Scandinavia is beautiful but a journey through this region can never be complete without a cruise on the seas. And you will have a variety of options to choose from.

There is so much more that you can pack in your holiday, provided you plan your trip well. And talking about planning, well if you are not too hard-pressed with time right now, please do go through my post Scandinavia…a travelogue & you too could use some of the tips & tricks that I employ to have a cool, relaxed & complete holiday.

This holiday, in one of the most beautiful part of Europe, has it all. An Oslo to Bergen train journey over the mountains,  unbelievable fjord experience, an experience of being on top of the world at Mount Floyen, from where the views are majestic & breathtaking ; the scenic Norway fjords & Archipelagos for you, wonderful choice of sea food & of course some great music all around. And one can never forget the pleasure of being able to walk around & explore this wonder European destination, Turku in Finland. With the icing on the cake being the evening ride on River Aura aboard one of the oldest steamship, s/s Ukkopekka with great hospitality, music & the opportunity to spend the evening having dinner on one of most beautiful islands, Loistokari. Truly, Turku was a wonder destination.

But this is only the tip of an iceberg. There is so much more that we are going to discover in the coming days. Today though is reserved for a two hour each way round trip cruise from Helsinki, Finland over Baltic Sea aboard Tallink Silja Megastar to explore a new country, Estonia & it’s capital city, Tallinn.

But before we board, some interesting aspects of Baltic Sea & these cruise ships. The average depth of Baltic Sea is only 54 meters & the deepest basin is 450 meters deep. And hence during the winter the entire sea gets frozen. During those days these same cruise ships, which are equipped to cut through the ice, transport passengers & food supplies to all the far away islands with pretty colorful houses but all cut out from the mainland. Amazing isn’t it?

It’s so exciting getting up early morning, taking the underground & a then a bus to reach the boarding terminal. And there we check in & proceed to the boarding area for some breakfast & coffee. The views, as we wait for the ship to anchor in, is just out of the world. And finally we have the call for boarding so lets proceed..

The Cruise Ship ride is a great experience with wonderful choice of food, a relaxed atmosphere, lovely music from the music duo, great top deck view, the refreshing breeze, the air force helicopters keeping a vigil & much much more. Be there, to be blown away.

As we see the main land approaching, we are now in a new country. Estonia the green capital of Europe, a small country but very pretty. Time to explore.

Tallinn is a very small city surrounded by over fifty percent green, with classy buildings, lots of parks, few historical landmarks, cute small markets selling handicrafts, casual wear & artifacts. There are some good places to eat & a good choice of cuisine. The only way to get around in the city are cars, taxis & buses. For tourist though the best option is hop on hop off buses with two different routes all covered in one ticket. These buses have a stop next to all three Port Terminals & hence you really do not have to use any other means of transport, if you are on a day trip.

Time now to head back & leave behind a wonderful pretty city, which you can explore in a day.

Hope you had fun & let’s look forward to some more great moments as we move ahead.