I had picked a few restaurants in Old Town Tallinn from Tripadvisor to check out on an evening walk. One highly rated one is Rataskaevu 16, named after its address. When I checked it out on a weekday, it was completely sold out and turning away people, one after the other. I took that as […]
I’m very interested in history and usually have the history or national museum of my destination on my itinerary. In the Baltics, I wanted to learn especially about the more recent history of these former Soviet republics. Estonia has established the excellent Museum of Occupations, covering the Soviet and German invasions during World War II
As my first hotel in Tallinn on my Baltic Explorer trip, I selected the Radisson Blu Sky, using points of the Club Carlson program and the Bonus Award Night feature of my US Bank Visa card (no longer available). It is one of the top rated hotels in Tallinn on Tripadvisor and it proved to
If Disney had to built a medieval village, I’m pretty sure they would use Tallinn as the sample: With its narrow, winding cobblestone streets, plazas with church spires and castle towers overlooking the surroundings, you couldn’t find a more perfect little town. The old heart of Tallinn has been lovingly restored and shows little sign
Compared to many European capital cities, Helsinki is manageable in size and it’s surrounded by nature. Finland is covered to 70% by forest and if you are visiting Helsinki, a great way to get a glimpse of that is to take one of the sightseeing trips by boat! Within a few minutes of leaving the
Vapiano is a concept restaurant that started in Hamburg in 2002 and I had eaten previously at their first location “Hohen Bleichen”. I didn’t realize that hey had become an international franchise organization with restaurants in 29 countries since and was surprised to see one on the central train station square in Helsinki during my
Welcome to my first “Perfect Day” post to make the most out of the short time you might have in Helsinki. Visiting on a business trip or a cruise with only a few hours to spare – don’t worry, you can get the essence of Helsinki and decide whether you should come back to see
Helsinki is a compact city and with the beautiful setting on the Baltic Sea and the historic architecture, it’s ideal to explore by foot – at least in the summer time! I was fortunate enough to have gorgeous summer weather and walked all over town! Even if you only have a few hours to spend
I enjoy visiting museums when traveling – they tell a lot about the place you are visiting, not only by the exhibits but by the way the stories are told! Helsinki was the first stop on my Baltic Explorer trip, I had four days to explore and the city has has a lot of museums
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As the first hotel of my Baltic Explorer trip, I scored the Holiday Inn Helsinki West Ruoholahti during IHG Reward Club’s PointBreaks for only 5,000 points per night (worth $35!). It was a little bit outside of downtown Helsinki and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a nice
My passion to travel is rooted in the desire to learn about other people and countries – and that inevitably includes learning about their history to understand how they became who they are today! As you might have notices, there are a lot of history museums and photos of temples, churches, palaces or ruins –