Estonia 1998: A Weekend in Helsinki

From the archives: It turns out that I was blogging long before anyone had ever heard the term “blog.” Twenty years ago I was an exchange student in Estonia. While studying at the University of Tartu, I created an online travelogue to keep my family and friends apprised of my experiences. Both my life and the nation of Estonia have changed a lot the two decades since. This reprise is providing me with a glimpse at who I was back then and the excuse to learn more about more recent developments in my temporary home, even if some of the opinions that I expressed back then may make me a little bit uncomfortable today. It is interesting to see how people grow and change.

21-26 January 1998

Because we are still in the midst of a stupidly long semester break here in Tartu I decided to take the opportunity to leave Estonia for another short time and go back up to Helsinki and visit some Finnish friends whom I have not seen for a long time. It was a great time, but unfortunately over much too fast.

21 January 1998
Wednesday

This afternoon I went up to Tallinn from Tartu to get ready for my voyage to Helsinki. I got see Tricia who is again busy at work with the Tallinn in Your Pocket and to catch up with Kristel whom I have not seen in person since October. It was nice to catch up, but unfortunately it was a very short meeting.

In the evening I met Matti, an American friend from Tartu who is now working in Tallinn with Hansapank. We went out to a couple of pubs and then retired to his place for the night.

22 January 1998
Thursday

After six months outside of Finland I have finally returned to Helsinki, have reunited with Netta and Marina, and have walked the streets I got to know so well this summer. In many ways it feels like returning home. It is an incredible sensation to have several different countries around the world where one feels at home and at peace. Finland, namely Helsinki, is one of those places for me.

This morning I took an overcrowded bus from Matti’s place to the center of Tallinn where Matti and I said our farewells. I met Inga, a fellow student in Tartu, for breakfast and had a wonderful morning chat with her before I left. After that it was off by bus to Muuga Harbor where my boat to Finland awaited. Muuga is a small harbor in the middle of no where. The trip was faster with the new boat, Finnjet, but the speed was negated by the distant and difficult departure point.

An uneventful three hours I arrived in Helsinki. It took me a while to understand where I was. The city is so different from what I remember. So dark, so cold, so wet. A few minutes of lost wandering and I discovered where I was and set off shopping. A problem with my ATM card meant I will have to wait to until Estonia to take out money again, unfortunately throwing a huge monkey wrench into my previous plans. Luckily I had some Estonian money that I was able to change, despite losing a huge chunk through double conversion (originally from U.S. dollars).

I met Netta and Marina at the train station. It was a wonderful reunion. We came to Netta’s place and talked the night away. Tomorrow more of the same. It’s good to be back.

23 January 1998
Friday

I went with Netta and Marina to visit the Finnish National Museum. Unfortunately the main building is closed for repairs the next two years and a long cross town walk to locate the temporary exhibition proved to be too lengthy. We arrived just as it was closing and settled for coffee in the cafe. It was probably just as well because there was really not all that much to see at the temporary site anyway.

In the evening we went to Piccolo Mondo where we met up with Emmi, another Finnish friend from Tartu who was in Helsinki for a couple weeks visiting her brother. We finished up the night at Molly Malone’s, the Irish pub where I met friend quite regularly this summer. Fell asleep to a bad British Titanic movie on television. A good, busy day.

26 January 1998
Monday

This entry was written on the ferry, Wasa Queen, from Helsinki to Tallinn. The events of the weekend were so busy and I was so exhausted that journalling at the time was simply impossible.

What an absolutely incredible weekend…

Saturday I went with Netta and Marina to visit Suomenlinna, the sea fortress guarding Helsinki. It was a beautiful day for it with crystal blue skies, sun and a cover of fresh fallen snow. A little chilly, but nothing a hot cup of coffee couldn’t cure. The island was great, and while we were there we met Marina’s brother who is doing his military service on the island. If one must do obligatory military service, it would be hard to find a better place to do it than a beautiful island a few short kilometers from home.

After Suomenlinna we went to Marina’s place for supper. It was a good dinner of pasta and conversation. Just out of curiosity Marina (a speech pathology student) gave me Finnish and Swedish language development tests. Surprisingly, because of my Estonian knowledge I did better on the Finnish and found out that my Finnish comprehension is almost on a par with a six year old boy with language problems. Not bad for a language I’ve never studied.

Later we finished off with a movie at Netta’s place. Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to Marina that night. It’s hard saying farewell, I just take comfort in the fact that I will seem them both again at least one more time before I had back home to America.

Sunday morning I got up and had my final breakfast with Netta and then took the bust downtown to meet Sole, a friend I met in Tartu during my first stay and one that, because of several missed connections this summer, I had not really seen for almost a year and a half. We went for a walking tour of Helsinki and had a wonderful dinner at her place that evening. It was a simply beautiful chance to renew a friendship that I had let lapse for way too long. I keep kicking myself for not making a better effort this summer.

We finished off the night with a stop at the Paavo Pub, a place named after famous Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi. In the morning I had to get up early and run to my ferry which left at 9:00, but not before we had a good breakfast and said our farewells properly.

Once back in Tallinn, I got the first bus back to Tartu and simply collapsed into my own bed. A long, eventful and simply wonderful weekend. I could live this life a hundred times and never tire of it.