POSTCARDS FROM TALLINN
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, has a reputation for being a small medieval city that has one of the best Christmas markets in Europe. The city is actually quite small, but it has a lot to offer and you won't be bored if you stay there for a couple of days. We were there for four days but on the second day we took a day trip to Helsinki, so it was basically three days that we got to experience Tallinn.
I loved the city, it's small and it really has that medieval vibe. There were little Christmas trees every few steps on each side of the streets. The Christmas market was a bit small, which is understandable due to the circumstances. But also due to the current situation, there really was no crowd. The Christmas stands were mostly food-oriented stands - you can get Estonian food, sweets, hot wine, or other beverages, they also sell a lot of winter must-have accessories, like warm hats and gloves but there aren't really any souvenir stands (if you want a souvenir - a magnet or something - you will need to find small shops that sell them).
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| Citybox Tallinn Hotel |
The food didn't impress me but I knew what I was getting into. Estonians are known for pork, fish, different sausages... food that someone like me, that doesn't really eat meat, doesn't like. I did try a lot of the food but I still stuck with ordering pizza (you can get pizza everywhere, but it's hard to find a good one).
POSTCARDS FROM HELSINKI
On the second day, we took a ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki. Helsinki is known for its title "the white city of the north" and you can see why in the pictures. In the wintertime it's freezing, we didn't have any sun, so the photos aren't the best either. The city is also known for having a lot of saunas but we didn't get a chance to go and try them. We did go on a Ferris wheel and we got an amazing view over the city. If I remember correctly, you get 12 minutes for around 10€. I also suggest taking a free tour around the city.
In Helsinki, there was also a small Christmas market and again, most of the stands were food-oriented. You can get hot dogs, fish and chips, some traditional fish soups and more. We tried some of their food but went to Friends & Brgrs for dinner.
It was nice seeing two European capitals that are so different. Tallinn, on one side, feels like a cute older city and Helsinki feels like a bigger and mightier one, on the other. In both cities, you can see some great architecture and I would definitely recommend putting both, Tallinn and Helsinki, on a bucket list. Even though I almost froze to death, I suggest visiting them in winter, actually, December, so you can see and feel that Christmas feeling.
Thank you for reading!
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