The End of the Trip

This photo is our final stop in the day - the Finnish Parliament. This was taken just after sunset, around 3:30 in the afternoon. The spire in the background is the National Museum.

Soon, we were heading for the airport, and winging our way back to Amsterdam with great memories of our little Christmas adventure.

The Harbour

With the sun barely creeping above the horizon, the light in Helsinki really was amazing all day, and constantly changing.

Helsinki Cathedral

A Day in Helsinki

After our crossing from Tallinn, we had a night and day in Helsinki. Not enough time to really explore a city, but enough time to explore a bit, see some of the highlights and get a taste. We stayed at the Scandic Continental Hotel - another hotel rather swankier than where we usually stay!

The hotel is on the shores of Toolonlahti Lake, pictured above. Further down the shore is Finlandia Hall, home of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (silhouetted in the photo). It is named in honour of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius' famous composition. Incidentally, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra presented from 1892 until 1923 the first performances of almost all the symphonic works by Sibelius, with the composer himself conducting.

For the rest of our day in Helsinki, we simply explored on foot, taking in the city.

Undoubtedly for us, a highlight was the Design District, and area packed with fascinating galleries and shops full of Finnish design pieces. Design Forum Finland (a coop for designers) underlined the diversity, with some of the most beautiful jewelery and vases we have ever seen (and prices to match), through to a display of the 'most ergonomic scissors in the world'.

And up next, I will load another photo essay - just a few highlights from Helsinki.

Shane

RSL on Water

After our Christmas excursion to Tallinn, we had organised to take the ferry across to Helsinki, and then fly home from there. The idea was that sailing across the Baltic Sea would be an interesting part of the journey. What we failed to take account of was that due to the short days, we did the entire crossing in the dark!

More remarkable was the vessel itself. Or to be more precise, the culture on board the vessel. This was not some scenic crossing where one sits back and watches the ocean pass by (or stares in to the blackness in winter). No, this journey is all about drinking, buying cheap duty free alcohol to take with you, and feeding money in to poker machines. At lot like a visit to the local RSL or Bowling club back home.

There are not really many seats on board, because all the space is needed for Duty Free shopping, so we spent our three hours on board sitting in a bar. Still, we did better than many people who ended up sitting on the floor in the hallways or on staircases. Clearly us and them had the wrong idea about the purpose of this journey!

Shane

A bit more Skating...

I just could not decide which photo of the ice skating venue in Tallinn to use, so here is another one...

Now that is a Northern Christmas!

In my posting on Winter Fun only ten days ago, I referred to my dubious history of ice skating. (as a quick reminder - twenty years since I did it, broke my wrist on that earlier occasion). Anyway, we skated in Eindhoven, and then got to Tallinn and found a beautiful outdoor rink, pictured.

What better way to work off a hefty Christmas lunch than spend an afternoon on the ice. So there we found ourselves on Christmas Day, rugged up to our eyeballs, ice skating on an outdoor rink in Estonia! A long way from the usual family gathering in the heat back home.

With two rounds of skating in just over a week, Nicky has improved quickly. For me, it is more of a case of my enthusiasm being greater than my style, but at least it did not result in a trip to hospital!

Shane

Down Under influence in Tallinn

I should have known better, but I was not expecting much influence from Australia during our Christmas break in Tallinn. Not that I had really thought about it, but perhaps naively I was just assuming we might be the only Aussies around.

Of course I was wrong about that. It turned out that there was a clutch of London-based Australian’s staying in our hotel. And when we entered a café one morning for a warming coffee, the only other group in the place were Australians. So that sort of things happens I suppose. Then we came across an Aussie flag flying in a side street. On closer inspection, we found it was outside the “Pub with No Name”, but with no Australian beers advertised or anything like that, the only other obvious linkage to our homeland was that their satellite TV coverage included cricet (sic). But the most bizarre Antipodean influence was to walk past a restaurant and hear an Estonian cover version of Crowded Houses’ Weather With You wafting out the door (and let’s not argue about the origin of the Crowdies and settle on the fact that we love them!). It sounded just like something from Eurovision…

Shane

Dressing for the Weather

As I said earlier, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a big pile of books. Here is Shane modelling his new jumper - hand made by an old lady from Tallinn and sold from a stall by the old town wall - as well as our stash of books; not to mention wool socks to match the jumper (a last minute gift). We were tempted to buy hats, socks and gloves for everyone back home, but it's kind of a strange thing to send to people in the middle of summer (even if it was cool on Christmas Day). Instead we bought them for ourselves - and they will be very handy in wintery Amsterdam.

Nicky

The little things...

We are staying in the Merchant's House Hotel, a boutique hotel in Tallinn, only metres from the town square. The hotel is set in two buildings, one 14th century, the other 16th. It has been stylishly renovated, and is probably the swankiest hotel we have ever stayed in! The difference with good hotels are the little things, and the Merchant's House has that attention to detail. This morning at breakfast we had champagne and orange juice, then when we got back to our room, there was a Christmas stocking hanging on our door, with a lovely selection of chocolates, nuts, Estonian liqueur and oranges, all held inside a traditional pair of Estonian stockings.

We have been invited to join the hotel manager for Christmas drinks at lunch time, and then we are booked in for the Christmas lunch this afternoon - all very decadent really! We need to head out soon for a walk around the city to work off some of these festivities...

Christmas morning

Well it's Christmas morning in Tallinn and still no snow... but at least we have our very own Christmas Tree bought in the Christams Market in Tallinn Square (see the picture) and lots of presents (many carried all the way from Australia). As well as lots of books (the mark of a good Christmas) Shane's inspired surprise was a Museum Kaart each (free entry to all Dutch museums for 12 months). Now we will definitely have to go to the Van Gogh Museum, the Rembrandt House, and all those other places we haven't been...

Nicky

Learning to use the auto timer!

So this digital camera is still new, but we managed to work out the auto timer enough to capture this shot of us with the old city wall and the tower of Niguliste Church...

Niguliste Church

This 13th century Gothic church is now an art museum.

Toompea Castle

This building now serves as the Parliament building for Estonia.

A Beautiful Day in Tallinn

It has been a beautiful crisp winters day in Tallinn, with the sun breaking through regularly. We have spent the day wandering through the old town, soaking up the sights and atmosphere. Rather than try and write about it, today's blog is a bit of a photo essay, since the pictures hopefully capture some of the beauty of this old city.

This shot is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

Christmas in Estonia

Today we have travelled to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, to spend Christmas in this beautiful city. We flew in this afternoon across rural landscapes touched with snow, and a glowing setting sun. As our taxi pulled out of the airport, the sun began to dip below the horizon, and it was only three ‘clock in the afternoon!

The old town in Tallinn is World Heritage listed, and anyone we have asked who knows about it says the place is so beautiful, and it is true. We will post more details over the coming days as we explore, but thought we would make a first post tonight and include a photo we took in the town square this afternoon.

There is a Christmas market in the town square, and it is full of winter gifts like you would never see in Australia. There is a huge Christmas tree, and a number of gluhwein vendors. It is pretty cold, so we thought a gluhwein would warm us from the inside. Somehow we stumbled on Holland House, the stall specialising in Dutch delights in this Baltic city, and got hooked on their ‘Christmas Cocktail Special’. This involves a shot of Galliano, a shot of Gold Strike (a Dutch liqueur) and hot apple juice. It may sound bad in print, but it actually tastes great, and is very warming! We have never seen it in the Netherlands, but we enjoyed it as we stood sipping in the town square and soaking up a Christmas atmosphere so different to our usual experience.

A World Away

As we passed over the winter solstice and headed in to Christmas, I paused to think about how different it was last year. On 21 December 2005, I was in the Southern Ocean on the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, and we had just found the Japanese whaling fleet. Their deck was lined with the carcasses of whales that had been harpooned before we arrived. Over the next two days, we confronted the whalers, putting ourselves and our small boats in front of the harpoon in a desperate bid to defend these magnificent creatures.

Back in the Greenpeace office in December 2006, that experience feels like it was from another world. The contrasts could not be stronger. There are the easily defined things - 24 hours of daylight in the southern hemisphere, short days with little sunshine in the northern hemisphere. Fresh food down the street in the supermarket, compared to the long life food stuffs from the long trip. And stable ground!

And then there are the memories that are not so much about comparison, but simply about the experience. The vastness of the Southern Ocean. The endless beauty and diversity of icebergs. The majestic seabirds gliding over the churning ocean.. The sense of truly being at the end of the earth.

The whalers turned north last year after two days of harassment, and sailed in to a storm. As we headed away from the Antarctic coast, the weather turned for the worst, and as we sat down to Christmas dinner, we held on to our plates and anything else that could move. By Boxing Day we faced waves ten metres high. The bridge of the Sunrise sits only 9.5 metres above the waterline, so these big waves had a particularly intimidating feel about them.

Despite the weather, Christmas on board was a great experience. Each crew member had drawn a name from the hat a few weeks earlier for the person they were to provide a Christmas gift for. And the gifts were superb – many people had hand-made gifts on board with whatever they could find, combining creativity and care to produce memorable results.

Emilse and Isha, our cooks on board, produced a dinner that felt lavish, even if my appetite continued to suffer the impacts of sea sickness! The host of nationalities on board meant that we shared many different traditions, and swapped tales of previous festive seasons spent in many different ways.

And perhaps the best Christmas present for us all was that no whales were being killed. In running from us, the whalers had stopped their hunting, and then the bad weather we struck meant hunting was impossible. So while most of us were violently ill, at least the whales had a peaceful Christmas in 2005. Now we just need to ensure that every Christmas is peaceful for the whales of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

Greenpeace will again send a ship to the Southern Ocean this hunting season to defend the whales. If you want to join the expedition, just click here, and remember to take action and do your bit. You don’t have to spend Christmas in the Southern Ocean to make a difference for the whales.

Shane

A darker side of Christmas...

This is another one of those stories that is perhaps not mainstream, but offers an unexpectedly revealing insight. To me this story highlights pragmatism and the ability to make or save a dollar, both of which consistently rise to the surface as defining elements of the Dutch history and character.

De Telegraaf recently reported that animal rescue groups in the Netherlands have stopped giving away rabbits to people who phone up in December looking to take over an unwanted pet. And city farms are also taking extra precautions against rabbit theft. And the reason for this? I turns out that rabbit is a traditional Dutch Christmas delicacy...

Shane

Eindhoven style

Did I mention the other day that we received our ‘Eindhoven Winterstad’ (winter city) beanies at the skating rink? As you can see, they are very stylish…

Shane

Ever heard of ‘ambergris’?

If you are like me, you probably haven’t. But in the spirit of learning something new every day, check out this article from the New York Times.

It turns out ambergris (shown in the photo) is more colloquially known as whale vomit, and the NYT story has an interesting and detailed account of both a quirky modern story and the nearly lost history behind it. Take five minutes to check it out…

Shane

The future of winter?

Here is another photo from our winter adventures in Eindhoven on Saturday.

We had a great time on the weekend, but one of the strange parts of heading off to the Winter Festival over the weekend was that it is not really that wintery in Europe right now. This story appeared on the front page of the International Herald Tribune on Saturday, describing the above average temperatures and lack of snow in the Alps. It increasingly seems the future will be about skating on artificial rinks, rather than along the frozen canals and lakes. Or maybe, just maybe, we might all get a great Christmas present, and our governments will start to take climate change seriously...

Winter Fun

We are back in Amsterdam after a trip home to Australia, and yesterday headed off with our friend Jess to Eindhoven in the middle of the Netherlands for the 'Winter Festival' being hosted in that city.

The feature of the festival this weekend was song, with small choirs and bands appearing throughout the city. We had lunch listening to a choir singing Christmas carols, giving things a very festive feel, and around each corner was another performance (if they all came from Eindhoven, it's certainly a very musical city).

The centre piece of the festival was the ice sculpture exhibition. This was a stunning sight - a range of beautiful sculptures created from ice and snow. The photo shows Nicky standing next to Puss in Boots (the whole theme was fairy tales). Of course the photo hides the fact that she is shivering! No it's not that cold in the Netherlands!!! The whole exhibition was held in a hall chilled to a cosy minus 8 degrees - suddenly being outside in the rain didn't seem so freezing! We rapidly adjourned to the coffee lounge next door for a welcome hot chocolate.

Next stop was the ice skating rink that had been set up on the town market square. I am a terrible skater – the last time I went was nearly twenty years ago, and on that occasion I broke my wrist - but Nicky was keen, and I am stupid enough to try anything twice, so we hired our skates and went for it. And it was quite fun! Again there was a band, and suddenly all those northern European traditions we grew up with felt just a little bit real as we swished along the ice to the sounds of Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas. (Actually 'swished' is probably a bit of an exaggeration, but at least neither of us fell over). It was certainly a world away from the 35 degrees and beating sunshine that we left behind in Australia less than a week ago.

Embarrassingly quickly we were all skated out (not the same muscles as triathlon), so we retired to the Central Hotel, a very gezellig* little pub next to the skating rink. A few warming drinks later, we headed out, jumped on the train, and headed back home to Amsterdam.

Shane

* 'gezellig' is one of those Dutch words that has a few uses, but generally means cosy, warm or inviting.