DUNDEE-ST ANDREWS-EDINBURGH

Awrite! from Scotland

You can’t visit Scotland without realising that the game of golf is particularly important here. So we crossed the Tay Bridge and went to ‘The Home of Golf’, St Andrews. 

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EDINBURGH-Ft WILLIAM-INVERNESS-DUNDEE

Awrite! from Scotland
We left Helsinki 8.50pm, our flight was running late due to an 180kph headwind and with the time difference (2 hours) we landed in Edinburgh at 9.30pm, found our way to the Airport Hilton and checked in.  After 2 months in Europe it was wonderful to hear the English language and read the signs again! Next day we picked up the rental car….no GPS!…..(Angus!)….who needs one, we can read the wee signs! First stop, Stirling Castle…we found it without any dramas!

OULO-ROVANEIMI-KUOPIO-TAMPERE-HELSINKI

Moi from Helsinki
On our first morning we picked up our hire car and got acquainted with our new friend Timo Tom Tom. We keyed in the destination and started our trip.  ‘Hilda’, out friend in Germany was in some ways quite circumspect in her approach to giving us directions, for instance, on our first attempt at getting to a launderette in Regensburg she directed us around the outside of the city, a trip of about 9 k’s….

HELSINKI

Moi from Helsinki
To get to Helsinki we caught a ferry from Tallinn. The ferry is about the same size as the ferries that service Tasmania. We arrived at the terminal, checked in and joined the other passengers.

TALLINN

Tere from Tallinn,
Our trip to Tallinn began at a bus station in St Petersburg.  Our taxi had been organised by our hotel, our driver knew where the bus station was, but wasn’t quite sure where to drop us off……so he asked us!..not a good start!  Finally he parked the car and ran across the road to a group of people assembled on the medium strip, confirmed that they also were waiting for the bus to Tallinn and this was the place to be. 

St PETERSBURG

Lance has passed the baton to me, so I will tell you a bit about our adventures in St Petersburg.

Привет from St Petersburg
We flew from Warsaw into St Petersburg, went through all the necessary processes to get into a country at an airport, and went straight to the information desk. ‘What is the best way to get to the city?’ So armed with our maps and information we went out and caught the dilapidated public bus to the station and then the train into St Petersburg. Our luggage had to have a bus ticket and a train ticket to come with us.

WARSAW

Cześć! From Warsaw
Another interesting train journey…..a bit faster……couldn’t quite count the sleepers as they passed by…..

We arrived at the hotel and went hunting and gathering…..just the essentials, beer….and some milk, sunglasses for Barbara (others got scratched) and antihistamines for me: something was making me sneeze!  We stood at the front of the hotel, which direction, straight ahead, A-left or B-right…..we’ll take A….should have taken B, that’s were all the shops were.