Ferry from Helsinki to Tallin, Estonia

If you live in Helsinki, you're only 51 miles from Estonia. Of course, it's over the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea. We decided against swimming it and took the Tallink Ferry instead. The ferry is a beast of a vessel, as it transports cars and other cargo in addition to people.

Steven got us "Business Lounge" tickets at a reasonable upcharge which allowed us to board early and exit first, and included an Estonian buffet and beverages in an very uncrowded lounge. We used the two hour journey to attempt to read Finnish newspapers and look at the duty free catalog. (The catalog was entirely in English; all other magazines were in Finnish or Estonian. One of the chief distinguishing factors between the languages is that Finns love very long words with lots of vowels, and Estonians can get by with shorter words. Our Estonian friends in America say many words are the same, but pronunciation differs, and one should never assume the languages match up, even when you think they should.) While enjoying our lunch, I learned that the Swedish King, Harald, had just died at a ripe old age (not as well publicized in the states), that Nepalese immigrants were picking blueberries in the wilds of Finland, and that the Swedes and Finns were cooperating militarily. Oh, and there was an interview of a medical examiner, which I elected not to read. How did I do all this? Google Translate on my phone of course. I expect to never learn Finnish or the related Estonian. I have to use tech to bridge the gap.

One cartoon caught my eye, as I could plainly read the word, "Trump." Loosely translated it says, Trump has changed many place names, and many have called him Names too. Or something along those lines.

We left promptly on time and arrived promptly on time in the capital of Estonia, Tallin. In the drizzle, we ordered up a Bolt ride share and arrived at our Nunne Boutique Hotel on the edge of Old Town. (Nunne translates to "Nun." Easy to remember.) Not too late to explore the historic medieval city before dinner. But that's another blog post.