Finland Day 1: Best Border Crossing Ever

​Today was another travel day.  The two hour ferry crossing from Tallinn to Helsinki was the most pleasurable  border crossing we ever experienced.

After breakfast, we enjoyed a session with an Estonia expert - a 9th grade school teacher who shared a lot of information about the educational system and about work and relative salaries.  It was an eye-opening talk.  Vesma also shared some videos of the Estonian singing and dancing festival (https://youtu.be/TYIgwyML7WQ?is=9uW9OOj7dRRTmO14 ) which was impressive.

After the talk, we took a short walk to Rotermann, a district nearby where all of the old limestone factories and warehouses had been renovated and modernized to include modern elements.  It was a beautiful renovation. The area is now a lively place full of apartments, shops, restaurants and bars.

Back at the hotel, we packed up and checked out, and then got into the van to go to the ferry terminal.  While waiting to depart, we enjoyed seeing a startling display of Finnish candy! And other products in the terminal which was huge and modern, complete with a grocery store on the lower level.

We efficiently loaded on to the ferry which was the size of a small cruise ship, and after lunch settled in for our ride.  We shopped for a bit in the two-story shopping mall, took in the view, but skipped the gambling and other amenities. And that was it - no border crossing protocols at all!!

After arriving in Helsinki around four and getting our bags delivered, Bob, our tour leader, took us on a brief walk around the neighborhood.  After the orientation, we did a little exploring on our own around the shopping district to get familiar with some of the sights - the train station, the pedestrian mall, the main park down to the port.  We’ll get the full tour tomorrow.

We met the full group of 15 for dinner and had a nice time getting to know the new arrivals and our guide.