Helsinki, Tallinn and Homeward Bound

Helsinki, Tallinn and Homeward Bound

— by David Eugene Perry

23 August 2026: So we get up early and after coffee and Wordle in bed, we head downstairs where the friendly staff at Helsinki’s Hotel Fabian has prepared us an early breakfast to go. On weekends, and today being Sunday, breakfast is only served from 8am onward. On weekdays, starting at 7am. So before our long flight home tomorrow, we’ll enjoy a wonderful Finnish breakfast. But this morning, we’re up early, and in our Uber, since the weather is distinctly Finnish, on our way to the port. It said it was going to be a 20 minute walk, but it clearly was longer. So I’m glad we took motorized transport.

The ferry port is not at all where we thought it was. In the center of town near our hotel, there are some ships, and of course the Ferris wheel that we saw earlier this year with its own compartment that includes a sauna. Gotta’ love Finland. The terminal for ships to Estonia is a bit farther away: incredibly modern, sleek, chic and oh-so-Nordic efficient design, built in 2017. We’re onboard before you know it and sitting in our wonderful M/S Finlandia Horizon seats (a “business class lite” upgrade installed this year) with tables, sea views, quiet section and vending machines. It’s kind of like premium economy and for only 10 euros more per person, quite worth it. There is a business class cabin for over 40 euros more per person, but certainly not needed today. Our trip today: $78 total for both.

The ferry is about half empty, and the size of actually a small cruise ship. We’re very excited as this is our first trip ever to Estonia. We set sail at 8:45am – 15 minutes ahead of schedule – so clearly everyone is onboard. They must mean what they say: passengers must be checked 45 minutes before sailing and onboard 30 minutes prior. This is not the Greek ferries I remember from the summer of ‘98 when I was on break from my working my way ‘round the world aboard Crystal Symphony. On those vintage Mediterranean Hellenic hulls, you could jump onboard at the last second, dodging cars, cargo and the occasional cat as the boat pulled away.

So now settled into our seats, we’re on our way. Two hours more, and we’ll be in a new country for us. 

I set out to explore. The good ship

Finlandia (vs the good vodka Finlandia) is bigger and more well appointed than expected. There are several bars, including an executive level extra tariff one, lounges with live entertainment listed, meeting rooms, quite an extensive buffet, restaurant, shops including a duty free shop with scores of people queuing up in anticipation of international waters I expect, slot machines (natch), a special “doggie toilet” on the lifeboat deck, and — my favorite— a “drivers sauna” specifically for commercial truckers. The motor deck also provides for private cars, but occupants must exit their vehicles during the voyage. Oh yes, and of course, there are private cabins for longer voyages and – you know… 

Built in 2001 by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea, Finlandia originally sailed the Mediterranean as Moby Freedom before being acquired by Eckerö Line in 2012. She can carry 2500 passengers and 665 vehicles and if 565 feet long.

Of note: Following renovations earlier this year, Finlandia is now the first partially electrified ship on the Baltic Sea, since Eckerö is taking more steps to become a fully electric company. Finlandia’s large-scale marine battery installation allows it to operate partly on electricity when maneuvering inside ports to dramatically reduce emissions.

We walk off the ferry and discover that I was incorrect. It was not half full, but rather quite packed. But we were luckily in a part of the ship that gave us breathing space. Clearly day trips from Helsinki to Tallinn are very popular. The ship was full of day trippers, especially since this was Sunday. We got off and immediately headed to the Old Town. It reminded me a bit of my trip to Odessa, Ukraine, now 28 years and pre-Putin ago. 

We walk to the Upper Town for a glorious view and spy some stone stairs to what turns out to be a serendipitous pit stop: the Fersen Baar, a truly iconic place. We’re treated to an Estonian gin, local sausages and traditional pelmeni Elk dumplings. Wow: both made Alfredo’s and my “Best Foods” list from our travels. We capped it off with a decadent Vana Tallinn spice and rum liquor. Thank you Boris! Below, a YouTube link about the restaurant and its heritage.

Afterwards we stroll past the historic — and somewhat controversial— Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It sits right across from the Estonian Parliament on Toompea Hill. Built in 1900 when Estonia was in the Russian Empire, it’s dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century Russian prince. While it is major landmark, some Estonians see it as a symbol of that era of Russian rule. Given present realities, no one here — or across in Finland — is happy to share a border with a country of increasingly Czarist tendencies. Many windows, storefronts and bumper stickers sport Ukrainian flags. There are no “we don’t need NATO here” illusions and no lost for the CCCP.

We meander into a square chock-a-block with quaint shops and fairy tale architecture of onion domes and towering wooden spires. Every third window seems to be selling something made of Baltic amber, and of course that reminds me of one of the now-lost wonders of the world, the Amber Room. 

Created in Prussia starting around 1701 for King Frederick I of Prussia. It was designed by Andreas Schlüter and built by amber craftsmen, notably Gottfried Wolfram, and later Ernst Schacht and Gottfried Turau. In 1716, King Frederick William I, Frederick’s son, gave it as a diplomatic gift to Tsar Peter the Great to cement an alliance. In Russia, it was later moved and expanded in the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg. During World War II, Nazi Germany looted it and took it to Königsberg, now Kaliningrad, where it disappeared near the end of the war. Its fate remains unknown. A reconstruction was completed in 2003 at the Catherine Palace, but the original has never been found. 

Some say it was destroyed when Königsberg Castle was bombed. Others say it ended up on the former Nazi passenger liner Wilhelm Gustloff, which was evacuating German civilian refugees as the Soviets advanced. 

Tragically, the Gustloff was torpedoed by a Russian submarine on January 30, 1945 with the loss over 8000 (some say 10,000) lives: the worst maritime disaster in history. If rumors are true, the Amber Room is there too, crated up in the wreck at the bottom of the Baltic.

Until today when Alfredo and I were walking through the charming old town of Tallinn, I had no idea that the entire Baltic area is the center of the amber trade and still to this day, ancient, ancient amber is dug up and turned into expensive jewelry and other items. 

I did not buy anything of amber, since I was beyond our budget, but did treat myself to tiny little palm sized boat marked “Estonia” at the wonderful Maritime Museum, our final stop in the Fat Margaret Tower. Not only did I enjoy the seafaring history of this place but also delighted at the collection of fantastically detailed ship models from ages past into the present day.

As Alfredo turned for a final photo, he summed up the day perfectly: “This town has no bad angles.”

Now, having embarked Tallink ferry MegaStar (their newest, launched in 2017), we are headed back to our final night before home. Tomorrow, we’ll be in our own bed and Tuesday at our usual desks: jet lagged but on the clock.

For the last 78 days (including 28 at sea aboard Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam giving maritime history presentations with a total solar eclipse as a treat) we’ve been working remotely from Spain (our beloved Grazalema, Madrid and Santander), The Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, The Faroe Islands, Scotland, England, Finland and now Estonia.

I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes by one of my favorite writers, Mark Twain:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

Alfredo and I are fortunate to be able to work-on-the-road, and — literally — lecture our way ‘round the world (thank you Geoff DeVito!). As long as my knees and knowledge, hips and hippocampus hold out – I’m in: have carry-on, will travel.

Ahoy!