Bao from Hills
27 August 2018
Time to say farewell to Finland and head over the gulf to Tallinn in Estonia. But this morning we had a few hours left for another stroll, this one around Helsinki’s “Design District”. I must admit, the uber-cool Scandinavian design shops were a bit thin on the ground. Grasping just a bit, Finnish Tourist Board? Still, we found a couple of good ones to poke around. Stopped for excellent char sui bao and dumplings at a place called Hills. They need to open a branch in Cheltenham, pronto! Finally we trundled back to the hotel for our luggage and the tram ride to the ferry terminal.
Quirks of Helsinki that I might remember? The ubiquity of English for one thing. There were some signs and posters – not aimed at tourists – that didn’t even bother with a Suomi (Finnish) translation. Oh, and Finns are sticklers for a pedestrian crossing. And you can’t buy a tram ticket on the tram. Reeeeeally useful, when not every tram stop has a ticket machine. All the food was good. Helsinki seems like a neat and trim little capital, but I feel that giving it two days is about enough.
Tallinn old town
Tallinn is a massive contrast. It’s small by comparison and we’re immediately struck by the old town’s medieval buildings, by the roads that twist and turn instead of flying straight and true, by the swathes of graffiti and occasional concrete ruins, none of which existed in Helsinki.
BaoJaam
For supper we wandered straight past all the tourist restaurants of the old town and out to Telliskivi, an area of abandoned factories and warehouses being reborn as a hip district of designers, artists and eateries. To get there you literally have to wander across the railway tracks beyond the main station, charmingly named Balti Jaam. We actually ended up eating in the station market, where among other street food stalls was BaoJaam. Yes, we had bao again. These were excellent, stuffed with barbecued meat and tangy veg; the pork belly with fennel was favourite. In Telliskivi we admired the excellent street art and stopped at a bar for a drink.
Telliskivi
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