Awards
Best Toilets Japan in general (heated seats/ toilet slippers/ amusing signs/ lots of interesting buttons to explore). And the fantastic public toilets outside Vanha Kauppahalli in Helsinki. Worst Toilets England (so often hard to find/ poorly maintained/ filthy). And the stomach-turning state of the toilet in a restaurant we ate
Awards
Best Train System Italy for overland travel (Japan’s Shinkansen were also good but more expensive). Singapore for underground travel. Worst Bus System ROME. Favourite Non-Train/Bus Mode of Transport A: Biking in France. B: Trams in Helsinki. F: Car. J: Plane. Favourite Public Transport Moment A: Reading Harry Potter
Finland
You know who you are! Enjoy! 😁
Estonia
More haikus! We're three weeks in already! Day 15 • 19 Sept • Tallinn to Helsinki to Worthing Twenty-three hour day. Too tired to make a haiku. Refer to line one. Day 16 • 20 Sept • Worthing Arundel Castle. Sieges, skins, salt galleons— It's another world! Day 17 • 21
Estonia
Technically it was a 26-hour day (24 hours plus the two hours we gained by changing timezones), but I'm talking about how long B and I were awake for. We woke up at 3:50am on Thursday in Tallinn and didn't get to bed until almost
Singapore
Here's my next batch of haikus! Day 8 • 12 Sept • Johor Bahru to Singapore Lunch at Nachi's house: A great feast prepared for us. The kindness of friends. Day 9 • 13 Sept • Singapore to Helsinki Oodi Library. Google Translate makes us laugh: Unbridled Dog Bark. Day
Finland
On Monday, after powering through a few more Helsinki activities, we headed out to West Terminal 2 for the 2-hour boat ride to Tallinn, Estonia. Ekero is one of at least three major ferry operators doing this route (along with Viking (see my walk around post) and Silja (you can
Finland
After we visited Vanha Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall) on Monday morning, we headed to Hakaniemi Kauppahalli (Hakaniemi Market Hall). This was a recommendation from a writer friend who lived in Finland for a year. Hakaniemi Kauppahalli was in a newer building and the ground floor stalls looked more modern, but
Finland
This morning (Monday), we checked out of our hostel but left our carry-on bags in the bag drop room so we didn't have to lug them around. Then we made the most of our final few hours in Finland by visiting two market halls before we needed to
Finland
We have 3-day unlimited train/ tram/ metro tickets for Helsinki, so on Sunday night, after sharing a large grocery story pastry for dinner, we decided to hop on a tram, ride it away from the city centre, and turn around when we (a) felt like it and/or (b) reached
Finland
After Kauppatori on Sunday afternoon, we went back to the Helsinki Central Library Oodi. Not much is open in Helsinki on Sundays, but the library is! And we wanted to check out Level 2 and the secret room we'd missed on Level 3... 0:00 /0:14 1×
Finland
Today (Sunday), after a quiet morning at our hostel, we set off to Kauppatori Market Square. This is an open-air market at the same harbour where we caught the ferry to Suomenlinna yesterday. Here, we finally had the chance to try some Finnish food, including reindeer meat! This is a