Last day in Singapore

I really want to come back to Singapore. We only had 5 days here and they've been great. The food is better than Europe and the Singaporean peoople are very courteous.

The MRT is really easy to use and I don't understand why Australia can't have the card ticket system work like Singapore.

We fly to Australia tomorrow on QANTAS - our first QANTAS flight this trip.
We have flown British Airways, SAS and FinnAir. We traveled by Costa Cruise and Viking Line across the Mediterranean, Black and Baltic Seas, we travelled by train in Italy, the TGV train to Paris and MRT in Singapore, by bus from airports and across towns and Dad drove the Volvo in Sweden. And we walked everywhere, through strikes, and riots, and sadness in Norway and through sunshine and a little bit of rain.
It's been a good seven weeks - I'll be keeping my blog going - because I'm not going to stop travelling just because this trip is nearly over.
I'm trying to talk Mum and Dad into coming back to Singapore for New Years 2012. :)

Singapore Zoo

Breakfast with the Orangutans - I did it when I was six but can hardly remember it, so we got up early and caught the train to Ang Mo Kio station ( NS16) and then caught bus 138 to Singapore Zoo for breakfast with the Orangutans - known as the Jungle Breakfast.

The orangutans were very close and the  baby was very active. I also got to hold a snake - it was just a little one - it weighed about 70kg!

Then I got to ride on an elephant - I also did this when I was six, back then Dad came  with me.

it's hard riding elephants - they are uncomfortable and hard to get on -  but once you are on it it is a great feeling:)

Our hotel in Singapore

We are staying at the Novotel Clarke Quay  I'd recommend staying here because it is a great hotel, and it is attached to Liang Court which has a Koptiam food court where the locals eat - and it's cheap!! My favourite duck with noodles is just $3.90 SD - if you want to you can go out to Clarke Quay, and undercover street area and eat the same thing for $15 SD - but really why would you?? It is a short walk to Central station - get an EZ Link card for $12 SD - which costs $5 and has $7 travel loaded on it. The card is good for 5 years and is how the locals get around quickly on trains and buses. The trains come every 5 minutes and are really clean, quick and quiet. Why would you get a taxi?? only place I'd get a taxi to is the Zoo and Changi airport. I Love Singapore:)

A wet day a Universal studios Sentosa Island

Outside Shrek's house at universal studios Sentosa island. Even though it was wet we had a good day. I went on every ride - the best was Battlestar Galactica rollercoaster which has two tracks Humans and cylons - the Cylon track was better - I went on it three times :) In the Donkey show I was selected for an interview and made an honorary "ogre" Universal Studios Singapore is way better than Universal Studios California - no drinking, no smoking and the park is designed better.

I love Singapore!!!

Mum and Dad reckon I'm part Asian - here I am about to eat Inari in Singapore.

And outside Ion centre Orchard road We went to Shaw cinemma and watched Cowboys and Aliens - a good movie - I mean who could resist watching James Bond and Indiana Jones together in a movie ( Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford) in a shoot em up Alien film?? Not me.

Delayed in Finland

That red line on the board is our flight, eventually we left nearly 4 hours late at 3.30am. Talk about a long day. The plane had radar problems and the Finn's took the time to fix it which is great - safety first. Luckily we were in the Finn Air lounge and not just hanging around in the airport - Thanks to Dad's Priority Pass ( thank you DAD).

I had computers to keep me busy while we waited - oh, and food, lt's of food.

Back to Finalnd by Viking Line ferry

We got up really early to catch the 8.00am ferry back to Helsinki. We had breakfast and then went to sleep in the cabin for a couple of hours. Whe caught the 3T tram at Helsinki and got off at Central Train station. At the station there are big lockers that cost 4 euro for a day - we left our bags there because our flight was not until 11.34pm.
We went and looked at the shops and then the Modern Art Gallery which had an exhibition of contemporary African art.

I really like this sculpture of a rainbow serpent made from old oil can lids. This artist also made soome really cool masks from recycled items - like this one.

Then we walked up to the cinema to see Green Lantern, and we passsed this bar.

Aussie Bar - their advertising campaighn is "be served by the ancestors of convicts" - the Finn's love this kind of stuff.

Our last night in Tallin - dinner at Vaneaema Juures

Traditional Estonian dishes like your grandmother used to make if a) she was Estonian and b) a really good cook!
We had entrees of Meatballs with fresh horseradish and Pancakes with cavviar
Then we had mains of Roast Duck with bacon, sauerkraut, beetroot and horseradish, Roast Wild Boar with potatoes and brussel sprouts and Roast Wild Elk with potatoes, tomatoe, pickle and juniper berries.
And dessert was chocolates, roast apple stuffed with raisin and nuts, and ice-cream with berry jam and roasted nuts. This restaurant is a highly regarded Estonian institution and it is tiny - just 8 tables, many people tried to get in while we were dining but they did not have a reservation. A fantastic way to end our Estonian visit.

Tomorrow we have to be up early to get our ferry back to Helsinki. We will be in Helsinki by 10.30 am and we have the day to look around some more before going to the airport. We are going to leave our bags in lockers att the Central train station which is where we catch the bus back to the airport. Our flight leaves Europe at 11.40pm Tallinn was in the news for a hostage drama at the Ministry for defence which is about three blocks away. At the time this was happening Mum and I were at the Bastion tunnels. The man who broke into the Ministry of defence and took the hostages was shot dead - we are still not sure who shot him?

Bastions beneath Tallinn and Kiek in de kok

In the Kiek in the Kok ( which actually means "to peep into the kitchen") there was a museum showcasing some of the military history of Tallin. The Kiek in the kok is a tower built by Swedish occupation. Beneath the Kiek in de Kok their is one of the most mysterious parts of Tallin's past. The tunnels were built during the Swedish occupation in the 16th century. During the 17th and 18th centuries the passsages sheltered men, ammunition and supplies. During the 9th and 10th of march 1944 the passages sheltered Estonian people from relentless bombing of Tallin by the Russians. During Russian occupation they were used as a Nuclear fallout shelter, in the 1980's Punks used the tunnels to escape Russian persecution and arrest because their hairstyles and fashion were considered illegal - they listened to music in the tunnels. Up until 2004 the tunnels were used by homeless people for shelter. The tunnels are between 10 and 17 meters below ground and are a constant 8 degrees. Parts of the tunnel network are still being discovered by archaeologists and during building work. One part of the tunnels are not open to the public because a rare Estonian cave spider has been found living there. You have to book for a tunnel tour - but it is well worth it.

Towers of the Old Town of Tallin wall. I walked up the tower at the front today.

And the interior of St Olaf's church which is just beyond the town wall.

Estonian History Museum - everyone should visit.

Estonian History Museum - the history of Estonia is one of sttruggle and war. The Swedes, the Danes, The catholics, The Lutherans, the Poles, The Russians, The Germans again and then the Russians again all have fought wars in Estonia. Estonia finally gained independence in 1991. According to the world happiness index Estonians are the second most unhappy nation in the world ( I don't know who is worse off) - but all the Estonians we have met are pretty happy - and somewhat amazed that Australians a) know about Estonia and b) bother to come to Estonia. I would reccomend anyone coming to Estonia and I would like to come back.

The Estonian History Museum armoury has some excellent multimedia displays showing how weapons actually worked.

And the wall of messages were pretty funny at KUMU

KUMU - still the coolest

These globes had all kinds of statistics represented on them

And this installation was part of an artwork called "looking for a husband with an EU passport"

KUMU is cool

You pointed this monitor at the data codes on the wall and the monitor showed you artworks.

At this artwork you typed in text which was then converted into voice which talked to the plants - apparently it helps them grow;?

And believe it or not - these snails have RFID chips attached and you could send an email by "snail mail" - these artists were called boredomresearch.com - pretty cool idea.

KUMU - the coolest art gallery in Tallin - European City of Culture 2011

We went to KUMU. It had a huge mobile phone in the foyer that worked! I randomly dialled some numbers and they rang - it only worked on Estonian numbers.

The first artwork on level 5 was a water sculpture that spelt out different words in water drops - it was cool.

It's a trident - not a fork

Peter the Great's summer house - Kadriorg Palace, Tallin

Peter the Great had a summer house in Tallin, called Kadriorg palace. It is about a 3 km walk from our apartment. It now houses the Estonian art museum as well as being a house museum. We saw an exhibition about Estonian icons, like the one below.

The palace also has a pretty good garden, and a cool fountain with a trident ( not a  three-tined fork, that would just be irregular cultery)

Gidic fromTallin

So on Monday in Tallin we walked from the Old Town to the airport - about 4 km, and on the way we saw an Australian run backpackers. It was a bit overcast but it didn't rain while we were on our walk. We wanted to see Ulmeitste lake and it is opposite the airport. At the airport Mum and Dad bought newspapers printed in english - the Global Tribune and The Finanacial Times - just because they were desparate to read something. We caught the number 2 bus back to Tallin town centre - it costs just 1 euro. Why would anyone get a Takso ( Taxi) in Tallin when the taxis and trams are so cheap and reliable. Takso's are unregulated and set their own fares - but everyday we see travelllers using them to go places that we just walk to. Everything is pretty close in tallin - it is not a large city.

Not in prison in Tallin

This is the view over old town Tallin. most of it dates vack to medieval times. No building in Tallin is allowed to be built taller than the tower of St Olaf's church seen in the distance. The three round towers are part of the old town wall. We are staying in old town in an aprtment in Vene street, just near St Olaf's.

In Prison in Tallin

Possibly the worst thing Dad has ever taken me to, this prison was in use until 2005, It was built by the Russians and is just awful!!! Why it is on the Tallin culture kilometre walk ( wwhich is actually 2.2kms I do not know!!)

This dental surgery was in use until 2005 in the prison. It looks like they just waleed out and left everything behind.

This stuff was just left behind in the prison.

Helsinki to Estonia on the Viking Line

Viking Line Ferry from Helsinki to Tallin. We caught the number 3T tram to the terminal, theen got on the Ferry. Our cabin on the Costa Mediterranea was huge compared to this. The ferry took 2 1/2 hrs. We walked from the ferry terminal to our aprtment in Tallin, Estonia.

Thesubmarine Vitesk

Built in 1930 this submarine saw service in WWII for the Finnish navy - who were allied with Germany.
This submarine sunk a Russian transport ship in the Baltic during the war.

Suomenlinna Island- Helsinki- A UNESCO World Heritage Listed site

Inside the Fortress walls

And on top of the Fortress walls.
The fortress has been in place since the 1600's and part of it was destroyed in the Crimean war!

Helsinki - Finland

This is the huge Lutheran church in Helsinki.

And here I am having climbed up all those steps to reach the Church,

And this is what it looks like inside.

Stockholm - Sweden

In 1988 Dad stood here and had a photo taken; now I'm having my photo taken. This is in a little alleyway on Gamla Stan the Royal Family Island in Old Town Stockholm/ The little alleyway gets much narrower the higher you go.

And here I am, in the Royal Palace of the Swedish Royal Family, with the solid silver coronation throne in the background. The throne was made in 1625 ( I think) and is used for coronations still. I think it's pretty cool that in Sweden you can walk through the Royal palce - and see rooms that are still used by the Royal amily on State occassions today.

Like this room, that is based on the French palace of Versailles. There are big mirrors that reflect light from the windoows into the room. The ceiling is covered in paintings.

And we sawa full changing of the Guard at the Palace from a regular army troop to the Royal Life Guards ( in the dark bluue) up until the 1960's only the Royal Life Guards guarded the palace - since then it has been shared - so we were their on a special day to see a full changing of the guard to the original Royal Life Guards. The band you see in the background is the Navy Cadet band - 55 gifted and talented junior musicians - everyone cheered when they played "Dancing Queen" by Abba.