/06/2004 10:43 PM...

Shame you can't go this way.... Lol

Have fun Connecting... ^_^

:p

George`

[Myshkin]

The way that I understand it, it is tough to get on the trans-atlantic Finnair flights using AA miles. So I have to go to Europe on AA, and connect through Finnair for a short hop. AUS-ORD-BRU is all AA. So it's really just one more stopover... and then a ferry ride which looks pretty nice.

[Chaul]

Well, there are a few different ways you can get to Tallinn and back - by boats (~3h30mins one way), by fast boats (~1h30) and even by a copter (18minutes). Here is a good informative site for travellers in Helsinki http://www.hel.fi/tourism/html/english/artikkelit/index.html . I have done the trip twice on a fast boat (njl) but never on a copter :).

Here are the cruise lines between the towns.

http://www.eckeroline.fi/
http://www.tallink.fi/
http://www.silja.fi/

fast boats:

http://www.njl.fi/
http://www.lindaline.fi/

and the copter:

http://www.copterline.com/eng/

Note that the sea is frozen during winters so the cruises are a bit limited "off season". The prices for the boats are around 20-40 euros depending on the time of day and about 100 euros for the chopper. :)

I hope you have a pleasent trip. As I live in Helsinki I might be able to help you with some questions you might have. The streets next to the harbour area are packed with shops etc. There is a park, a presidential palace and a church right next to the harbour. And you can take sightseeing tours by boat and by bus. UNESCO World Heritage sight of Suomenlinna might be something worth to see or what's left of it. It's a castle on an island. http://www.suomenlinna.fi/english/

Tuukka

[Justin Martin]

Sounds like a fun trip. -^ I'd love to visit Finland, at least in the summer. Too cold in the winter. :D

The talk about slow and fast ferries reminds me of my grandmother. She and a few of her friends went to Spain about a decade ago. One day they decided to go down to Morroco. On the trip across, they took the slow ferry. When they came back, they decided the slow ferry was a little too slow, so they took the fast ferry instead. But when the ferry got out into the straits, a big storm blew through, and then they wished they had taken the big, stable, slow ferry instead of the small, unstable, fast ferry. ^_^ The results of that I will leave to your imagination. ;)

[Bage]

Hope you have fun with my "nabours" Myshkin :)

I would not miss The “Church in the Rock” more or less carved out of a rock.


http://www.hel.fi/tourism/html/images/pictures/matkalla/artikkelit/temppeliaukio.jpg


There is some info on these sites about that and plenty more

http://www.hel.fi/english/index.html
http://www.visitfinland.com

Good luck m8

/bage

[Myshkin]

Chaul, if you wouldn't mind helping me a bit, you are precisely who I need to figure this out. Someone that lives in Helsinki, knows the layout, and... well I don't know too many Finns ;) I am reading up on Helsinki tourist information, but I like to talk to people about it too. I could rely on tourist sites, but I don't like to do the normal tour thing; I like to mingle anonymously with people on the streets, try to get a good feel for the city, as much as possible in such a short time.

Okay, so here is the dilemna: I am working on a fairly cheap budget here... we aren't going to be touring Finland, but I will be staying in Helsinki a total of two nights, once going and once coming back. We will have time to walk around the center of town and, depending on public transportation, see what we can see.

I will be arriving at Helsinki Vantaa (HEL) at approximately 6:35 PM on Monday June 21st. I would like to take the ferry the following day to Tallinn, whatever the cheapest fare is because I have no schedule, as long as I'm there by that night.

Question 1: If you were on that schedule, knowing Helsinki as you do, would you agree that we should stay in a hotel downtown somewhere on the west side, closer to the port? And if we do, will we be in an area that we can roam at night? I suspect we wouldn't actually be out and walking until after 8 PM.

Question 2: What hotel would you stay in if you had to stay in a hotel in Helsinki in my circumstances? I understand the problem with the question - you live there so you don't stay in hotels. But I am thinking along the lines of location and price. Clean and big enough for my wife and myself, and that's about the only requirement. Also to factor in is transportation; rail, taxi, bus... what is best from the airport to downtown?

Question 3: If you really wanted to impress someone with a breakfast in downtown Helsinki, where would you go? Food AND location, view, etc.

We will probably take a slow ferry... no rush, it's cheaper, and we'll be on vacation :)

Returning: I'd like to take the first ferry I can get from Tallinn in the morning July 5th, to give me more time in Helsinki on the return. I figure if the hotel that we stay at is right the first time, we can stay there again on the return. Or, if we find a really good alternative (must try variety, you know) in another part of the city, but either way it should be convenient to seaport and airport.

Really, any ideas you personally have would be appreciated.

Perhaps someday if I have more money I will be able to spend more than a day or two in Finland. As it is, Finland is expensive and the US$ isn't doing so well, and I'm not rich in the first place, so... I should probably buy one of those "Finland on 10 Euros per day" books :)

If you, Chaul, or anyone else in the Helsinki area wants to try to meet up in Helsinki on either Monday June 21st, or Monday July 5th in the evening, let me know :wave:

Do we have anyone from Belgium here? I don't recall... I'll be in Brussels for nearly 20 hours waiting for a connecting flight home... :)

[Sepecat]

Mysh,

Damn 20hrs is One Long Wait……… LoL ^_^

Where will you staying for those 20hrs??

George`

[Myshkin]

Oh it's quite okay, George. 20 hours is good. 5 or 6 would not be good.

We plan on arriving in Brussels in the afternoon, check into a hotel, and then do some exploring, find somewhere local to eat, see what we can see. Then go back to the hotel, get a good night's sleep, get up in the morning, eat a local breakfast, and then go to the airport for the trip home.

Arrive at 3:30 PM Brussels, leave the next day at 11 AM is not too bad at all, if you ask me. Would be much worse if it were 11 PM the same day.

[Sepecat]

MYSH,

Is your Wife a American Citizen or is she a Mexican Citizen....

If she is a Mexican Citizen, she requires a visa to enter Estonia..

I went to the Foreign Ministry of Belgium, Finland, and Estonia- Mexico is not on the List of Visa Wavier Countries.

Belgium and Finland are fine....

But if she is an American Citizen, then she will be fine in Estonia...

George`

[Chaul]

Originally posted by Myshkin
Okay, so here is the dilemna: I am working on a fairly cheap budget here... we aren't going to be touring Finland, but I will be staying in Helsinki a total of two nights, once going and once coming back. We will have time to walk around the center of town and, depending on public transportation, see what we can see.
Public transport is quite extensive in Helsinki. All the busses stop at the main railway station. There is a huge construction site where they are building a bus terminal under ground west to the railway station. Because of this construction work some of the busses are stopping at the neighbouring streets so it can be a bit of a mess right now.. But trams, metro and trains work as usual.

Helsinki city is quite packed, centered around the railway station on the ground and under the ground. Meaning there are plenty of shops and that's where all the people are. Railway station also offers tourist information and a Hotel Booking Center (mailto:hotel@helsinkiexpert.fi / http://www.helsinkiexpert.fi/document.asp?intSiteID=2&intDocID=276). And check out the Market Square at the end of Esplanadi Park during the day.
I will be arriving at Helsinki Vantaa (HEL) at approximately 6:35 PM on Monday June 21st. I would like to take the ferry the following day to Tallinn, whatever the cheapest fare is because I have no schedule, as long as I'm there by that night.

Question 1: If you were on that schedule, knowing Helsinki as you do, would you agree that we should stay in a hotel downtown somewhere on the west side, closer to the port? And if we do, will we be in an area that we can roam at night? I suspect we wouldn't actually be out and walking until after 8 PM.
(http://www.hel.fi/tourism/html/english/artikkelit/artikkelit/majoitus.html)

I'm thinking of the area around the harbour, the Esplanadi Park, the Railway station and all. So, you might want to consider this: http://www.eurohostel.fi . The good things about this place are that it's right next to the ships, it's close to the city and that it's quite cheap. There are hotels like Hotelli Torni which has a bit of history and offers a great view over the town (http://www.sokoshotels.fi/english/index.cfm)... There is a "virtual tour" of the hotel on that site too and the other hotels of the same Sokos chain. Another hostel is around the Olympic Stadium which I hear is popular among younger people.. http://www.stadionhostel.com/rates.html . It's 2km north of the other two places I mentioned but it has good connections to the city. Take a look at the Hotel Booking link above if it helps.

Also, check this out:

http://kartta.hel.fi/

It's a tourist map of Helsinki. You can type in any address and it'll show the place on the map. This hostel is in Katajanokka, north of the southern harbour, east of the Esplanadi Park.
Question 2: What hotel would you stay in if you had to stay in a hotel in Helsinki in my circumstances? I understand the problem with the question - you live there so you don't stay in hotels. But I am thinking along the lines of location and price. Clean and big enough for my wife and myself, and that's about the only requirement. Also to factor in is transportation; rail, taxi, bus... what is best from the airport to downtown?
It's true I haven't stayed a night in a hotel in Helsinki so I don't have any personal experience on this but I believe all the hotels offer decent accommodation. I named some hotels and hostels in question 1.

Transportation from the airport is by bus or taxi. Normal rates for busses are 3 euros from the Helsinki-Vantaa airport to Helsinki and a little less inside Helsinki. Finnair City Bus costs 4,9 euros and takes you to some hotel 1km from the main railway station. You may get free transport to the airport hotels by bus too. The Airport is 20km from the harbour.
Question 3: If you really wanted to impress someone with a breakfast in downtown Helsinki, where would you go? Food AND location, view, etc.
There are some really nice restaurants/cafes to the south of the harbour along the seashore or on islands http://www.ravintolasaari.com/ but I would have to check into this more.. There are some sort of restaurant guides too but they are all in Finnish..
We will probably take a slow ferry... no rush, it's cheaper, and we'll be on vacation :)

Returning: I'd like to take the first ferry I can get from Tallinn in the morning July 5th, to give me more time in Helsinki on the return. I figure if the hotel that we stay at is right the first time, we can stay there again on the return. Or, if we find a really good alternative (must try variety, you know) in another part of the city, but either way it should be convenient to seaport and airport.
Tallink and Eckeröline are the cheapest ways to get to tallinn. 12 euros is the cheapest rate for Tallink at the moment but you should check again in few months for rates during the summer. There are so many cruise lines between the two towns that you shouldn't have any problems getting a transportation but they sail at different times of the day. The thing is, the boats leave Helsinki in the morning and come back in the afternoon generally.. except maybe Silja. Then again, if you really want to get to Helsinki early in the morning, for the return trip take one of the fast boats which travel several times a day.
Perhaps someday if I have more money I will be able to spend more than a day or two in Finland. As it is, Finland is expensive and the US$ isn't doing so well, and I'm not rich in the first place, so... I should probably buy one of those "Finland on 10 Euros per day" books :)
The exchange rate.. I know.. but it would be very tempting for me to travel to the U.S. right now. :) The Euro has gone up 20% in a short time compared to the US dollar. On the other hand, Estonia is very cheap compared to Finland.
If you, Chaul, or anyone else in the Helsinki area wants to try to meet up in Helsinki on either Monday June 21st, or Monday July 5th in the evening, let me know :wave:
Oh, sure. That could happen. I'll probably have my vacation around that time anyways. Not sure about other plans yet.. It's the best time of the Finnish summer :). July is warmer than August in Finland.

And if you get a chance to go to a sauna while you are staying at a hotel in Helsinki - don't miss it! :)

Tuukka

[Chaul]

Ok, one more link :)

Port of Helsinki
http://www.hel.fi/port/english/index.shtml

[Sepecat]

Here is something funny, Estonians need Visa to enter the US, and however American doesn’t need Visa to enter Estonia… Well up too 90 days of stay…

Looking more at it, an American or Mexican that can enter Finland visa free can also enter other Schengen area ( I think)

And doing more research I see Estonia is not an Schengen member, so your wife ( If Mexican Citizen) would need Visa to enter Estonia...

Maybe Chaul, can add something about Visa’s to Estonia??

George`

[Myshkin]

George - My wife is a Mexican citizen with permanent residency in the USA. She requires a visa to visit Estonia, but luckily I have my cousin there who should be able to get that taken care of easily. I don't think it will be a problem and we are working on it, but thanks for looking anyway.

Chaul - Thank you for spending the time to answer my questions :) When I sift through the Helsinki tourist information, I feel like it is information overload. I sincerely appreciate the advice :beer:

About Estonia: Yeah, I spent a week there in 1999, followed by a weekend in Amsterdam :eek: I went from $US30/night for a fairly large, nice hotel room in Estonia to a broom closet in downtown Amsterdam for US$100/night. I have a picture of the latter somewhere... the single bed hardly fit in there. It was a great location though, so I'm not really complaining.

[Sepecat]

Originally posted by Myshkin
George - My wife is a Mexican citizen with permanent residency in the USA. She requires a visa to visit Estonia, but luckily I have my cousin there who should be able to get that taken care of easily. I don't think it will be a problem and we are working on it, but thanks for looking anyway.

N/p

George` :)

[Myshkin]

I don't need a visa to enter Mexico, but they need visas to come here. That is not at all unusual. The list of countries that do not need a visa to enter the US is relatively short:

Andorra (MRP) Iceland Norway
Australia Ireland Portugal
Austria Italy San Marino
Belgium (MRP) Japan Singapore
Brunei (MRP) Liechtenstein (MRP) Slovenia (MRP)
Denmark Luxembourg Spain
Finland Monaco Sweden
France the Netherlands Switzerland
Germany New Zealand United Kingdom

At the moment, Estonia is not part of the EU so no, they are not part of the Schengen group (if I'm not mistaken, all members are EU). However, they are trying to join the EU so that may be different in the future.

[Chaul]

Originally posted by Myshkin
At the moment, Estonia is not part of the EU so no, they are not part of the Schengen group (if I'm not mistaken, all members are EU). However, they are trying to join the EU so that may be different in the future.

True, Estonia is not part of the EU yet, but they will be starting May 1st, 2004. They won't have the currency just yet, but they will become fully fledged members of the union.

Added to the EU countries, also Norway and Iceland have signed the Schengen treaty.
http://www.eurovisa.info/SchengenCountries.htm

[Myshkin]

Oh really, I thought that was still farther off... will that make any difference with their visa policy though? I haven't seen anything to tell me different, and I have not heard back from my cousin on what we will need to do.

Chaul, when you have gone to Estonia from Helsinki, how did the immigration control there seem? In the Tallinn airport in 1999, they seemed a bit strict and a bit bureaucratic; not like when returning to Amsterdam from Estonia and the guy hardly gave my passport a glance, no stamp, I didn't get any 90 day visa or anything. Really, it is more complicated to officially enter Mexico than it was to enter the Netherlands that time.

[Chaul]

I checked the month here:
http://www.vm.ee/eng/kat_130/2760.html
Looks like an official site so I'd believe it.

I don't think it makes any difference though. I can't find any confirmation on when Estonia will be signing the Schengen treaty and such.

I have never been to the Tallinn airport. At the seaport it seemed pretty relaxed a few years ago when I was there. We would have had to ask for the stamp on the passport if we wanted one.

Tuukka

[Myshkin]

Oh I didn't mean to cast doubt on what you said, on the contrary I believed it. The last time I had a specific discussion about Estonia joining the EU with an Estonian was more than a year ago. I knew it was in the works but I didn't know it was signed and sealed.

As far as I can tell though, they won't become a Schengen member anytime soon so that would suggest that they will keep their present visa requirement through June at least. I have sent another e-mail to my cousin asking if she has checked up on it yet.

[Sepecat]

I thought when traveling abroad to country that requires Visa, you are to get that Visa from the country you currently reside in? No?

When I traveled to India in 98, I went to the Indian Consulate in NYC and took me whole day to get the Visa.

So Mysh, why is your cousin trying to take care of the Visa issue, when I thought you need to take care of it, from the Country you currently reside in…

This is the Closest Estonian Consulate:

HONORARY CONSULATE IN LOS ANGELES
Honorary Consul Mr. JAAK TREIMAN
5273 Tendilla Avenue,
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
USA
tel. (1 818) 340 5766
e-mail: j.treiman@att.net

I think CA is closest unless DC and NYC are closer to you. :p

TOURIST VISA
Tourist visa is given to the applicant for one or two entries. The tourist visa entitles the visitor to stay in Estonia for not more than 30 days. The following must be handed in to the Estonian representation:
• The applicant's passport. Please, observe that your passport must be valid until at least 3 months after the expiration of the visa, and that your passport must contain at least two blank pages

• A recently taken photograph of the applicant

• A correctly filled in Visa application form, signed by the applicant

• A health insurance policy (Is this the reason for your cousins involvement) valid in Estonia with a coverage of at least 160,000 Estonian kroons (10 226€) for the entire duration of stay in Estonia.

• Voucher (a voucher from a tourist company registered in the state register, confirming the payment of travel and lodging services).

The tourist visa fee for single entry is 14 €.
The tourist visa fee for two entries is 27 €.

This is the link:
http://www.vm.ee/eng/kat_132/916.html


George`

[Chaul]

Hehe, yes, but in general I like to link to something on the net to back up my words in any case..

[Myshkin]

George, my cousin is involved because she works in the government and knows people. Simple as that. We are not in CA nor in DC, and you probably understand that I have no wish to unless necessary. The last item on that list, the voucher, can also be a letter of invitation written in Estonian and presented to the proper authorities. That would be my cousin as well, as it is her we are visiting and not a tourist company. The health insurance policy, as I understand it, is covered by my regular medical insurance which covers emergencies in foreign countries.

If you don't have a connection to the government, then I would assume you have to go through an embassy or consulate in your own country. I am hoping it will be a matter of "send a copy of her passport, a picture and the visa application form to someplace, they will send you the visa" if we can take care of the job in Estonia.

Another possibility could be New York. I still have two free AA tickets from a special last summer, and we wanted to go to NYC anyways. I don't want to go to LA or DC just for a visa.

[Sepecat]

It always is nice to know people in High Places of the Government… :p

Sadly I don’t know anyone in High Places. Lol

The two Free Tickets you have, is it for just Domestic or Can you use it on any International Destinations?

If you can use it for International Flight, Why not take it to Brussels. ;)

George`

[Myshkin]

I wish it were an international ticket, then of course I would have used it. Going to Europe in the summer takes 60,000 miles per ticket for coach (90k for business, too much IMHO), as opposed to 40,000 between Sept and April. I would have loved to save those 120,000 and gone again sometime in the off season. But it's only the lower 48 states, no Hawaii nor Alaska. Considering they were just for flying regularly and cost no miles, it's not a problem. I do have to use them by the end of this year though.

Heh it would be great if knowing someone meant that we didn't need a visa at all :) But as it is, I am only hoping we can skip the trip to the consulate for the visa interview and can just give them the information they need to issue the visa.

[Chaul]

Take a look at the Senate Square while you are in town, Myshkin. It's just north from the harbour. You know, Finland was under Russian rule a hundred years ago and the area looks a bit Russian. The resemblance was enough so that it was used for scenes in several Hollywood movies like "Doctor Zhivago", "White Nights", "Reds" and "Gorky Park" when they needed a Russian setting.

http://www.hel.fi/tourism/en/Ohjelmaa_kohteet_lisa.asp?kieli=en&id=140&aspkategoria=1&aspword2=Ntop

[Chaul]

I realized that the check-in for the boats to Tallinn (Tallink and Ekckerö Line) is at the West Terminal so you might prefer a hotel that is located closer to that.. The fast boats on the other hand departure close to the Market Square and the Eurohostel I was first thinking about.

[Sepecat]

So Mysh,

Whats the Status for your wife’s Visa?

I hope everything is straightened out??

George`

[Myshkin]

We're waiting for my wife's new Mexican passport, which she had to get from the Mexican consulate here in Austin. Since we will be visiting in June, Estonia requires it to be good until September at least, and her current one expires at the end of July.

Still, that part does not worry me anymore because the whole thing seems like a formality, according to what the Estonian consulate told me. It's just the Mexico and Estonia don't have any agreements, but it won't be a problem. She needs the visa, yes, but it won't be hard to get.

What worries me most at the moment is the US INS getting their butts in gear and getting her at least temporary papers while they are processing her status adjustment paperwork.

Oops looks like I forgot to thank Chaul for his last suggestions, I've been busy with other things so I haven't done any more planning on the Finland part. I think my parents may wait for us in Finland and they get there a couple days ahead of us, so I am going to forward all of the tips here to them :)

Hmmm I wonder if Remko or Alrik (or anyone else in the area) will have any time to take a train to Belgium when I go back through Brussels? Hey guys, dinner is on me if you have time. I'll only be there one evening though :(

Even London isn't that far away ;) :wave: @ Brits

[Myshkin]

Update: My wife just received a one year extension for travel and work using her current permanent resident card.

[Sepecat]

That is Great News Mysh...

-^

George`

[Sepecat]

So how is the trip planning going? Or has it been finalized?

:)

[Nappe1]

umh... someone asked me? :)

sorry coming this late... I was on my eastern holiday.

Chaul already covered all the major stuff, I just wish you happy vacation. :)

and I'll try to follow this thread more closely, so if you got any questions, I'll try to answer them. :)

[Myshkin]

:eek: Three weeks to go! I had plans to make plans... how time flies. :( Well the Estonian part is planned, but I haven't really thought about Helsinki and Brussels. So little time....

[Nappe1]

well then... Helsinki... Let me see...

The city center isn't really big and there's lot's of good public transpotation options available. (Busses, Trams, small ferries, local trains and "Metro" that isn't quite City Train, nor underground, but a mixture of it.) you can easily see all major buildings even by walk during one day.

Other places to visit I quickly come up to are Korkeasaari Zoo and Viaborg Fortress. Both can be reached via small ferries from southdock near katajanokka and if you or your wife is Roller Coaster maniac, I'll suggest reserving time to visit Linnanmäki amusement / theme park. Linnanmäki has one of the 6 still up and running free ride wooden roller coasters in the world and it has been stated to be one of the fastest ones by World Roller Coaster Riders Society.

Chaul hopefully can come up more places to visit. :) He is living much much much closer to helsinkin than I am.

[Myshkin]

:wave: @ Nappe

Unfortunately because of quite a full schedule in Estonia, I will be in Finland for maybe 18 hours on my way to Estonia, and then about another 24 hours on my way back. I will be staying somewhere downtown, near the ferry ports so what I will end up doing is walking around downtown... and using the information that Chaul posted as a guide. I am less interested in touristy stuff and more interested in doing what people in Helsinki would do if they were downtown and had an evening free.

About the visa, it turned out to be easier for my cousin to get the visa in Estonia with copies of all of my wife's paperwork than to try to get it done in New York. Turned out the only real help she got was advice and assistance on getting it done there. Oh well.

Turns out everyone wants to go down to Riga in Latvia for a day or so, so now the question will be what hoops we have to jump through so my wife can do that. I suspect that we will have to wait for them somewhere along the border. :( Or Viljandi is nice, I wouldn't mind hanging out there for a couple of days.

[Nappe1]

Originally posted by Myshkin
:eek: Three weeks to go!

umh... do you mean that you are in finland in weekend of 25th - 27th of June?

because if you are, you will find a quiet city. It's our Midsummer festival time, or "juhannus" as we call it. huge amount of ppl living helsinki or to near it, pack their cars and drive to their summer cottages to mid-finland.

of course there's some traditional Juhannus festival happenings in helsinki too, at least at Seurasaari has their traditional midsummer festival happening.

also, if you are at Estonia during that time, you will find yourself participating pretty similar happenings, because estonians celebrate midsummer as well.

:) in any case, it will be really nice experience. :)

[Chaul]

I am less interested in touristy stuff and more interested in doing what people in Helsinki would do if they were downtown and had an evening free.

What people do.. hmm.. Shop, go to a pub or take a walk in one of the parks - Esplanadi Park which suits them all maybe.. There is an open air bandstand in the park too and performers nearly every day during the summer they say. Sure there are museums and such in town too if that's what interests you. There are also quite a few market squares all around the town. Much depends on the day, how much time you have to spend and where you end up staying for the night. I think most of the stuff is already covered in this thread.

[Myshkin]

Nappe,

Actually, I will be arriving earlier that week, on Monday the 21st in the afternoon, and leaving the following day by ferry to Estonia. I will be going to some of the summer solstice events in Estonia, and also the big song festival in early July in Tallinn. Then I will be back to Helsinki on July 5th and flying out on the 6th.

Chaul,

I think that sounds like a good idea, strolling around the park, checking out the local performers and people watching. I think we will be pretty tired from the flight over, especially with the 6 hour layover, being in coach and then jet lag. If it turns out that you are not doing anything on the night of the 21st or perhaps when we come back through on July 5th, we could meet up or perhaps go to dinner... my treat of course, if you pick a good local restaurant :)

Thanks guys

[Chaul]

That could happen. I'll have to check a few things first..

http://kulttuuri.hel.fi/espanlava/index_en.html

There is a description and the schedule for the band stand. The afternoon performances will apparently only last until 19:30 but there should be lots of people. If not local then tourists, since the main harbour and some major shopping centers are right next to the place.

Welcome.

[Wazza]

Good luck on your trip, and I hope you can meet up with fellow NFS/Racerplanet friends. :)

[Myshkin]

Thanks Wazza, may or may not happen. I'll be in Brussels the night of July 6th until the morning of July 7th as well, if anyone is in the area.

Only 7 days to go now :eek: :beer: Long range forecasts showing a lot of rain in Finland and Estonia, at least around when I arrive... so we might re-think the park plan :")

[Nappe1]

Originally posted by Myshkin
Thanks Wazza, may or may not happen. I'll be in Brussels the night of July 6th until the morning of July 7th as well, if anyone is in the area.

Only 7 days to go now :eek: :beer: Long range forecasts showing a lot of rain in Finland and Estonia, at least around when I arrive... so we might re-think the park plan :")

weather here can change pretty quickly here during summer time. (because we are actually between Sea weather and continent weather.) For example, during last week, the forecast for the weekend on southern finland changed about 4-5 times all around from heavy rain to mid cloudy. (in saturday it was heavy continous rain and sunday was Sunny and warm) So, don't put so much weight on those forecasts. :)

In any case, we have had 2 very hot summers (in last 2 years of course.), so this might be a bit cooler and rainier summer. In any case, the hottest month is July, so Hard to say really how's the whole summer will be.

I'll hope you can sleep in light conditions. :) even in helsinki, you won't get usual night darkness. Just dusk between sunset and sun rise and that period won't be very long.

I'd be happy to come to helsinki meet you but unfortunately it seems that those days I have to be at work. =[ and Iam living at Kotka (140 km from helsinki to russian frontier via coast line) so, most likely it won't happen. hopefully Chaul has a more time.

[Myshkin]

:wave: @ Nappe

Yeah, 10 day forecasts aren't exactly very accurate anywhere at any time, so I suspect you are right. The forecast that I looked at showed alternating heavy/light rain for the next 10 days straight... maybe they were just lazy and figured they'd be right 50% of the time :)

The sunlight conditions throw me off a bit, but at least the last time I was in Estonia the jet lag was what caused me more loss of sleep... the sunlight just kind of confused my internal clock a bit. Last year I was in Anchorage, Alaska for a few days in late June, and the sunlight did not go away completely at any time. So I'm not accustomed to it but I know what it's like.

Too bad you won't have time to come to Helsinki, it looks like Chaul should be able to meet up with us for dinner. Unfortunately we'll be arriving to the airport at 6:45 PM on Monday and wouldn't be ready for the streets probably until 8:30 PM at least, so there's not much time to see a lot of the city, and it looks like that will be too late to catch any performances in the park. I'll definitely try to arrive early enough on our way back through to have time for that and more.

Thanks you guys for all the help :) :beer:

[Myshkin]

:dazzler: Just over two days to go until liftoff... the last-minute-preparation-before-leaving-on-vacation-stress has begun :youwin:

Helsinki, Finland

Mon
Jun 21 Partly Cloudy 68°/48° 20 %
Tue
Jun 22 Partly Cloudy 70°/50° 10 %
Wed
Jun 23 Partly Cloudy 70°/50° 30 %

[Volt !]

Goodluck on ur trip Myshkin !

[Wazza]

:dazzler: Just over two days to go until liftoff... the last-minute-preparation-before-leaving-on-vacation-stress has begun :youwin:

Helsinki, Finland

Mon
Jun 21 Partly Cloudy 68°/48° 20 %
Tue
Jun 22 Partly Cloudy 70°/50° 10 %
Wed
Jun 23 Partly Cloudy 70°/50° 30 %
You just gotta love the stress. I found last time I went away, making a list helps.. But it never helps when you get the list correct, but you still miss something from it.
:(

[Chaul]

Today was partly cloudy, about 18C. Weather is changing all the time. Rain, no rain... Lets hope for sunshine anyways. It's the shortest night of the year in any case. The sun will set at about 11pm and rise before 4am.

[Myshkin]

:wave: See you in two days, Chaul :)

The packing has commenced, and so far it looks like we won't have any travel problems with weather. With the storms that have blown through Texas lately, that was one worry that has gone away.

:Peace: all, I'll probably be checking in once in awhile during my trip, it looks like some of the places I will be staying have high-speed connections :jump:

[Myshkin]

:wave: @ All from Viljandi, Estonia.

Chaul, you now have access to the Community Photo Album :) Welcome. And thanks again for being our tour guide in Helsinki :beer: Sorry it took so long, didn't have a free Internet connection in-room until today.

[Chaul]

Hehe, no problem. And thanks. I hope you are having a pleasent stay in Estonia. Lets hope for more sunshine this week..

[Myshkin]

Update: I'm in Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa to the west of the mainland of Estonia now. It's nice here. If you look at the map below, we've basically been east from Tallinn to Narva and the Russian border, then down south through Tartu to Valga at the Latvian border, up to Viljandi, over west to Pärnu and now on to the islands.

Interesting note: All of that discussion about an Estonian visa for my wife turned out to be for nothing as far as we could tell. Technically it sounded like a big deal, but they did not even look at the papers she had, they just took her passport and handed everything else back without looking at it. Of course, if we hadn't had it, they would have asked for it... you know how that goes.

http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/ciamaps/en-map.gif

:wave: