Today was Plan B day and we learned several lessons: (1) Do not try to come back from Estonia on a Sunday evening after a festival and (2) a plan B is always a good thing. We arrived at the port to buy tickets for the fast boat to Estonia. Good news was there were seats available on the 12 pm boat. Bad news is that there were none coming back to Helsinki after 3 pm. Since it is a 1.5 hour boat ride, we thought there would not be enough time in Tallin to do anything worthwhile. We opted for plan B - which was Sally having a very good cup of Finnish coffee while we contemplated our next move. We decided it would be a good day to see the National Museum, since it looked like rain. It was a wonderful afternoon. This is a picture of Tom in front of the entrance to the Museum - the bear is the National symbol. My second favorite picture of the day is the hour glasses on the pulpit - even in older times people timed the sermons. The third picture is a picture looking down at the port - with some very beautiful wooden sailboats.
On our way to the National Museum we were visited by the tram police. You never really have to show your ticket on the tram or train - it is an honor system - BUT there are tram police who get on and off the trams and check tickets. If you are caught without a valid ticket you not only pay the fare, but also a hefty fine. After the National Museum, we headed back to the Cathedral of Helsinki for a tour of the inside. From there we headed to the Orthodox Church, which was closed, but the view of the outside was beautiful. We stopped and checked menus for several cafes - cafes are not restaraunts - they serve primarily beer, wine, coffee, and pastries/desserts. We ended up having dinner at our favorite spot - Kapelli - and tonight tried the sauna smoked reindeer (Very Good!), mushroom salad, and Karelian pastries with mushroom soup and dessert. Tomorrow we may attempt Tallin again - or maybe we will save that for next time!
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