I grew up in Haukilahti which is a by-the-sea suburban area in Espoo, near Helsinki. As a kid I got used to seeing sailboats on the way to the beach. I loved the sight: they looked so gracile and upright, waiting to go out there and face the world. My family didn't sail and I secretly envied those who did - and really could not understand all the complaining some friends did about having to spend several weeks on a boat during the summer.
This year I got a chance to make up for all the envy, as a friend of mine asked me to go sailing with him. We did a few shorter trips around Helsinki archipelago - loved it - and then decided, much owing to my puppy-eyed look, to sail across the sea to Estonia for an extended weekend. This was nothing new to my friend, as he had done it already several times this summer, but I eagerly waited my Great Escape to Tallinn and Naissaar, our destinations of choice.
We left Friday afternoon. As suspected, the wind wasn't really strong enough to cross the Gulf of Finland, so we sailed to Stora Herrö island instead, and spent the night there. In other words my friend slept like a baby and I spent the night listening to the banging and clanging sounds - this was my first night ever on a boat and I was far too excited about it to sleep. :)
The next day we headed to Tallin. On the way we saw
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| Helsinki from a distance - looks like a small town in the middle of a forest! :D |
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| Some baby boats having a field trip ;) |
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| Tallinn Lighthouse |
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| and a beautiful sunset. |
We spent the night at Pirita Harbour, the site for the sailing competitions in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The harbour looks quite normal...
until you look to the left.
Now where did the pyramid come from?!
On Sunday we enjoyed some swimming and sauna at the nearby spa before continuing to Naissaar. If you already clicked the link and went to Wikipedia, you know it used to be a military area during the Soviet rule. This part of the history had been preserved quite creatively in my opinion. My favourite was perhaps
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| The flagpole with a mine pedestal. |
Naissaar was also a very beautiful place, with
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| a beautiful beach |
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| and a sheltered harbour. |
There are ferries running to Naissaar and two other islands from Tallinn, so even if you don't have friends with sailboats you can still visit them during the summer.
On Monday we headed back to Helsinki. The weather was gorgeous, with sun blazing from the clear sky yet with enough wind to enjoy a good ride back. All and all, there's nothing like relaxing on a sailboat on a sunny day! Even my cardigan agrees. ;)
One of my favourite creations of all time, which has been underused as the lower part used to roll up into my belly, since it didn't originally have a ribbing. Before the trip I added some layers of crochet to the bottom, thus making it sturdier and wind-proof. Made the garment much more usable and gave it a new life! :)
