A December Weekend Trip From Stockholm to Tallinn
By: Stefanie Kleemeyer
Hands up, who’s guilty of spontaneously booking a trip to another city when in real life you should be studying?
The other day someone mentioned a trip to Tallinn, in Estonia – and so I was like, hell yeah, why not? Seeing a different country and experiencing new things with friends I just met is something that I would really love to do.
My 4 take-aways from the trip:
Traveling on a student budget
Lo and behold! It came as somewhat of a surprise but the trip to Tallinn cost is actually not expensive.
We travelled by ship, and price per cabin (a basic one), with four people being the maximum occupancy – cost about 1000 SEK. So, after dividing the total price by 4, a cruise to Tallinn cost about 250 SEK per person. Not too bad, I’d have to admit.
The cruise departed on Friday evening from Stockholm. We did some last-minute grocery shopping to have enough food and snacks for the trip, had a lot of fun chatting along the way, then slept and finally woke up in Estonia. It’s such an exciting feeling to open your eyes and marvel in amazement at a totally unfamiliar sight!
Christmas market in Tallinn
Magical and charming. During winter, Tallin has a big and very beautiful Christmas market in the old town, which is no doubt, the highlight of the entire trip. The market square has an impressive Christmas tree over 20ft tall and rows and rows of wooden shops selling candies, warm food and Estonian souvenirs. The atmosphere was lively and cozy, and not overly-touristy, which is perfect for a Christmas market.
Old Town – a quaint city
Exploring the Old Town of Tallinn is both relaxing and quaint, walking on cobbled-stone paths and beautiful old buildings at every corner.
It is no wonder that Tallinn’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site – many of the Estonian capital’s bars and cafés are congregated there, making it a vibrant and active area, a mixture of local and touristic life. There’s plenty to do and lots to see.
It’s a great getaway from Stockholm
Feeling totally recharged and re-energized after the trip! After some hours of walking and freezing in the cold, we went back on the boat and headed back to Stockholm. We arrived home on Sunday morning, and everyone had especially enjoyed visiting Tallinn.
SO…
If you have some free time over the winter break and want to do something fun and inexpensive with your friends, maybe a short weekend trip ‘cross the sea is just the thing for you!
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Ceilidh Meagher is from New York, now living in Los Angeles. She graduated from Stockholm School of Economics in 2016. This is what she thought of her time as a student in Stockholm.
