Tallinn, Estonia & the Drunk Ferry to Helsinki

Tallinn Christmas Markets.

Wool sweaters & socks for sale.

Whenever I travel outside of Finland I like to check out the happycow, a website that lists and reviews all local restaurants serving up vegan and vegetarian offerings. There was actually a good list of recommended eateries in Riga and Tallinn. In Riga, we checked out the Raw Garden and grabbed some takeaway items for our bus ride. With tubs of wheat-grass growing in the windows, we entered the little restaurant and asked if we could order takeaway. The lady behind the counter spoke very good English and told us, in detail, all about the menu. We ordered two veggie sandwiches on dried pumpkin bread and grabbed a few munchies that were beautifully displayed on the counter, a cashew-coconut ball and two pieces of dried bread (one zucchini and the other carrot).  At 12:40, the Lux Express 4-hour bus to Tallinn rolled up and off we went into the countryside. While the ride through the countryside was beautiful, the wireless kept us busy, and the food from Raw Garden was amazingly delicious. (Good review posted on happy.cow!)

Charlie waiting to board "drunk" ferry.

You see a lot of this on the ferry.

Our cozy spot on the ferry...until the drunks sat below us.

Vomit bags on the ferry, just in case.

It was a short adventure in Tallinn, as we had tickets for the 9 p.m. drunk ferry to Helsinki. But, that did not stop us from exploring the Christmas markets and eating at the BEST rated restaurant in Tallinn--no joke. We found Aed, the restaurant, on happycow too and then after further investigation found that it was rated as the BEST restaurant in Tallinn by Tripadvisor. (Yes, I am an investigator of sorts, as I like to read people's reviews of restaurants, hotels, etc.--blame it on dreamy rational choice theory.) After eating the delicious pumpkin soup, linguine pasta, and chocolate cake, we walked to the drunk ferry and by first glance of the queue we knew we were in for an entertaining 2 hour ferry across the Gulf of Finland. People, not only the young people, people of all ages had *stacks of* cases of beers ready to bring back home to expensive Finland. The alcohol is obviously less expensive in Tallinn and so Finns make the mad dash across the pond to buy their goods. Luckily, we were upwind from the loud, obnoxious (and yes, drunk) teenagers who decided to party in our cozy location on the ferry.

Ah, it's nice to be back in Finland!